Iowa men's basketball lands commitment from Valparaiso forward Ben Krikke via transfer portal

On Monday, Iowa men's basketball's first transfer-portal addition was made official when Valparaiso forward Ben Krikke announced his commitment per his Instagram account.

The 6-foot-9, 235-pound graduate transfer is expected immediately contribute to a Hawkeye frontcourt that's losing four players: Kris Murray (NBA Draft), Connor McCaffery and Filip Rebraca (graduation) and Josh Ogundele (transfer). He has one year of eligibility remaining.

This season, Krikke led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring (19.4 points per game) and posted career highs in rebounds (5.9) and assists (2.1) per game. For his play, Krikke was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection. He's accumulated several all-conference awards during his Valparaiso career including All-MVC third team (2020-21, 2021-22) and MVC Most Improved Team (2020-21, 2022-2023).

Krikke is an efficient offensive player that will project well in coach Fran McCaffery's system. He was Valparaiso's leading scorer in each of the last three seasons as the team played through him in the post, high post and pick-and-roll situations. Krikke utilizes strong body positioning and a versatile scoring package to finish close to the rim and while he's not known as a strong 3-point shooter, is a capable spot-up shooter from the midrange off pick-and-rolls.

His shot attempts per game have increased per year, culminating in nearly 14 attempts per game in 2022-23, in conjunction his field goal percentages improved by year. This season he became the third Missouri Valley Conference player since 2005 to average at least 17 points and five boards while shooting better than 75 percent (80%) from the line and 50 percent (55%) from the field.

Krikke also has international experience representing Canada. He played for the under-17 Canadian team at the FIBA World Cup, where he averaged 9.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game while helping Canada to a fourth-place finish.

Krikke joins an Iowa frontcourt that consists of rising senior Patrick McCaffery, who will likely fill one starting spot at forward, rising junior center Riley Mulvey and incoming freshmen prospects Ladji Dembele and Owen Freeman. With this commitment, Iowa has two remaining scholarships available for next season.