Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - PORTAL POWER? Hawkeye Hoops Targets, Ben McCollum NEW Contract in the Works —Transfer Buzz

Starting point is 00:00:00 As the transfer portal opens in basketball, the Iowa Hawkeyes have some ammunition. Athletic Director Beth Gets working on a new contract for Ben McCollum fresh off in Elite 8. It's a great time to be a Hawkeye. You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes. your first listen every day on your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:38 We've got a little softball and baseball to update you. Spring games have certainly gone to the back burner with this run during the NCAA basketball tournament. We'll talk about that a little bit later on, get you up to date and what's happening out on the diamonds in both of those sports. Going to be joined a little bit later on as well by John Bowencamp from the Associated Press of the Hawkeye writer on the AP beat. We'll get his perspective on Iowa Spring football and talk some basketball as well with John Bowen. camp. But we begin today with a news type item and of course the transfer portal being open. And as it officially came open on Tuesday, the onslaught of names that are in there and a lot of speculation over the direction that I was going to go. Iowa, as we've talked about and we'll

Starting point is 00:01:20 continue to talk about until the spots are filled out there looking for a true center, a rim protector, a big guy in a middle. And then a point guard, a facilitator, a lead guard. And had somebody in the comments, in fact, on YouTube, asked the question, what is that the difference between a point guard and a lead guard. It's a term that's been used more and more recently. What do you think of point guard? I think you think more traditional, right? The guy that sets up the offense, he is the guy that is going to be your facilitator, get guys in the right spot, those kind of things in comparison to what I consider at least a lead guard, a little bit more of a scoring mentality, a guy that is going to be more aggressive and not just going out there

Starting point is 00:01:59 and looking for assists and taking an open shot if it's there, but a guy that is going to have the ball in his hands a ton. And obviously, after what we saw this season with Ben McCollum and his usage of Bennett Sturts, I think that makes a little bit more sense and maybe can show you the difference between your traditional point guard, but what you have with the lead guard in that position. Again, we're talking semantics here, but you're looking for a guy that can do a lot,

Starting point is 00:02:21 and they put a lot on the shoulders. Ben McCollum has dating back to his days at Northwest Missouri State, that lead guard, point guard, whatever term and phrasing you want to use, a lot is going to be on their plate. I want to talk about a couple of names that have been bandied about here in the portal at that point guard position. The first is certainly at the top of my wish list, but I don't think I'm alone. And that is Isaiah Johnson, the freshman guard out of Colorado. Had a tremendous year this year, a guy that we've talked about.

Starting point is 00:02:49 I know there's been at minimum some interest dating back and knowing that potentially he was going to be a guy that entered the portal. One thing that I think is of note, though, is I was in really good shape with a bunch of. bunch of point cards for the class of 2027. And because of that, if they're going to be looking more, I don't want to call it a stopgap, because I don't think that's the right phrasing for it, but maybe a guy with a year or two of eligibility, not more of a long-term plan at that position, just because they feel like they're in really good shape to get one of the elite point guards in the high school class coming up in something they want to do. And three years of eligibility for Johnson. Now, his services are going to be difficult. He's an LA kid, went to Colorado for his

Starting point is 00:03:31 freshman year, USC, UCLA, you anticipate, those are going to be programs that are going to be involved. And he is going to be a guy that's going to command a lot, I believe, in the transfer portal. Another name that has got a lot of steam is out of Butler, Finley B-Jacques. And Bisjack is a guy that you look at the numbers, works very well. There's a couple of things that stand out and a couple of questions that I have. And when I look at the defensive metrics, one thing that pops out, he's not a good defender. And as we saw this season, with Brendan Hosson. If you can't play defense, you are not going to play for Ben McCollum.

Starting point is 00:04:05 And just looking at those numbers, they are plus minus numbers and the defensive box score, things like that, defensive rating. You can find those over at sports reference. And I know they don't paint the whole picture, but they do not paint the picture of a very good defender. Offensively, really, really skilled. But that was one that certainly opened my eyes when I was going through some of the numbers and not sure if the fit there on the defensive end of the floor is going to work out.

Starting point is 00:04:31 exactly with what Ben McCullum is looking at. I'm sure we're going to hear some more names coming up here, potential visits that are going to be coming up, maybe as quickly as this weekend. This thing moves fast in the transfer portal. Our friend Tom Kaker, he always mentions, it's like speed dating, if you will. Yesterday we talked about Ben McCollum

Starting point is 00:04:50 and the opportunity for him to interview for the North Carolina job. Well, the guy that had the story from CBSports.com was Matt Norlander. had an opportunity to talk with Matt Norlander earlier today about the situation, his perspective and the news that he got of Ben McCullum saying no to the opportunity to interview with North Carolina. Here's a piece from earlier today. Yeah, no.

Starting point is 00:05:15 The two sides had made contact last week, but, you know, every search is a little bit different but in some ways they're very much the same. And there are different stages of contact that can get made in between sometimes is it a coach talking to an athletic. director as a search firm talking to an agent, as an agent talking to athletic director. Like some of that stuff sometimes is almost intentionally kept at bay and more limited before things get serious.

Starting point is 00:05:39 But they did have contact, and at least the contact that they had that I was told by two sources was significant enough that North Carolina wanted to meet in person to formally interview Ben McCollum and see if he was going to be the one that they could convince him and take that job in Chapel Hill. I'm not saying that he was the next choice in line and the number of, one after the likes of TJ and Tommy Lloyd and Dusty may remove themselves from that conversation, but he was firmly in mixed, had a real chance.

Starting point is 00:06:06 I think Scott Drew also at Baylor. He had contact with him. I don't think he was ever really seriously ever considering going. He turned up Kentucky two years ago as well. But the point is McCollum did not opt to pursue that. He could have easily opted to pursue it and just said, let me interview in person and let's see what they've got and see if I like it enough. he chose not to do that for any number of reasons that he may or may not share publicly

Starting point is 00:06:33 at some point here in the near or maybe not so near future and as a result he stays with Iowa and gets to build on a really, really nice year one but I'm inclined to believe, you know, there's no guarantee he'll get to a second straight lead eight, although he's been off in the tournament. I'm inclined to believe that year one will be a nice start and year two will be even better. I will genuinely be surprised if he does not have a team that is he did better in 27 than it was in 26. You're very bullish, it sounds like, on McCollum, being around basketball people, the run to the lead aid. What do people say about him inside the college basketball community? He was known at Northwest Missouri State.

Starting point is 00:07:12 We heard about him for years, obviously here. What do people say about Ben McCollum and what he could potentially build in Iowa City? McCollum has a reputation of being extremely smart as a tactician. He's also got a reputation of being extremely confident in that. Some consider him extremely arrogant. I don't find that to be a representation of how I've had interactions with him. But there's nothing wrong with that. Like he's a ridiculous competitor.

Starting point is 00:07:38 He even had a few, I know he had a few viral moments over the course of the postseason with how he was interacting with his team. but can't have the results man and uh whipsmart coach and he i will tell you this like kind of big picture overall he has as a result of what he did this year and then a drake and obviously the d2 stuff he has already put himself in the conversation among the 20 best coaches in d1 which is very hard to do like dusty may as a function of winning the national championship is now, it would now be considered and rightfully so, like one of the 10 best coaches in college basketball. Just to give you an idea of like, of, of, how crowded that

Starting point is 00:08:23 list is overall. But yeah, McCollum's absolutely up there and his stock and reputation continue to rise. And, and now we see without Ben, asserts what he can do. Portals officially open. Actually, I got a text. I think we are at 1,600 players in the portal now. And so we'll see what, we'll see what comes to that. So that was Ben, excuse me, Matt Norlander earlier today talking about Ben McCollum on my radio show. It's Miller & & & Condon on the Iowa Sports Radio Network. We have stations across the state, our flagship in Des Moines on KX&O, along with stations in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities and Sioux City. You can hear me each weekday from noon to two.

Starting point is 00:09:00 Good to get that national perspective, though, certainly on Ben McCollum. Speaking of the radio station, I work at KX&O, earlier on Tuesday, our afternoon show with Sean Roberts. and Lucas Stray. They had an opportunity to talk with Ben McCollum, his first interview engaged that he, engagement that he had since the run to the elite aid. And some good things in there. Of course, they asked him about the UNC job. He quickly danced around that one as you can anticipate. He talked about the NIL situation at Iowa and talking about how it's going to be better this year than it was a season ago. Talked a little bit about Jaden Coon and talking about his freaky athleticism and what he's going to be able to provide. and certainly a lot of excitement about the incoming freshmen.

Starting point is 00:09:41 So a lot of good stuff there. You can find the podcast. It is off the bench with Sean and Lucas where you can find that and get a deep dive with Ben McCollum and dive in over there to that one. Speaking of Coach McCullen, we have Beth Gets. And she had some talk. I saw Tyler Tashman and a few others had stories after her comments that they're working on a contract extension.

Starting point is 00:10:02 Now, this has been something that's been bandied about for the last couple of weeks. No surprise. Certainly on that front, it's going to be a race. for him. It's going to be an extension of the contract and give the man what he wants. One thing that I thought interesting, though, coming from Beth Gets, is she mentioned that the investment that we're seeing. Yes, the financial investment that is coming in, as Tyler Tashman put it from the Des Moines Register. Gett said that Iowa saw some significant levels of support and commitments from a philanthropic standpoint, specifically for men's basketball

Starting point is 00:10:32 during the programs run to the elite eight. So that says a lot, no surprise there. I was going to have ammunition in the transfer portal. And again, more names are going to continue to emerge on that front. Let's talk some more Hawkeye basketball football as well as spring football. Yeah, it's happening, hard to believe with this basketball story and what it continues. And now with the portal being open. But we'll talk about that coming up next with John Bowen camp from the Associated Press. He is the Hawkeye beat writer for the AP.

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Starting point is 00:11:55 Robin Hood derivatives LLC, a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. Trent, kind of back with you once again here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes, your first listen every day on your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. Now, let's hear from John Bowencamp with the Associated Press. John Bowencamp right now, John Trenton, Ken, thank you for coming on as you look back on the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Thumbs up from you. Did you enjoy it, John?

Starting point is 00:12:29 Was there something lacking? How did you enjoy the last couple of weeks? No, I enjoyed it. I thought it was a great tournament. I mean, you always kind of want to see a mid-major, you know, kind of go. But those days, I think, are long gone. But I enjoyed it. I thought there were a lot of great games.

Starting point is 00:12:46 I thought a great championship game. That Michigan team was pretty loaded. That Yukon team was pretty loaded. So it was very entertained. And I enjoyed it and I always hate to see it in. Right there with you. And a long, long way before we get back to college basketball season, 150 days, I think, to the home opener at Kinnick Stadium and a little bit longer before we get up.

Starting point is 00:13:07 No, no. No, no. No, no. No, no. Okay. We'll shut that down. Well, the narrative is dead for the Big Ten, no national championship since the year 2000. Big Ten perspective, you got Michigan there.

Starting point is 00:13:20 We've seen a bunch of teams that have got to the doorstep and got to the national championship game, finally being able to break through here. What does it say to you is we have now champions in football, women's basketball, men's basketball, three straight in football now, what the Big Ten has morphed into here recently at the highest of levels? Everybody's got money. And I mean, that's, I mean, that's the difference. I mean, you think back to the days when I'm sure there were probably a lot of things under the table down south. Now everybody can do it.

Starting point is 00:13:49 And you're seeing this with the Big Ten, with all these schools. They all have money. They can all go get players. And you've got really good coaches they brought in. And I think sometimes that gets overlooked. You look at football. Kurt Signetti, what he's done and what a really good coach is. Look at what Dusty May has done.

Starting point is 00:14:06 And then you brought in the West Coast schools. And now you've got all this money. coming into all these. So it's just this perfect storm of everything coming together at the right time. And I think that's, that's the difference right now. And there's people, you know, athletes want to go to these schools and play. They want to, you know, there are ones that they look at Indiana. Hey, I want, you know, I want to play there for football. You know, you're starting to see people,

Starting point is 00:14:31 you know, gravitate towards these schools. And I think, I think what's happening right now is going to continue for a while. No, I agree with you. You know, Trent brought this up. and he wasn't buying this argument about Michigan, one of the best teams of all time, maybe if not the best. I'm wondering if they're anointing the wrong college basketball championship is one of the best.

Starting point is 00:14:52 When I see this UCLA team, the way that they're just kicking the Ever-Liven, you know what. Other teams, right? And I know Pat Summitt had some absolute juggernauts down there. And Gino's had team after team after team. But this group of UCLA Bruins, they could play a whole lot of basketball, John.

Starting point is 00:15:07 They're really good. you look at what they did to the second place team in the Big Ten twice. You know, and I mean, so the distance between first and second in that league was a canyon, you know, when you think about it. And then you look at what they did when they got in the tournament. You look at what they did when they got the final four against teams that were comparable to them and talent and coaching and that sort of thing. And, I mean, that was that that was a loaded team that really. The other thing is, too, they had really good chemistry, which I think sometimes people overlook. You know, and you could kind of tell that in their social media presence and all that,

Starting point is 00:15:46 when you have talent and you've got chemistry and you've got really good coach, and that's a dangerous combination. And they showed that over the weekend. From an Iowa perspective, a run to the elite eight for the first time since, you were in college or just done with college John back in 1980s? I was a junior. You're a junior then. So I was there for all that, yeah.

Starting point is 00:16:05 Just a little bit back. And as they fall to UNLV. Seattle and the elite eight with a 16 point half time lead, but they get back there. Expectations now are changing for this basketball program. And I think you're seeing the growth and obviously the potential of what this program can be. Ben McCollum saying no thanks to an opportunity to interview for the North Carolina job. When you look forward and getting to know Ben McCollum this season as you have, John, the excitement level certainly feels like it's through the roof, but there's work to be done in the portal now.

Starting point is 00:16:33 Sure. I mean, you've got to go find a point guard. You've got to go find a big and everybody's still looking for a ball. going guard to big. So you've got to come up with some money. This run, I think, says to donors, he knows what he's doing. So let's give him his mouth. And so I do think that that is going to be the key. I mean, they don't have a couple of spots, though, but you know that those are the two spots. Okay, now who are they going to get and what kind of resources are going to have to get these players? That to me is the biggest thing. But I also think, too, the guys coming back, you're going to see a lot of

Starting point is 00:17:05 young guys that are going to take a big step. And I mean, you're going to see Tate Sage take a big step. Cooper Cotch had a great season. What kind of season can he have next year? You know, what kind of season can Trevind Jurek have now after a year of being in the program and now knowing what he has to do as a big man in the league? So there's going to be a lot of addition, but it's not going to come necessarily from new players.

Starting point is 00:17:29 It's going to be the addition of how much better these guys get from this year to next year. And I think that's going to be something to really watch this summer when we get a chance to see him practice a few times is what kind of steps these guys are going to take. Yep, no doubt. Roster will be replenished, et cetera. We'll see where it goes. We'll see if we'll see for Lageras, who apparently, some of the stuff you read, he's getting some significant offers from Biggie schools and understandably so. He looked good in one shining moment last night, and the ball went in again, and Florida got sent home one more time when it did go through the bottom of the net. I want to go to football.

Starting point is 00:18:05 Obviously, Ferrence met the media last week. I know it's almost a week old now, but just a takeaway or two from listening to Kirk Farrants, who pushed back his media availability due to the run of the IW women in the tournament. It was really interesting. I did a radio show with somebody in Nebraska, actually. And they were talking about spring football, and I'm like, everybody, nobody's talking about spring football right now.

Starting point is 00:18:28 Everybody's talking about basketball. You know, everybody was talking about, you know, what happened to the women's team and how far the men's team is going to go and that sort of thing. And everybody's kind of forgotten this about spring pool, but I think it's a big spring for that. And I mean, in terms of, you know,

Starting point is 00:18:41 finding a quarterback. And I, you know, I know that's probably a competition that goes into August, but I think he wants to have kind of an idea on where they're at at the end of the spring. You know, and then you've got other positions, you've got the offensive line,

Starting point is 00:18:54 you've got the defensive line. And so this is a really important spring. And it's just, everything's kind of been under the radar right now. And it's going to be that way even this week. I mean, I know, we'll get another availability with them.

Starting point is 00:19:04 And eventually we'll get to talk to the quarterbacks and coordinators, but everybody's looking at the transfer portal. What's the men, once men's basketball, what's women's basketball get to? So right now it's just kind of under the radar, but it is a very crucial spring for them in terms of getting set up for where they want to be in August.

Starting point is 00:19:23 This is a team that has been built for the better part of the last 27 years on the defense. We've seen moments of good offense, but for the most part, it is about that defense. And when you lose all your starters up front on a defensive line, a guy that was an anticipated starter and Brian Allen who departs for Vanderbilt, it's going to be a lot of new faces out there. And this is something that's been a rarity on that defensive line. At minimum, these guys have had a few reps.

Starting point is 00:19:48 And there's a couple of guys that got reps, but there's going to be different up front. And Kelvin Bell, he's got a lot of work in front of him because without a good defensive line, but we haven't seen that for Iowa going back probably 20 years. I think that old five line that had two freshmen up. there that turned into good players with Mitch King and Matt Crowell. They struggled in that first season, but we're going back over 20 years the last time. They've had to kind of this many question marks, I think, at D-Line.

Starting point is 00:20:10 And that's why I think this spring is so important because I think you want to, you want to have a pretty good idea when you're out. Because I know they've always had, they've always liked to have a defensive line, but they've always liked to have depth there and keep rotating guys in and out. That's going to be the biggest key in my mind is, can you do that? You know, are you going to have enough guys to rotate in and out? and how are you going to develop them? And so I think that's what spring is so important,

Starting point is 00:20:34 is getting to know these guys and getting to know what they could do. So when you get into August, you're still not scrambling to find that rotation. And again, quarterback's a big thing. Defensive line's a big thing. Offensive line is a big thing. No doubt about it. John Bowen Camp joining us, John, the obligatory question when it comes to baseball. What have you seen so far 10 games into the season?

Starting point is 00:20:57 I'm really disappointed they've lost twice. I figured they'd be 10 and 0. But again, we talked about college basketball, I wanted to get talked over. I want to get talked over for a lot of things. So they've played well so far, and it's been fun to watch. So it's a long way to go.

Starting point is 00:21:13 Long way to go. Yes. They'll be fine. They'll coast to do it with 110. Even though they've lost twice already. They've lost twice. I know. For his Dodgers.

Starting point is 00:21:20 Yeah. John, I did have a question on the women's front. And I wanted to get your perspective because you are very measured, very thoughtful about everything, certainly as it pertains to basketball writing. And I knew there was going to be some blowback when Addie Deal announced her departure from the program. He got four departing seniors.

Starting point is 00:21:41 But a lot of these players in the portal, they weren't playing. They weren't going to play. But the amount of angst that is out there, the amount of anger, the amount of negative comments that I see on social media and on my podcast from people just going after Jan Jensen, I understand that lost to Virginia stunk. And end game situation was not good.

Starting point is 00:22:00 This team overachieved, I think, for the second consecutive year, yet there's Iowa women's basketball fans out there that want to run Jan Jetson out on a line. I just, I struggle to wrap my mind around it. It's been tough because I, she's had the kind of bridge that, you know, you know, trying to mix the past with, you know, with what they did, you know, in the Caitlin years. And you still had some of those players left. And then you're mixing in new players. And I think, you know, there's been kind of a,

Starting point is 00:22:27 a contrast there and it's just been kind of a, hasn't quite figured out. Now this is her team. You know, when you think about it, whoever's coming in in the portal and whoever's left, these are the players that came in when she started. And so now it's going to, now we're going to kind of

Starting point is 00:22:42 I think see where this program is going to go. I do think that the biggest thing was the fact that they lost at home in that second round game and darn near lost that first draft game. And I mean, that was really close. And I think those two games and you combine that with what happened in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game, I think

Starting point is 00:23:01 really upset a lot of people in this fan base. She can rebuild, she can change that by having a good off-season and having a good portal run. And I'll be interested to see who she gives. She needs to get some productive players. You know, you need to get, you need to get, you know, so you've got a really good foundation coming back. You know what you've got. You've got that, you know, All-American and Abe Biden and all that. Now go get some players. that maybe aren't five-star recruits, but you know what? They're really good basketball players and get some older players too and have a lot of experience when you go back out on the court next October.

Starting point is 00:23:38 And I think we'll see, we're going to know more about Jan Jensen, I think even more next year when she's got an entire team that is hers, that is one she is put together. John Bowen Camp Associated Press, Iowa College Hoops.com. John, thanks for jumping on. Appreciate it. Talk to you in the week said. See you, buddy.

Starting point is 00:23:55 Appreciate it. See you. Good to talk to John Bowen Camp as we check in on Iowa. Great stuff, as always from John. Appreciate his time and a breakdown of a little bit, everything happening in the world of the Hawkeyes. We continue here, Lockdown Hawkeyes, and a look at the Diamond, softball, baseball, an update,

Starting point is 00:24:12 something we haven't done. What's happening on the Diamonds when we come back. Stay right there. This is Locked on Hawkeyes. The NBA playoffs are here where every possession matters. Every matchup is magnified, and every game can swing a series. Right now, Fanduels giving new customers a great way to get in on the action.

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Starting point is 00:24:51 Use it throughout the playoffs, those bonus bets. And what you can do during the playoffs, that extra insight really matters, taking a look at the stars, the key moments, and love betting the besting the best. late-night games. It makes the entire playoff experience more engaging from start to finish when you're playing on a Fanduel. Head to fandual.com to get started today. Fandual, play your game. Once again, online, fandual.com. Trenkhanit back with you one final time, Lockdown, Hawkeyes. Thanks for being with us and making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. So an update on the diamond and a baseball and softball season that has been,

Starting point is 00:25:34 okay, but certainly probably not at the elite level that many people maybe were hoping for coming into the year, vying for an NCAA tournament bed for both these programs, going to be difficult. Now, the baseball team had a lot of losses off of last year's team, really rebuilding both their bullpen and their starting rotation this season. And after an okay start at the beginning of the year, had a good win against Houston, had opportunity against a top 10 ranked Oregon State team, lost that one by one. got off to a decent start in the Big Ten. Well, they ran into a buzzsaw a couple of weeks ago against UCLA,

Starting point is 00:26:09 but bounced back this week, got a series win against Minnesota at home, lost the Friday game, came back, you got the wins over the weekend against the gophers to take that series. We're supposed to play a game on Tuesday. That game was postponed with the weather against UW Milwaukee. Not a bad thing. Now what's on the road again is they'll be traveling out to L.A. After having UCLA come to town, saw how good the number one ranked team in the country was.

Starting point is 00:26:32 Well, here is a top 10 USC team. up next for the Hawkeye team. But this certainly shows just how different this new iteration of the Big Ten is and taking these powers from the West Coast and just how good these teams are. USC a team built with some elite level pitching. We're a 10th in the country in the latest coaches poll, 10th in the RPI. A series win could go a long way. And I was got opportunities in front of them.

Starting point is 00:26:56 The realistic goal is to make the Big Ten tournament. That's what you're shooting for. Certainly again this season, just to get back something that has been really a yearly process for what we've seen with Coach Heller and what he's been able to do. But very up and down, very inconsistent, certainly, and still searching for that pitching better over the weekend against Minnesota, but going up against another heavyweight here this season. And again, probably not going to be an NCAA tournament team unless something crazy happens

Starting point is 00:27:23 in the Big Ten tournament, as they said, five and seven currently in the Big Ten. That is their record in the Big Ten, 15 and 12 overall. What you're talking about Division I games and an RPI. at 85. Over on the softball side of things, it has been a slow start. A couple opportunities here lately. I had a lead against Oregon on the road last weekend. That's a top 25 Oregon team. Same thing also for the softball team earlier when they faced off against Washington the week before and had a lead in that one and let it slip away against another team that's ranked in the top 15 with the Huskies. Now, the schedule is going to ease up just a little bit more for them coming up this

Starting point is 00:28:00 week. They get a match up against Iowa State. That'll be on Wednesday over at Pearl. And then they welcome in Georgia Tech coming up this weekend. But the softball team currently sits outside of the Big Ten tournament standings right now with a 5 and 10 record. Six consecutive losses, 21 and 16 overall for them. But the opportunity is still in front of them mentioned Indiana, 7 and 5 in the league, a series that probably going to have to win that one, certainly to feel good about making the Big Ten tournament. They still have to go to Nebraska.

Starting point is 00:28:31 They finish up with Purdue, Nebraska, good every single year. That's going to be incredibly difficult. And then at the end against Purdue, who's in the middle of the pack, still going to be a long road just to get in to the Big Ten tournament with the new coaching staff and the turnover that we saw. Had a really nice team and had a couple of them here recently, but getting Iowa softball back to the level,

Starting point is 00:28:50 certainly that they were way back in the day, back in the 90s, when Gail Blevins was leading them to the World Series of softball, still a long ways to go to get back, certainly to those levels. But the good news, a lot of talent in the state. got to find them, got to get them to become Hawkeyes. Thanks for being with us to all the Hawkeyes out there right now, as always making Lockedon Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Also want to let you know, you can go ad free with our show every day with our

Starting point is 00:29:16 everydayer club, an opportunity for you to get Lockedon Hawkeyes, the show you listen to every day, but get it ad free. Plus, you can also get members-only Discord access. Just go to Lockdownhawkeyes. That's Lockdownhawkeyes.com. That's Lockdownhawkeyes. dot supercast.com and join the everydayer club here today. Thanks for being with this.

Starting point is 00:29:35 We'll talk to you again tomorrow. As always, go Hawks.

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