Isaia Howard never thought he’d play Big Ten basketball. Now he’s become one of Iowa’s key reserves.

IOWA CITY — Iowa head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum describes Isaia Howard as the type of player he wants his entire team to be.

Quite the compliment for a sophomore guard playing his first season of Big Ten basketball.

Howard has spent most of his life engulfed in family-first world, but it’s part of why he loves the sport. He had the chance to play another sport, competing in high school football as a safety and quarterback, but chose basketball.

He thought he was better suited for college hoops. So far, he’s proven that theory right.

“I didn't think I would end up here at all,” Howard told The Gazette. “That’s always the goal, to play at the biggest level you can.”

Howard’s ability to play off the bench has helped create a new element to Iowa’s on-court style. He’s become a crucial part of Iowa’s early rotation, usually taking to the court with road roommate Tate Sage after the starting five Hawkeyes play those opening minutes.

He might not score the most points every night, but the sophomore guard has gone from learning the game to gaining confidence every time he steps on the court.

“I think the biggest part is just being able to represent my family and my school,” Howard said. “Just having the motivation coming from a small school, not very many people think you're good enough, it's definitely harder. But it’s the support and the want to do good for my family.”

He grew up in Plattsburg, Mo., a town with just under 2,300 residents that’s barely big enough to find on Google Maps. It sits just to the northeast of Kansas City, along the route to Des Moines — making it simple to call the Iowa state capitol home for a year. Howard had initially committed to North Dakota State, but chose Drake after realizing that maybe there was something special about McCollum’s Bulldogs.

“I think it really hit home that I think Coach Mack was the guy,” Howard said. “So I just made a gut decision and went with it.”

Howard naturally gravitated toward McCollum because of his coaching style. He grew up with a ‘defense first’ mindset that was instilled by his mother. He was coached by coaches who also had a similar ‘no excuses, do it right’ approach that McCollum is known for.

The defensive aspect of basketball is where Howard’s begun making his name at Iowa. The efforts have caught McCollum’s attention, with the sophomore recording a 21-to-15 assist-to-turnover ratio and adding 23 steals in the process.

“He's a winner,” McCollum said. “He brings juice, brings energy.”

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The next step for Howard? Gaining more confidence in his offense. He averages 6.6 points per game, good for seventh-highest scorer on the team so far this year.

It’s something McCollum admitted is a sticking point in his coaching. He wants Howard’s shooting to reach the same level of confidence as his defensive play. The Hawkeyes know Howard isn’t afraid to play physical basketball, and to make big-time plays as needed — even if they don’t always show up on the stat sheet.

It’s getting those efforts to expand on the stat sheet moving forward.

“I think there's always a way for you to get better in any aspect and to keep growing your game, but I think shooting the ball obviously would help a lot,” Howard said. “There's so many to space the floor. Shooting is huge. So just being able to keep shooting the ball, shooting the ball way better, shoot the ball better.”

Even as he’s tried to evolve his game play, Howard holds those ties to his family close. He wears brightly-colored shoes — something that started as leg sleeves — as a way for his family to find him on the court. The current pair being a dual-colored, pink Nike shoes he got from the program.

The small-town-turned-Big-Ten guard might not have believed he’d become a Power Four basketball player. McCollum believed in him, asking Howard to join him in Iowa City.

Howard, knowing there was no other coach he’d want to play with, said yes. There wasn’t another place Howard wanted to be.

And he knew his family would be thrilled to see Howard reach yet another level beyond what they thought was possible.

“He just brings intensity, effort and energy when he comes in the game,” Sage said. “It's just something we really need ... he’s embraced his role and takes pride in it, and that’s something that’s really, really important to us.”

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