Former Iowa Hawkeyes Star Bracing For Major Change

This former Iowa Hawkeyes star is preparing for a significant change with the Sacramento Kings this coming NBA season.

Mar 13, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray (15) celebrates beating Purdue Boilermakers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Keegan Murray is the highest-drafted NBA player in Iowa Hawkeyes history, as the school's former star was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the fourth overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft.

Murray has made quite an impression in the early stages of his career, establishing himself as a terrific, versatile defender.

But now, the youngster is getting himself ready for a new challenge: playing power forward.

With the Kings' offseason addition of DeMar DeRozan, Murray—who has primarily played small forward since entering the NBA—will have to spend some time at the 4.

The good news is that Murray has been well aware of this for quite some time and has been preparing appropriately.

"It'll be fun to have another challenge just to see what I'm capable of, so I'm excited for that," Murray said, via James Ham of ESPN. "I tried a little bit at the Team USA thing to try to guard bigger guys just to get a feel for it. ... Mike [Brown] told me that's probably what's going to happen."

Murray stands 6-foot-8, so he certainly has the height to play up front. However, he is listed at just 225 pounds and has become accustomed to guarding wings, so it may take the 24-year-old some time to adjust to his new responsibility.

The Cedar Rapids, Ia. native averaged 15.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on 45.4/35.8/83.1 shooting splits last season.

Murray spent two years at Iowa, racking up 23.5 points, 8.7 boards and 1.9 blocks a night while shooting 55.4 percent from the floor during his final season.