Bon Voyage! Iowa basketball unveils 2023 overseas summer slate

Iowa will get a jumpstart with its personnel heading into the 2023-24 men’s basketball season.

The Hawkeyes announced that they are heading overseas for a three-game set across Paris and Spain this August 5-16. Iowa will spend four days in Paris (Aug. 6-9), three days in Valencia (Aug. 10-12) and three days in Barcelona (Aug. 13-15).

The dates across France and Spain will come against opponents to be determined at a later date. For Iowa, it seemingly comes at a perfect time. Last season’s two biggest stars and stat stuffers, Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca, have both departed the program. Gone is longtime defensive stalwart Connor McCaffery as well.

Beyond just the unforgettable trip itself, it provides Iowa’s student-athletes with a great chance for team bonding and some extra opportunities to familiarize themselves with one another on the basketball court as well.

“We are grateful to have the resources available to provide this opportunity for our student-athletes. Not only will our players experience different cultures and create lifelong memories with their teammates, but we get 10 extra team practices leading up to the trip. With us adding six new players, I believe this is a perfect time for this opportunity,” Iowa head basketball coach Fran McCaffery said.

Again, the timing seems perfect for the program to make its first overseas trip since Iowa visited Germany, Switzerland and Italy in the summer of 2017. Murray averaged a team-leading 20.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game last season. Rebraca averaged 14.1 points per game, which ranked second on the Hawkeyes. He also pulled down 7.5 rebounds per night.

That means names like senior guard Tony Perkins, junior guard Payton Sandfort, and redshirt senior forward Patrick McCaffery will be expected to elevate their games to the next level.

Perkins averaged 12.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Sandfort was Iowa’s final double-figure scorer last season, chipping in 10.3 points per game with 34.3% 3-point shooting. McCaffery just missed out on a double-figure average, adding 9.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Alongside that trio, sophomore guards Dasonte Bowen and Josh Dix figure to factor into the rotation heavily. Iowa bolstered its roster with a pair of transfer portal additions, bringing in former Belmont big Even Brauns and former Valparaiso big Ben Krikke.

Brauns averaged 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 assists per game in 21.2 minutes of average floor time last year with the Bruins. A 6-foot-9, 240 pound center, he shot 58.3% from the floor, which was tops on Belmont. Brauns registered double-figure scoring in 10 contests last season and had double-figure boards in five games.

Krikke led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game. He was even better than that mark in league play, scoring on average 21.0 points per game. The Edmonton, Alberta, product averaged 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest. Krikke shot 55 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.

The Hawkeyes also signed a four-player class that features guard Brock Harding and forwards Ladji Dembele, Owen Freeman and Pryce Sandfort.

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Story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire