HOUSTON (AP) 鈥� Two years ago, Iowa coach Ben McCollum was at Division II Northwest Missouri State and right there with him was current Hawkeyes star Bennett Stirtz.
It鈥檚 been a whirlwind journey for the pair since then. And on Saturday night, they鈥檒l have a chance to carry Iowa to its first Final Four since 1980 when in the South Region final.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think either of us would be here without the other,鈥� McCollum said Friday. 鈥淪o now we鈥檙e in the Elite Eight and he鈥檚 gone further than he ever has, even at Division II, and hopefully he can keep going further.鈥�
McCollum, who is in his first season at Iowa after one year at Drake, won four Division II national titles at Northwest Missouri State. Those came before Stirtz joined the team.
Stirtz recalled meeting McCollum for the first time when the coach came to one of his practices when he was a junior in high school.
鈥淗e won three straight (national titles) before I got to meet him, so it was obviously pretty cool and I had no other offers,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o definitely in shock when I first saw him and, yeah, it鈥檚 been a crazy journey so far and hopefully keep it rolling.鈥�
McCollum remembered Stirtz being homesick early in his career at Northwest Missouri State even though it was only a little over an hour from his hometown of Liberty, Missouri. So, when he started getting interest from other schools, McCollum wanted Stirtz to follow him but was worried he鈥檇 say no because he wouldn鈥檛 want to stray far from home.
鈥淲hat happens if I go somewhere? What would you want to do? And he is like, 鈥業鈥檒l go.鈥欌�� McCollum said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 like, OK … what if it鈥檚 Florida or somewhere random? Because he鈥檚 kind of a homebody naturally. He said, 鈥業鈥檒l go.鈥欌��
Though he was confident about any move when he spoke with his coach, Stirtz told his dad that he was a bit nervous about where McCollum would end up. Despite that trepidation, he followed the coach to Drake before packing up again just one year later to accompany him to Iowa.
鈥淚 knew that it was going to be a challenge to go with him, but I thought I would regret it if I didn鈥檛 go,鈥� Stirtz said.
After McCollum was hired at Iowa this offseason, Stirtz, who had no Division I offers out of high school, had all sorts of teams angling for him.
鈥淭he way this portal works and the way all this NIL stuff works, some people were illegally recruiting him, offering him a lot more money, and he still chose to come to the University of Iowa,鈥� McCollum said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 probably as special as it gets, that he believes in you, and you believe in him.鈥�
Stirtz leads the Hawkeyes by averaging 19.7 points a game. He had 20 points .
He credits his growth and a player 鈥� and a person 鈥� to his longtime coach and the guidance he鈥檚 provided.
鈥淗e just pushes you past your limit,鈥� Stirtz said. 鈥淗e shoots you straight and never lies to you. Sometimes it sucks because the discipline and everything sucks in the moment, but it makes you stronger mentally, physically, emotionally. It just makes you a stronger person and it makes you think that you can just accomplish anything.鈥�
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