Iowa Hawkeyes earn 247Sports crystal ball prediction to land Valparaiso transfer Ben Krikke
Thanks to roster turnover, Iowa is busy this offseason working to reshape its complexion.
Both Filip Rebraca and Connor McCaffery exhausted their collegiate eligibility. Then, Kris Murray’s decision to declare for the 2023 NBA draft along with the transfer portal moves of guard Ahron Ulis and center Josh Ogundele means there’s suddenly room on the roster for transfer portal additions.
Iowa finished 19-14 (11-9 Big Ten), which was good for a fifth-place Big Ten finish and earned the Hawkeyes an appearance in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. Still, given that the Hawkeyes are set to replace their two best statistical performers in Murray and Rebraca, there’s some serious retooling to be done.
Murray averaged 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds to collect consensus All-American honors, while Rebraca just continued to improve and finished with season averages of 14.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
As is the case every offseason these days, there’s plenty of movement to and plenty of talent within the NCAA transfer portal.
Hawkeye Insider‘s Sean Bock has one name pinpointed that Iowa fans might need to quickly familiarize themselves with: former Valparaiso forward Ben Krikke.
The 6-foot-9, 220 pound forward entered the transfer portal on March 24. Bock issued a 247Sports crystal ball prediction on Easter Sunday for the Hawkeyes to land the former Valpo big.
Krikke was terrific on a Valparaiso team that finished the 2022-23 men’s college basketball season 11-21 (5-15 MVC). The Edmonton, Alta., native averaged a career best 19.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
For his efforts, he was a first-team All-MVC selection. His 19.4 points per game average led the MVC and he actually averaged 21.0 points per game in conference play.
Krikke finished with double-figure scoring in 30 of Val’s 32 games, including 15 contests where he eclipsed 20 points and three where he topped 30 points. He also had a pair of double-doubles against Toledo on Nov. 7 and against UIC on Feb. 19.
If this 247Sports crystal ball prediction comes to fruition, Krikke adds automatic plug-and-play ability in the post for the Hawkeyes.
Here’s a look at some of Krikke’s 2022-23 highlights courtesy of College Basketball Scouting on YouTube. Plus, a detailed look at Krikke’s recruiting bio below.
Career statistics
Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Season | School | Conf | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | FT% | TRB | AST | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
33 | 1 | 15.7 | 2.5 | 4.5 | .550 | .792 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 6.7 | |||
28 | 28 | 28.3 | 5.0 | 9.6 | .519 | .797 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 12.3 | |||
29 | 29 | 29.3 | 5.7 | 10.6 | .539 | .843 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 14.2 | |||
32 | 32 | 35.7 | 7.6 | 13.8 | .552 | .796 | 5.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 19.4 |
Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 4/9/2023.
All-MVC
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
2022-23 All-MVC first-team selection
2021-22 All-MVC third-team selection
2020-21 All-MVC third-team selection
Vitals
Bryon Houlgrave/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
Hometown | Edmonton, Alta. |
Projected Position | F |
Height | 6-9 |
Weight | 220 |
Class | Fifth-year |
https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLMn_auvL1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
How Krikke would fit in
MaCabe Brown / Courier & Press / USA TODAY NETWORK
If he picks Iowa, Krikke would be a natural replacement for Rebraca and could slide right into Iowa’s rotation and play significant minutes in the post.
A lefty, Krikke is comfortable finishing anywhere inside the painted area with great touch. Really, he looks like your throwback big. Krikke wins the battle for post positioning and then lets that soft touch off the left hand take over inside the painted area. He can step out beyond the block and hit pull-up jumpers from 18 feet pretty comfortably and work the turnaround game, too.
For an Iowa team that will be looking for an immediate post scorer to replace Rebraca, Krikke would bring that established scoring pedigree to the Hawkeyes. He topped 20 points in essentially half of Valpo’s games last season and finished in double-figure scoring in 30 of the Beacon’s 32 games. Krikke led the MVC in scoring and was a first-team All-MVC selection.
With Krikke on board, Iowa would have two scholarships remaining to fill in order to reach the 13 scholarship allotment. A big that can stretch the floor and shoot would be a natural complement to what Krikke would add for the Hawks.
Who all signed with the Iowa Hawkeyes?
Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Four-star SF per 247Sports: Pryce Sandfort. 6-foot-7, 190 pound. No. 80 player nationally, No. 19 SF, No. 2 player in Iowa
Three-star PF per On3: Ladji Dembele. 6-foot-8, 230 pound. No. 131 player nationally, No. 29 PF, No. 6 player from New Jersey.
Three-star PF per 247Sports: Owen Freeman. 6-foot-10, 220 pound. No. 174 player nationally, No. 36 PF, No. 5 player from Illinois.
Four-star PG per On3: Brock Harding. 6-foot, 155 pound. No. 115 player nationally, No. 17 PG, No. 4 player from Illinois.
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