At Iowa's annual media day, Iowa head men's basketball coach Ben McCollum praised transfer point guard Ty'Reek Coleman for the positive impression he's made over the summer and into the 2026-27 campaign.
With Bennett Stirtz off to the NBA, McCollum and the Hawkeyes returned to the NCAA transfer portal to land Coleman, hoping the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder can lead Iowa's offense this season as Stirtz did last year.
"He's gotten exponentially better since he's gotten here," McCollum said. "He has a lot of physical tools, a lot of twitch, athleticism, can get wherever he wants to go. Running a team and then playing, you know, in a system is the thing that he is still learning, and he's doing a much better job. I thought he had a really good scrimmage."
Coleman averaged 10 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game on 50.4% shooting and 41.6% 3-point accuracy during his freshman season at Illinois State.
"Defensively, he can be a problem. Again, you have to get him into the defensive system, defensive program, and he's done a much better job of that. We're definitely pleased with him. Personality, attitude, toughness, all those things, that all checks out at a high level," McCollum said.
Iowa will need Coleman to morph into one of its stars if the Hawkeyes are destined to make another deep NCAA Tournament run. The Hawkeyes finished with a 24-13 (10-10 Big Ten) record last season and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in 39 years.
Fans can catch the Hawkeyes in action on Oct. 27 when they play an exhibition game against Illinois-Springfield at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. Iowa will begin its 2026-27 season against Lipscomb on Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. CT at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with the game broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball shares early impressions of transfer Ty'Reek Coleman
