IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ben McCollum grew up a fan of the Iowa men’s basketball team. Now, he’s coaching the Hawkeyes.
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McCollum was introduced as Iowa’s new head coach on Tuesday, a day after his hiring was announced by the university. The Iowa native, born in Iowa City and raised in Storm Lake, replaces Fran McCaffery, the program’s all-time winningest coach fired at the end of the regular season after missing the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year.
McCollum says his goal is to produce players who compete like the late Chris Street.
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McCollum will have to rebuild a roster that became mostly empty after McCaffery’s firing. Seven players are in the NCAA’s transfer portal, including leading scorer and rebounder Owen Freeman and guard Josh Dix, who was third on the team in scoring. McCollum said he would try to lure as many of those players back as possible.