Steve Krafcisin of Iowa’s 1980 Final Four team coached Ben McCollum in junior college

Iowa’s new head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum played for former Hawkeye center Steve Krafcisin at North Iowa Area Community College.

Krafcisin, who was on the Hawkeyes’ 1980 Final Four team, was coach of the NIACC men from 1997 to 2005 before being the women’s coach at Des Moines Area Community College from 2005 to 2022. He had Ben McCollum on his NIACC team from 1999 to 2001.

“Ben had a great career there,” Krafcisin said last week. “He could really shoot it, take it to the basket, and rebound.

“The first word that comes to mind about him is ‘stubborn,’ but a lot of times in a good way.

“Ben loved to drive into the lane. He would always go into the forest even though he knew he was going to get whacked.

“What he did coaching Northwest Missouri State was almost (John) Wooden-ish. Iowa is the next level, but I think he’s definitely ready for it. I think people will love him and the guys will love him. A lot of kids will want to play there.”

Kraficisin said McCollum was not without quirks.

“He snuck in a dog in the apartments by the pond at NIACC. I gave him so much grief about that. You can’t have a fricking dog.”

Krafcisin now lives in Boone in helps the Boone High girls’ team by being its scorekeeper at games.

“I sit there wearing a striped shirt,” he said. “It’s hilarious. The referees that knew me when I coached get a kick out of that.”

FRAN MCCAFFERY COULD EASILY have gone into television work and been very good at it had he desired. Those who only identify him as an intense, scowling coach during games never had a discussion with him, or listened to him in national media interviews. He’s full of great stories, loves to laugh, and communicates without relying on cliches.

That wasn’t his persona at Iowa, though. When he held press conferences, he was all business. Had he let a little of his other side seep through in those settings, well, it might have maintained the good feelings Hawkeye fans had for him through much of his 15 years here.

The turning point may have been a March 2022 weekday in Buffalo, N.Y. Four days after winning the Big Ten tournament, Iowa dropped an NCAA tourney first-round game to Richmond.

Had the Hawkeyes beaten the Spiders and then Providence to reach the Sweet 16, the bounce from that season would have a big one. Instead, the team faded in popularity while the Iowa women’s club rocketed the other way.

McCaffery got the men’s basketball job at his Penn alma mater and Philadelphia hometown last week. Like the first four schools where McCaffery was a head coach, Penn will get better, and probably quickly.

I liked covering McCaffery’s teams for three primary reasons. One, if you asked him a question you got a thoughtful answer, not coach-speak. Two, when his teams were competitive as they usually were, they were fun to watch. The number of crazy comebacks they had at Carver was large. They didn’t quit.

Three, McCaffery’s players were good people, likable and cooperative and fan-friendly. When have you heard anything bad about one of his players? They liked him.

Part of the reason, perhaps, is he always had their backs. He never criticized them in public, but frequently poured on the praise.

“He was always good to me,” Iowa senior Payton Sandfort said last week.

WE OFTEN DON’T KNOW what’s going on health-wise with players during the season because most don’t want to be sharing that information for obvious competitive reasons.

Josh Dix played hurt this season. Sandfort will have surgery on both shoulders this spring.

“In the preseason I didn’t really practice because my shoulders were so bad,” he said last week.

He also broke his wrist during Iowa’s game against Washington State in Moline, Ill., in November.

“By the end of the season, I was feeling a little better,” he said. “At least I had my wrist back so I could quick-trigger.”

Sandfort still started every game, still averaged 16.7 points. He scored 30 in his career-finale, against Illinois in the Big Ten tournament.

He will participate in the State Farm College Dunk and 3-Point Championships on Thursday in San Antonio.

He scored 1,619 points for the Hawkeyes in four years. The man had a career.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com