The Hawkeyes, which includes six players who followed Ben McCollum from Drake to Iowa, say they’re part of a culture that emphasizes a culture of togetherness, on and off the court.

WHO 13’s David Warrington reports from Iowa City.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Iowa Hawkeyes have several faces that are familiar to fans of Drake basketball. Six former Bulldogs have left Des Moines, following their coach, Ben McCollum, to Iowa City.

“He’s going to get on you sometimes, he’s going to pick and yell at you sometimes, and that means he cares about you,” said Bennett Stirtz, a senior guard for the Hawkeyes who has played for McCollum at both Northwest Missouri State and Drake. “You might be mad at him sometimes like I am most of the time, but he really cares about you, making you a better person off the court.”

“The trust that you have with him,” added Isaia Howard, a sophomore guard who also transferred to Iowa from Drake. “He keeps it 100 percent with you, 100 percent of the time. I really respect that about him, so as long as he keeps it real with me, I’m going to keep it real with him.”

Whether it be Stirtz, who has played for McCollum for years, or players who are playing for him for the first time, everybody talked about who he is off of the floor. Specifically, they mentioned his work to make his players better people, as well as better athletes.

“Coach Mac’s a culture guy.,” added Brendan Hausen, a transfer to Iowa from Kansas State. “He doesn’t let us have bad days. Yesterday he was talking to us, he said, if it gets long and repetitive, and the days get boring, these are the days we have to win. That’s the difference, we win bad days here. The culture, it doesn’t die.”

“Just the relationship piece is the biggest thing for me,” said Kael Combs, who also came to Iowa from Drake. “He not only cares how you are as a player on the court, but what type of person you are off the court is the biggest thing for me. He’s kind of like, how you do anything is how you do everything. Whether it comes to academics, or as a brother, as an uncle, he just want you to be better at it.”

McCollum’s transition from Division II Northwest Missouri State to Division I Drake last season was an overwhelming success. Now, he heads to the Big Ten. Despite the incredible success he’s had throughout his career, he knows it’s not easy to be good.

“Sometimes maybe your guys don’t understand, no, it’s actually supposed to be hard,” said McCollum. “It’s supposed to be a struggle. That’s the cool part about winning championships. It’s not the actual championship itself, that’s great, but it’s the struggle and fight to be able to get to that level.”