Experts: Iowa 2010 recruiting class signals resurgence

National recruiting expert Van Coleman sees Iowa's 2010 class as the foundation for the school's basketball resurgence.

Iowa picked up commitments from two athletic guards in Ben Brust (6-foot-2 from Mundelein, Ill.) and Roy Marble Jr. (6-foot-5 from Detroit). The Hawkeyes also have commitments from forwards Cody Larson (6-foot-8 from Sioux Falls, S.D.) and Zach McCabe (6-foot-6 from Sioux City). All of the players have garnered accolades on the summer AAU circuit.

In a conversation with an Iowa assistant coach, Coleman compared Iowa's 2010 class with some of Iowa's best players the last 20 years.

“I said, ‘Let's just make it parallels here,'” Coleman told the coach. “‘Larson could be your Chris Street. McCabe could be your (Jess) Settles, and I said Brust could be your Jeff Horner. If those players can continue to improve and do the things they're doing right now, you guys have a class that's a major, major surprise and could be way better in your system.'

“‘These kids should excel. You put them with a group of juniors and seniors who are now going to know exactly how to play your system and are all guys who have bought in and know the system. You have no excuses not to have a tremendous year when that 2010 class is here.' That's the pressure on that coaching staff. They have to produce.”

Larson ranks as perhaps the most high-profile commitment nationally. He averaged 17.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists for Sioux Falls Roosevelt last year with an injured knee that required off-season surgery. But his summer performance has vaulted him into the nation's top 50-75 prospects entering 2010, Coleman said.

“Cody Larson was one of the top 15 or 20 kids at the Reebok Tournament in Las Vegas,” said Coleman, who publishes Hoopmasters. “He outplayed a top-50 junior in Quincy Miller, scoring 29 points and grabbing eight rebounds in a game against him. And (Larson) came back and had 21 and 30 in the next two games.”

McCabe averaged 16.1 points, nine rebounds and 5.3 assists for Class 3A state champion Sioux City Heelan. Brust averaged 28 points a game for Mundelein (Ill.) High School until breaking his leg midway through the season. Coleman said Brust might rank among the top 100 players in the 2010 class.

Marble Jr., son of Iowa's all-time leading scorer Roy Marble Jr., averaged 22 points, nine rebounds and 4.5 assists at Southfield Lathrup (Mich.) High School. He will graduate at age 17.

“Down the road physically he'll catch up and be a better player,” Coleman said of Marble Jr. “He does one thing better than his dad didn't do and that's shoot the basketball very well. He's definitely not the same athlete, but he knows how to play and he can shoot.”

All of the players are slated to sign letters of intent on Nov. 11. Coleman said there's little chance any will back out from their commitments.

Coleman said he'll rank Iowa's 2010 class in the top 30 nationally, which he calls “upper echelon.”

“The 2010 class I think fits it as perfectly as (Coach Todd Lickliter) can do,” Coleman said. “All can shoot it well. McCabe can shoot the 3. Brust is a tremendous 3-point shooter. Larson is that high-post 17-foot jump shooter, a tremendous passer at the high post but can also score on the block. Marble also shoots it.

“I think when you look at this group, they are about as close as you can get to a Big Ten level/Butler recruiting class. In other words, they're Big Ten athletes who fit the mold of what he recruited at Butler and was tremendously successful with, so I think this group really fits that.”

Penn State, Wisconsin solo on Iowa schedule

Iowa will face Penn State and Wisconsin only once in the upcoming 2009-2010 men's basketball season.

Each Big Ten school plays 18 regular-season games and faces eight opponents twice. Iowa hosts Penn State and travels to Wisconsin for the upcoming season. In 2010-2011, Iowa hosts Wisconsin and travels to Penn State.

The Big Ten didn't do a rebuilding Iowa team any favors with its single-play schedule. Iowa has lost its last eight games at Wisconsin by an average of 10 points. Iowa has lost its last three at Penn State, but those losses have come by a combined seven points.

Before the recent three-game losing streak, Iowa had won three straight at State College by an average of 15 points.

Iowa has lost a combined 25 Big Ten games the last two seasons, the worst two-year stretch in school history. The Hawkeyes have struggled on the road, losing 11 straight games away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which tied a season record.

Iowa is one road loss from tying the school record for consecutive road defeats.

Iowa will play 11 games on the road this season, not counting the CBE Classic in Kansas City. Here's a look at how Iowa has fared on the road recently against its 2009-2010 opponents:

• At Northern Iowa: Lost 3 of 4
• At Iowa State: Lost 3 straight
• At Illinois: Lost 8 straight and 19 of 20
• At Indiana: Lost 3 straight and 7 of 9
• At Michigan: Lost 1 but won 3 of 4
• At Michigan State: Lost 14 straight
• At Minnesota: Lost 1 and 3 of 4
• At Northwestern: Lost 4 of 5
• At Ohio State: Lost 4 straight
• At Purdue: Lost 3 of 4
• At Wisconsin: Lost 8 straight
• At Penn State: Lost 3 straight (does not play in State College this winter)

Iowa will play two games at the CBE Classic on Nov. 23-24. The classic also includes Pittsburgh, Texas and Wichita State.