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Last week’s news that B.J. Armstrong had become the assistant general manager of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings put a question in my head.

Who is Iowa’s best point guard since Armstrong’s Iowa career ended in 1989?

The answer might be someone yet to don a Hawkeye uniform. That’s 6-foot-4 senior Bennett Stirtz, who has transferred with four of his 2024-25 Drake teammates to the Iowa program coached by their Drake leader, Ben McCollum.

Hawkeye fans who didn’t pay attention to Drake last season not only missed the best basketball story of the year in the state, but are in for a pleasant surprise.

Stirtz’s numbers alone tell quite a success story. After following McCollum from Northwest Missouri State to Drake, he led the MVC in points (19.2) and steals (2.1) per game, and was second in assists per game with 5.7. That was on a team that was 364th out of 364 Division I teams in possessions per game, an outfit that favored getting 30-second shot clock violations to taking bad shots.

Stirtz was the clear choice for the league’s Player of the Year award, and also was the Outstanding Player in the MVC tournament after averaging 21 points in Drake’s three wins. Then he averaged 21 points and 6 assists in the Bulldogs’ two NCAA tournament contests.

Stirtz led the nation in minutes played, 39.2 per game. He’s on an Iowa roster that will be considered brand-new by many, but it really isn’t. Four other Bulldogs have followed McCollum from Des Moines to Iowa City.

“Coach McCollum brings five guys with him from Drake who I would expect to hit the ground running with his culture and expectations, which will be a huge benefit to the entire program and all the newcomers.”

The speaker was Craig Doty, the men’s basketball coach at Division I Houston Christian. He coached Emporia State before that, going head to head with McCollum’s Northwest Missouri State team in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association for five seasons. The last two of those were when Stirtz played there.

“Coach McCollum is a point guard whisperer,” Doty said. “It was Justin Pitts first, an undersized guard from the metro Kansas City area. He didn’t have a ton of recruitment. He went to Northwest Missouri State, was (NCAA Division II) National Player of the Year, and played a nice professional career overseas.

“Then it was Trevor Hudgins . NAIA Ottawa’s coaches told me they thought they were going to get him. He did not have much recruitment going on. And then he goes to play for Bennett, and he's a multiyear National Player of the Year and three-time national champion.

“Then it’s Bennett Stirtz, who before he went to Drake was not even a first-team all-conference guy in the MIAA. Yet, he goes to Drake and is the Larry Bird Award-winner for the best player in the Missouri Valley Conference and arguably one of the better point guards in the entire country.”

Last week, McCollum matter-of-factly said “Bennett will be a first-round draft pick” next year.

Asked why, McCollum said “Because he would be this year. I would bet he would have been a late first-rounder this year.

“He has an elite basketball IQ and feel. He's athletic. He continues to grow and get better, and he is deceptively competitive. You're not going to see it until he beats you.”

Not many first-round NBA draftees are college seniors, but Doty thinks Stirtz made a shrewd move going to Iowa instead of going on the NIL market.

“We’re seeing players get signed for 2 million, 3 million dollars,” Doty said. “Instead of maybe hitting the max amount of money by hitting quote unquote college free agency, Bennett just follows Ben to Iowa.

“And rightfully so, because everything is geared around Bennett triggering this offense. He plays 39-plus minutes a night. He will be successful. The program will be successful. And this investment Bennett’s making to follow his coach will pay bigger dividends in his pro career than it would if he took more money to go play for a different coach.

“They are a match made in heaven, and it wasn't overnight. This is now Year 4, and it's going to be really special to watch (Stirtz) in a Hawkeye uniform.”