Final takeaways from Iowa men’s basketball’s 2023 foreign tour
The Iowa Hawkeyes are officially the world champions of basketball!
OK, not really. The Iowa men’s basketball team did just dominate a group of All-Stars on their foreign tour this past week, though. Traveling through France and Spain, the Hawkeyes played three games on a European tour. It was a great first look at the upcoming squad, albeit extremely early ahead of the season against some not-great competition.
The Hawkeyes started their tour in Paris, France, with a 123-77 win over the Paris All-Stars. They followed that with a 119-83 victory over the Valencia All-Stars in Spain. They finished their tour with a statement victory over the Barcelona All-Stars, 106-79.
Again, these were definitely not the most competitive games. None of these opponents will be popping up on the nation’s top 25 anytime soon, especially considering they aren’t in America. This certainly was not Big Ten competition, but it was a great first look at a team looking to gain some cohesion and momentum.
Here are the top takeaways from the Iowa Hawkeyes’ successful foreign tour.
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Payton Sandfort looks ready to make a difference
We don’t want to overvalue these foreign games, but boy Payton Sandfort looked good. Sandfort was the leading scorer in all three games, his high of 22 points coming against the Paris All-Stars in the opener. He shot at least 40% from deep in all three contests, which is great to see. The junior has such great potential as a scorer, but just couldn’t find his consistent rhythm last year.
Something to pay attention to is his work on the glass. Sandfort finished with 14 boards against the Barcelona All-Stars. He’s going to need to rebound if coach Fran McCaffery does put him at the four at all this season.
They can shoot!
I’m a much happier writer when the Hawkeyes can make their 3s, and they did just that this road trip. They made 13 3s in all three games.
Watch out for Josh Dix
Josh Dix is a sophomore flying a bit under the radar, but start taking note of him now. Dix was one of Iowa’s steadiest shooters on the trip, and he figures to be one of their best on-ball defenders. He would be a great 3-and-D addition to the lineup.
Owen Freeman a starter?
Owen Freeman has rapidly ascended the ranks for the Hawkeyes. A true freshman, Freeman has been the breakout star of the Iowa foreign trip. The big man has been a beast on the boards with 15 and 16 rebounds against the Paris and Valencia All-Stars, respectively.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein gave praise to his performance over the weekend.
Always take stats from foreign tours with a grain of salt, but this stands out: Iowa freshman Owen Freeman tallied another double-double — 12 and 11 — overseas.
Well embedded moles in Iowa City believe he's a potential starter in 2023-24.
This is ONLY August.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 14, 2023
Dasonte Bowen progressing nicely
Coinciding with McCaffery’s talk of possibly playing Payton Sandfort at the four is the emergence of Dasonte Bowen. The sophomore guard did not play much last year, but he still impressed his coach behind the scenes at practice.
Bowen started at guard next to senior Tony Perkins on the tour and impressed greatly. He tied Sandfort and Ben Krikke for a team-leading 16 points against the Barcelona All-Stars. His coach once again singled out his performance.
Fran McCaffery: "(Owen) Freeman again with a great game. I thought Tony Perkins and Dasonte Bowen were excellent tonight."
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) August 14, 2023
Iowa may employ a true rotation
The biggest takeaway from this European trip should be just how deep the Hawkeyes’ roster looks. Too often last year it felt like just the Kris Murray show with the youthful depth figuring things out on the fly. Now, it looks as though those growing pains have aided in their development. This team has a bunch of young, hungry players looking to make a difference on this squad.
Just looking at the team ahead of the season, there are so many different ways they can assemble a lineup. There will be lineups where there are multiple guards on the court, and Iowa is looking to beat teams with speed and shooting. The emergence of Owen Freeman though could mean Iowa could throw in some traditional, two-big man lineups as well. There are exciting things happening in Iowa City.
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