Ben McCollum Faces Increased Challenges as Top Iowa Recruit Decommits
Ben McCollum’s job has become even more difficult as another player has decommitted from the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Following the firing of Fran McCaffery, McCollum has taken over as the new head coach of the Iowa basketball program. However, he now faces a tough task in building a competitive roster for the 2025-26 season.
In addition to losing eight players to the transfer portal, several recruits have also backed out of their commitments, with four-star forward Badara Diakite being the most recent. Diakite’s decommitment makes him the third player to withdraw from Iowa, joining Joshua Lewis and Dezmon Briscoe, all since McCaffery’s departure.
This leaves McCollum with no commits for next season, putting the former Drake Bulldogs coach in a challenging position.
Diakite, ranked 122nd in his class and the third-best player from Connecticut, was a highly anticipated recruit due to his ability to stretch the floor and play multiple positions. Now, Iowa must turn its attention elsewhere to fill the gap.
On the bright side, McCollum has a proven track record of identifying strong talent. He has already added former Drake guard Bennett Stirtz, who chose to follow McCollum to Iowa City.
Still, McCollum faces a tough offseason ahead, as he must rebuild the roster after the mass departures. Iowa finished with a 17-16 record and 7-13 in Big Ten play this past year.
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