Drew Thelwell and Seydou Traore: Transfers who are suiting Hawkeyes to a ‘T’

IOWA CITY — It quickly has appeared that Fran McCaffery went 2-for-2 in savvy pickups from the NCAA transfer portal last spring.

The Iowa men’s basketball coach’s additions of fifth-year senior guard Drew Thelwell from Morehead State and sophomore forward Seydou Traore of Manhattan are looking like very good ones.

The transfers didn’t get much attention at the time, but they’ve given the Hawkeyes better defense and depth, as at no expense to the team’s offense.

Traore is averaging 9.7 points, Thelwell 8.4. That doesn’t tell the story. Both are defending. Traore has often been in the front of Iowa’s press. Thelwell had five steals against Rider Tuesday night when Iowa won 83-56 to get to 5-0 entering its game with fellow unbeaten Utah State tonight in Kansas City, Mo.

“They’re really athletic, but they’ve got great instincts,” McCaffery said. “Obviously, Seydou has incredible length, but he’s got a knack for getting deflections, and the same for Drew. Drew will strip you. They can cover a lot of ground.”

The 6-foot-3 Thelwell, from Orlando, Fla., averaged 10 points and an Ohio Valley Conference-leading 6.2 assists in helping the Eagles to the 2023 and 2024 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles. He was part of 94 wins in four years.

He isn’t starting, but he’s playing a lot of meaningful minutes. He made consecutive 3-pointers down the stretch to help Iowa wrest the lead from Washington State late in the last Friday’s game, which the Hawkeyes won, 76-66.

“I think the fans have responded to him,” McCaffery said. “I love that kid. He’s special, and he’s just going to keep getting better.”

Traore, from New York City, averaged 11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds in his one season at Division I Manhattan College. He’s 6-foot-7 and hard to define by a basketball position. Power forward, off guard, whatever. But he can jump, as his dunks off lobs showed against Washington State and Rider.

Traore led the Division I Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in blocked shots per game last season.

“Just take it personal,” Traore said when asked about defending. “I feel like that’s they key. If you take it personal, nobody should score on you.”

Thelwell had one game of 26 points and one with 19 assists last season for Morehead State. He had seven assists and five steals Tuesday. Traore had four offensive rebounds, and drew five fouls.

“They don’t get sped up” McCaffery said about his transfers. “They don’t rattle.”

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