Watch: Luka Garza and Owen Freeman teaching the next generation
Iowa’s Owen Freeman helped out at the Luka Garza Academy skill camp on Thursday.
MOLINE, Ill. − All eyes will be on the Quad Cities when the Iowa men’s basketball team goes toe-to-toe against Washington State on Nov. 15.
It will be the Hawkeyes‘ first game at Vibrant Arena in 26 years. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said showcasing Iowa basketball in the Moline area was a priority.
“Coming to the Quad Cities made so much sense on a number of different levels,” McCaffery said during a press conference Friday. “This is a basketball area. The basketball tradition in the Quad Cities is incredibly impressive along with its association with University of Iowa, so it would only make sense that it would be here.”
For Brock Harding and Owen Freeman, it’s a homecoming-type feel. It’s about a 10-minute drive from Vibrant Arena to Moline High School, where Harding and Freeman played and won a state title in 2023.
“I just know that it kind of meant a lot to me, just knowing that the coaching staff and everybody at Iowa really wanted to bring this back,” said Harding, a former Illinois Mr. Basketball. “Some people don’t have the money to make it up to Iowa City … so being able to come back here and play in front of everybody in the hometown, it just really means a lot.”
The Hawkeyes are coming off a 19-15 season in which they made an appearance in the NIT Tournament. There is a sense of optimism heading into the 2024-25 season. The focus has been centered around improvements in the weight room, especially with a tougher Big Ten schedule this season.
“Everybody just wanted to really lock in the weight room,” Harding said. “I think everybody on the team (from) 1 to 16 has made big strides in the weight room. We really wanted to do that, especially getting into a bigger Big Ten season; we knew we had to be ready to play in quick games, quick turnarounds and we wanted to be ready to go for that.”
The expectations are clear-cut: Secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Freeman, the Big Ten co-Freshman of the Year last season, believes that goal starts in the offseason.
“Obviously the NIT is a great tournament and we’re proud to be a part of it, but we have our eyes set on making a deep run in March in the big tournament,” said Freeman, a former Illinois all-state selection. “For me personally, just stretching the floor, making those strides in the weight room … definitely expanding my game and just becoming more confident on that side.”
Last season, the Hawkeyes averaged 83.1 points per game, which was the third-highest scoring average in the McCaffery era. The head coach said depth is a positive factor heading into the new season.
“We have incredible depth. Of course we have three marquee guys (Freeman, Payton Sandfort, Josh Dix), that always helps, but we have depth at every position. That’s always going to manifest itself in a point in time,” McCaffery said. “I feel like we’ve put together a great blend of youth, experience, size, versatility, shooters, playmakers that really fit our style of play,”
Tickets for the Hawkeyes’ game against Washington State will go on sale on Thursday, Sept. 26 at noon.
Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
