By Robert Lastella
Every team needs a leader, both on and off the court. While success can fluctuate at times, what turns a good team into a great one is for that leadership to remain constant, no matter the outcome.
For Iowa, that leader is Bennett Stirtz, and for Ben McCollum, Stirtz has been the vessel that has led his successful teams over the last four seasons at three different universities. McCollum has watched Stirtz develop into a leader in his system, and now, in their fourth year together, there is a level of trust that has allowed Stirtz to execute the offense at a high level.
Friday evening's Round of 64 matchup against Clemson wasn’t the most efficient of performances for Stirtz, as he finished with 16 points on 4-for-17 shooting. Despite the shooting struggles at times, Stirtz remained confident, and that belief in himself was something that spread through to his teammates.
Scoring is never the first concern for Stirtz, who, at this point in his career and in the McCollum system, knows to find the best possible shot each possession, which sometimes is from him and other times is from his teammates.
“Just leaning on our teammates, all my teammates, and especially Kael Combs here. It's easy being on the court with him just because he gets everyone involved. If I can take a break, I can take a break when he's out there, and he's going,” Stirtz said.
While McCollum doesn’t necessarily agree with Stirtz “taking a break,” he knows that Stirtz has the knowledge to find a high-quality shot each time the Hawkeyes are on offense. That comes from Stirtz’s confidence, something that allows him to play freely on the court, whether his shots are falling or not.
Not only has McCollum watched as Stirtz has grown as a basketball player and leader, but he has also watched his confidence grow. Stirtz has now found success at three different levels of basketball, grinding his way up the ladder to be one of the most impactful guards in the country.
There was a point in time when Stirtz wasn’t as confident as he is today. McCollum, who at that time was the Head Coach of Northwest Missouri State, was there for that as well and watched him work past adversity, a trait he has carried into his game today.
“In his freshman year, I remember the first scrimmage we played a team called Wayne State out of Nebraska, and he was God-awful, and I mean awful. I remember sitting there thinking, he got done, he's like, Coach, do you even think I can play -- I don't think he asked me that, but gave me that look, “Do you think I can play at this level? I think I said, Yeah, you'll be fine”, McCollum said.
Bennett Stirtz became the engine for NW Missouri State under HC Ben McCollum.
Then, in the next game, we played a Division 1, and he had 25. The rest is history. Freshman year, he was great, sophomore year, he was second-team all conference, and last year, he was MVP of the league. I think the biggest thing you saw was him understanding how good he was. I think a lot of our players, we recruit to humility; we recruit guys who want to serve their teammates.
So naturally, sometimes their humility can be so strong that they don't understand how good they actually are. That was him. So you just had to bring out some of that, like, edge, and hey, you are this good to him, and that's what you see now.”
While Stirtz plays with an unselfish mindset, he is also tasked with being a relatively high-volume scorer. Stirtz has been able to find a healthy balance of being a facilitator of the offense, while also being someone who can get the Hawkeyes a bucket whenever they can.
Stirtz is in a do-it-all role for Iowa, scoring, assisting, while also being a de facto coach on the court for the Hawkeyes with his experience in the McCollum offense.
Tavion Banks is someone else who has seen Stirtz grow, teaming up with him at Drake a year ago, before transferring to Iowa together, along with other teammates, this past offseason. According to Banks, Stirtz knows nearly everything that is required of them in the McCollum offense and has no problem sharing that knowledge anyway he can.
“It helps us out tremendously. He knows everything that we need to do. He talks. He doesn't mind saying whatever he has on his mind. And that's what I like about him, because, like, if he's having a bad day, I would say something to him, so he does the really important things,” Banks said.
Stirtz has helped McCollum find success at three different stops and establish a system and culture that can be challenging to adopt. While Stirtz has been a big part of Iowa’s tournament run this season, he hasn’t been alone.
Stirtz was joined this offseason by Banks, Alvaro Folgueiras, Cam Manyawu, Isaia Howard, and Kael Combs from Drake, all of whom played a pivotal role in establishing the culture in year one.
Ben McCollum has found a lot of success during his coaching career, and at the root of that is the players. According to McCollum, over the years, his players have learned from each other, and his end goal is to have a system and culture that runs itself.
“I think having six guys that came with us from a program that won 31 games makes a big difference. They also learned from three others that I had coached for four, five, and one, actually six years, Mitch Mascari, Daniel Abreu, and Isaiah Jackson, who were with me at Drake. They helped teach these six, and now these six helped teach the next. And then eventually we'll get guys in the program for a consistent amount of time, and then it kind of runs itself,” McCollum said.
Iowa will put what they have built to the test against the defending national champions and Florida on Sunday in the Round of 32, as the Gators and Hawkeyes will do battle with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.