Iowa Hawkeyes 2023-24 Snapshot Profile: Payton Sandfort
If there is a returning player who you should really feel excited about on this Hawkeyes team, it’s Payton Sandfort.
The 6-foot-7 guard and forward was a player projected by many to become a breakout star last year. The sophomore breakout, unfortunately, didn’t really come.
Sandfort wasn’t a bad player by any means, but he didn’t necessarily carve out a starting role. He improved, but wasn’t a consistent game-changer quite yet.
I think the disappointment around Sandfort not really becoming the guy last year has unfairly dampened the excitement he deserves. He wasn’t bad at all last year, winning the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year Award. He doubled his points total from his freshman year as well. There were some great flashes, and funnily enough, his best moments came in conference play where he shot a cool 39% from 3-point distance.
The Waukee, Iowa, native really started to come into his own down the stretch last year, registering big performance after big performance. He scored 22 points in that crazy win over Michigan State, followed up by 16 points against Indiana.
He made over five threes in both contests. In the NCAA Tournament game against Auburn, Sandfort actually led the Hawkeyes in scoring off the bench with 21 points. This was despite a bit of an off-shooting night from deep.
With two years of Big Ten experience under his belt, Sandfort knows the things he needs to improve on. We want to see a bit more consistency on offense and a bit less streakiness from deep.
Given what he showed last year, Sandfort has a big opportunity to make his presence known to the college basketball world nationally this season.
Payton Sandfort’s Player Profile
Hometown: Waukee, Iowa
Ht: 6-7
Wt: 215
Class in 2023: Jr.
Recruiting
Stars | Overall | State | Position | |
247 | 3 | 148 | 3 | 28 |
Rivals | 3 | N/A | N/A | 29 |
ESPN | 3 | N/A | 2 | 33 |
On3 Recruiting | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
247 Composite | 3 | 178 | 3 | 36 |
Before Iowa
Iowa Basketball Coaches Association 4A Player of the Year as a senior
McDonald’s All-American nominee in 2021
Career Stats
Season | School | Conf | Class | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FR | 34 | 0 | 357 | 61 | 146 | .418 | 27 | 53 | .509 | 34 | 93 | .366 | 15 | 16 | .938 | 24 | 41 | 65 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 29 | 171 | |||
SO | 33 | 7 | 685 | 115 | 285 | .404 | 56 | 113 | .496 | 59 | 172 | .343 | 51 | 59 | .864 | 36 | 98 | 134 | 48 | 19 | 7 | 22 | 62 | 340 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Depth Chart Overview
This should be the season where Payton Sandfort finally starts, but at what position? He’s really a player who can fill in at multiple spots on the team, from being a big shooting guard to a bit of a smaller floor-spacer at the four. We saw that idea toyed with over the European tour. Wherever it is on the court, look for Sandfort to make a big impact for the Hawkeyes.
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