Iowa Hawkeyes' Transfer Portal Disaster Continues

The Iowa Hawkeyes continue to lose more and more players to the transfer portal after firing head coach Fran McCaffery.

Matthew Schmidt | Mar 21, 2025

Dec 7, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Ladji Dembele (13) grabs the rebound in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

Make it seven Iowa Hawkeyes players that have now made the decision to enter the transfer portal following the firing of head coach Fran McCaffery.

Sophomore forward Ladji Dembele is just the latest Iowa player to announce his plans to potentially take his talents elsewhere, taking to social media to reveal he will enter the portal.

Thank you Iowa pic.twitter.com/5iXpdjVuXh
— Ladji kalilou Dembele (@ladji_kalilou) March 20, 2025

Dembele did leave the door open to potentially return to Iowa, so he is not necessarily a goner just yet, but this has turned into an abject disaster for the Hawkeyes who will have their work cut out for them in the coming months.

The 6-foot-8 big man played in 33 games and made 21 starts this past season, averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds over 16.7 minutes a night on 46.7/38.1/71.4 shooting splits.

Dembele's ability to spread the floor was very valuable to Iowa, although the Hawkeyes as a collective unit were not exactly impressive during the 2024-25 campaign.

Iowa went 17-16 and finished just 7-13 in Big Ten conference play, missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. That followed a stretch in which the Hawkeyes made three consecutive trips to the Big Dance.

The worst part is that Iowa actually did resemble a tournament team earlier in the year, as it got off to a 12-4 start and put together some impressive wins over the first couple of months.

But then, things unraveled for the Hawkeyes, which resulted in the dismissal of McCaffery after 15 years at the helm in Iowa City.

Read More Iowa Hawkeyes Coverage

Published Mar 21, 2025

MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.