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- [00:00]
Ben McCollum
Foreign.
- [00:08]
Gary Parrish
Hey there, Gary Parish.
- [00:10]
Podcast Host
Welcome back to the CBS Sports Eye on College Basketball podcast where we sometimes discuss camel fighting, dodo birds and leaky black. If you're watching on YouTube, you know what to do to the like button shouts to Brandon Davies. And if you haven't yet subscribed to the CBS Sports college basketball YouTube channel, please also do that while you're here. Let's get into it. Different deal today. As you'll soon realize, Matt Norlander is.
- [00:32]
Gary Parrish
Not here with me.
- [00:33]
Podcast Host
And that's because I'm in Chicago for Big Ten Media Day. And while here, I sat down with most of the coaches and some of the players for quick conversations about their programs and college basketball in general. And we figured, or at least we hoped, that you guys might like to listen to those conversations. So we're placing them in the I Own College Basketball feed. It's me, GP at Big Ten Media Day. The conversations I had with coaches and players, they are on tap. I hope you enjoy them. Right after this word from our partners.
- [01:08]
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- [01:35]
Gary Parrish
With first year Iowa head coach Ben McCollum. Ben, appreciate you being here. Less than two years ago, you're a Division 2 head coach now at the age of 44, born and raised in Iowa, you're the head coach at Iowa. Has that set in for you yet?
- [01:49]
Ben McCollum
Man, it's so much work that it hasn't really, I think, and I've said this before, the, the first time I heard the fight song that, that announced me, you know, is like announced, hey, head coach Ben McColman. And the fight song played that you've heard all your life. That was probably the surreal moment that was like, man, I the head coach, the University of Iowa. This is going to be fun. But if you think about it too much, a lot of times you can't have the success that you want.
- [02:14]
Gary Parrish
You had an incredible amount of success at the Division 2 level, won four national championships. What did you your time at Northwest Missouri State teach you or help you? How did it help you prepare for the job? You do it now a lot.
- [02:29]
Ben McCollum
You know, I think and I've said this before, where it allowed me to make mistakes without the outside noise. And so as you're learning and as you're progressing, you're able to like, okay, I want to try this offensively, I want to try this defensively, or hey, I want to recruit this kid because I think he's going to develop. You could really just trust yourself a little bit more because no one was questioning anything that you did until we, you know, got good and then, you know, you'd get a few more question marks. But that allowed me to have confidence in the path that we need to take to have success. So that when you do hear the outside noise, which at Drake you do, and obviously at the University of Iowa, there'll be some outside noise, you're able to have confidence in what you're doing.
- [03:13]
Gary Parrish
There are some Division 2 coaches who are perfectly happy working at that level and they'd be thrilled to retire there someday. Same thing at the junior college level, the high school level. Where was your headspace? You were at the Division 2 level for a while. Were you comfortable there or did you have ambitions to make the jump to Division one at some point?
- [03:33]
Ben McCollum
I didn't really ever have ambitions necessarily. You know, I think the reason I got into coaching was I just wanted to change kids lives. That was the whole goal. And it still remains that I was still doing that at Division 2 and so there was no need to necessarily make a change. And then eventually over the years you had job opportunities and there was probably something higher calling that was saying, okay, it's time. You know, you've made your mark there, your staff has and some of your players have, and so it's time to, to make a change. And then we made it and it was uncomfortable, but sometimes that's what you have to do. And then obviously made another change to University of Iowa and hopefully I can stay here for quite a few years.
- [04:16]
Gary Parrish
You know, the sport has changed so much over the years, but I remember at one point, and I don't know if it's true anymore, but people would get labeled certain ways like, well, yeah, he's really good, but He's a Division 2 coach. That's where he belongs. Yeah, he's really good, but that's a high school coach. That's where he belongs. Those walls are being brought down a little bit. But as you are coaching at the Division 2 level, do you ever wonder if, if the opportunity is going to open up for you?
- [04:43]
Ben McCollum
You know, not a ton. I mean, they, they. Because they did open quite a bit and then can you have success, you know, even, even going into last year. And I hope they keep with that kind of cliche thought of he's just the Division 2 coach because that, that helps work with a chip on my shoulder a little bit. But, you know, even last year going to Drake and we had four Division 2 players, it was D2, obviously here it was. Now it's Missouri Valley. There's quite a few Missouri Valley players on our roster. And so you get that. But there's good coaches everywhere the high school level. You know, maybe there's better coaches at the high school level from an X's and O perspective than there are even at. At. At. At the high major level, just because they have to adapt to their personnel consistently. So from a coaching perspective, you know, I don't think that is shocking. I think it's more just the other stuff that's associated with this level and.
- [05:36]
Gary Parrish
In the Big Ten side. Kurt Signetti is a former Division 2 coach at Indiana. Now do you take on that responsibility? Like, you know, if my success can help the next guy get a door open for him, then that's a good thing as well. Because I think it's human nature. Once administrators see former Division 2 coaches in whatever sport flourish at the Division 1 level, then it makes it easier to make that higher next time.
- [06:01]
Ben McCollum
Yeah, it becomes kind of a copycat thing. Yeah. The problem is just because one Division 2 coach succeeds doesn't mean the next one's going to succeed. And so I think everything in every situation is unique and I think every coach is different. Like, just because this school had success hiring a high major assistant doesn't mean the next one's going to. It still comes down to that individual person and actually trusting their own eyes when they go to hire somebody. And some people have trusted their own eyes and been like, no, this is the person, regardless of if that person hired a Division 2 guy or an NAI guy or a high major guy or whatever and they had success, it doesn't matter. It's the person themselves that has the success. So I don't necessarily think that I'm carrying that torch per se. I think others have before. I mean, people don't realize Bruce Pearl was. That's where he had his success, was Division 2. And Grant McCasland, one of my good buddies, was at Division 2. So there's quite a few that have been at that level for a few years.
- [07:02]
Gary Parrish
Over@cbssports.com each off season we do something we call the Candid Coaches Series, where we ask more than 100 college coaches. A variety of questions, and we grant anonymity in exchange for honesty. This year, your name came up quite a bit. We asked more than 100 coaches who was the best hire in 2025. They could have theoretically said Sean Miller. They could have said Buzz Williams. They could have said Kevin Willard. And some coaches did, but the leading vote getter was you. What does that mean to you that your peers think of you that way?
- [07:32]
Ben McCollum
You know, I think it's. It's humbling. Meaning, you know, I do appreciate that people respect the way we've done things, and I don't think they probably vote for somebody that they don't have respect for, not just from a basketball coaching lens, but just, you know, as. As a person and how you carry yourself and your character. I don't think it necessarily helps us win basketball games. And so you have to make sure that you kind of take it with a grain of salt and know that, you know, now you've gotten to this level, now what are you actually going to do with that at that point? And probably says a lot about our administration for. For being able to be brave enough to hire somebody that was at Division 2 a year and a half ago, you know, and, you know, it takes a lot to be able to do that as well.
- [08:21]
Gary Parrish
When we talked to these coaches and asked them to expand on their vote, we heard things like, you know, I knew that there was a sharp guy at the Division 2 level, but I didn't know much about him. Started paying attention. He's really, really uniquely gifted. They talk about you as a great basketball coach. I don't mean to make it awkward and, you know, just pour compliments on top of you, but in your head, what makes you, if you will, a great basketball coach? What makes you specifically good at this?
- [08:51]
Ben McCollum
You know, I think that probably the first thing, it's not necessarily me, but it's. I've always thought that my. I guess not superpower, but if that's what it is, lies in the ability to identify the right people and so kind of create an environment that allows everybody to grow and get exponentially better, Whereas in other environments, it might just be an individual, individualistic environment. I think the second part of that is we do hire very competitive people, and by nature, that's. That's what I've always found myself to be, even when I was young, where I was probably the kid that would run out of the gym losing his temper if he lost a game. And so we always say we're trying to Go a little bit further than, than anybody else in competition. And so that's helped, you know, work with a chip on our shoulder, that's helped as well. But you know, and you know, just work, just constantly work. But, you know, nothing, nothing specific other than the people surrounding it.
- [09:56]
Gary Parrish
When coaches are successful and the wind stack up, the championship stack up, they often get opportunities. They don't always, particularly when they're moving up levels so quickly, take their players with them. You've gone from Division 2 to NBC to the Big Ten in a very quick amount of time. And some players have made that journey with you. And how do you evaluate whether it's right or wrong, proper or not, to take people with you? In terms of. You're ask, you recruited them to play at one level, now you're asking them to play at a different.
- [10:28]
Ben McCollum
So the Transition from Division 2, the Missouri Valley, I had absolutely no idea if those guys would be good enough. But what I did know is they had winning characteristics and winning qualities. And as you translate levels, it's still, it doesn't matter if it's the NBA or if it's high major basketball. Togetherness, toughness, effort, all those different things, your connectivity, all those things still win basketball games. And if you get those kids that do that, you're going to win. And then obviously at Drake, I wasn't sure, okay, are these guys talented enough? And they were. We started four Division two guys and then transition to this level. I was fortunate enough to play multiple high majors and so you get a better gauge of that. But it still goes back to we want to err on the side of having that intangible talent, especially initially to create the foundation so that we can build a sustainable program where we can have success year in and year out.
- [11:27]
Gary Parrish
One of the players I'm referencing is of course Bennett Sturtz, who moved up to the Division 1 level and had no problems whatsoever. He's now expected to compete for all America honors. He is on NBA draft radars. What do NBA people tell you about him and what specifically has made these transitions pretty simple for him?
- [11:46]
Ben McCollum
Yeah, I think he just translates levels because he's so smart, so high IQ from a basketball perspective, plays with such poise as well, you know, at Division 2, people forget he was second team all conference and then he was the MVP of the Missouri Valley Conference the very next year. And then the other part is he just, he has a little edge to him, you know, where it's. He didn't get recruited. Division one didn't have a Single division, one offer. And there was a lot that came in and watched him and just did not believe in him. And he remembers that and kind of uses that to his advantage. You know, I think even going to the NBA in a year, I think he really translates that level because there's a legal defense, there's a lot more space on the floor. There's a variety of. They have lob threats, they have pocket pass. Like, they have a lot of different things that you can use. So even moving up that level, I think he gets even better as he goes up.
- [12:40]
Gary Parrish
Last thing before I get you out of here. You're also coaching your son Peyton, which is something a lot of coaches have done. Tom Izzo in this league pretty recently. When I talk to coaches about it, what I have routinely heard is that you have a very demanding job, and it can take you away from home often when your kids are being raised and you miss some stuff. But they really cherish. If you can get some of that time back in the gym every day for four years, what does that experience been like for you?
- [13:09]
Ben McCollum
It's been fun. You know, I think initially you're. You're like, okay, can he, you know, compete consistently at this level? Which I always thought he could. And then, you know, he started to play, like, okay, he's pretty good. And. But when you go into the gym, you don't really think about that. You don't really think, oh, that's my son. And I think that would be a detriment to him, and I think it would be unfair to give him either an advantage or a disadvantage. I just. I just don't think of it like that now. After the fact, when he's walking around the offices and stuff like that, it's. It's more, hey, there's my son. This is pretty cool. But, yeah, you get to spend time, you know, again, that's the benefit of being at the level I was at for a lot of years, is I was able to coach a lot of their teams. You know, I would coach their youth football team, their. Their youth baseball teams and stuff like that. So I was around a lot, which was helpful. And now this transition has heard a little bit of that. But then I get to see him every single day as much. It makes my wife kind of upset because she didn't get to spend as much time, but it's been. It's been fun.
- [14:12]
Gary Parrish
Oh, it's a. It's a terrific story. I appreciate your time, and just congrats on everything, man. It's a a lot of success. Well deserved.
- [14:18]
Ben McCollum
Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.
- [14:20]
Gary Parrish
All right.