Iowa men's basketball signing day: Fran McCaffery brings in versatile three-player class

Several circumstances worked in Fran McCaffery’s favor during the college basketball recruiting cycle. The Hawkeyes won 26 games and a Big Ten Conference tournament championship in March, then saw Keegan Murray land with the Sacramento Kings with the No. 4 overall pick in the NBA Draft. McCaffery’s ability to develop players into pros has played out in the recent cases of Murray, Tyler Cook, Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp.

With that backdrop, McCaffery was set to sign a solid three-player Class of 2023 on Wednesday with one more addition possibly on the way and the potential for transfer-portal targets come spring.

Pryce Sandfort, a 6-foot-7 wing player from Waukee Northwest High School, is the headliner. Just because his brother, Payton, is a starting sophomore for the Hawkeyes didn’t mean the four-star prospect by Rivals and 247Sports and a top-100 national player would automatically follow suit. With junior Kris Murray expected to head to the NBA after this season, the Hawkeyes will be glad to welcome more length and outside-shooting ability.

Owen Freeman, a 6-10 power forward, gives Iowa much-needed inside girth. Freeman gave Iowa a bit of a surprise commitment in October of 2021, choosing the Hawkeyes over offers from Illinois, Indiana and Purdue. The Hawkeyes will lose center Filip Rebraca after this season, and Freeman may have a chance for immediate playing time. Current big men Josh Ogundele (junior) and Riley Mulvey (sophomore) have yet to show they can be impact players for the Hawkeyes. McCaffery will likely need to grab a center from the transfer portal for his 2023-24 squad.

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Brock Harding, a 6-foot guard out of Moline, is the most intriguing prospect of the three, with high upside. At a slight 155 pounds, Harding’s profile would classify as under-the-radar. But watch him on film, and he’s an electric ball-handler and scorer. He and Freeman have played together for years on the AAU circuit, and now Freeman has transferred to Moline High School to play alongside Harding for their senior years. That connection can’t be underestimated as they look to carry that over to the college level. This could very well be a classic case of McCaffery pouncing on a prospect early before his national profile blows up. Harding was named the MVP of a NY2LA summer tournament after leading his team to an under-17 national championship.

McCaffery said during a recent news conference that he was looking to add another prospect to this class, and the top target, according to Tom Kakert of HawkeyeReport.com, is big man Ladji Dembele of Newark, New Jersey. Dembele (6-8, 230) visited Iowa City during the Iowa-Northwestern football weekend. He’s a so-called “late bloomer” and has Iowa, Rutgers and Wake Forest high on his list. As is the new world in recruiting, NIL money could become a deciding factor here, and McCaffery has been steadfast in saying he wouldn’t go along with giving more money to an incoming prospect than he would for a currently rostered player.

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Also down the road, Iowa has another power forward coming in with Class of 2024 commitment Cooper Koch, the 6-foot-8 son of former Hawkeye J.R. Koch. Cooper is a four-star, top-100 player from Peoria who was pursued by Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and more. Koch could certainly grow more, but he’ll be a stretch-four for the Hawkeyes in the not-too-distant future. His commitment in June coincided with Keegan Murray’s soaring draft-stock.

Here's what Fran McCaffery had to say about each signed player.

On Freeman: “We are excited that Owen is joining our program. He is athletic. He’s tough. He’s skilled. Owen is someone we need to come in and help us right away and I know he can."

On Harding: “Brock is a do-everything guard. He can shoot 3s. He can shoot pull-ups. He’s quick and is a phenomenal passer. He’s all over the place always making the right decision. I’m excited to watch (he and Freeman) play together this year for Moline.”

On Sandfort: “Pryce had a phenomenal junior year and summer. He’s a great shooter and he can really see the floor. Pryce gets by you and creates in the lane, but he’s also a good defender. He’s another versatile guy who can play pretty much 1-4 defensively.”