IOWA CITY — There was a time when head coach Andrew Schweitzer did not know whether Ty’Reek Coleman would play on varsity as a sophomore at Waubonsie Valley High School (Ill.).
And then, Schweitzer watched Coleman at an open gym ahead of his sophomore season.
Coleman, who had previously played on the freshman team, was “lighting the world on fire” this particular day leading up to his sophomore campaign.
“He was hitting 3s, he was getting to the rim,” Schweitzer said. “It was just so obvious his talent level.”
By then, Schweitzer knew which direction his decision was trending, but he also wanted to get input from his veteran players.
“I called all the seniors over to me, and I’m like, ‘Guys, I think I’m going to pull this kid up — What do you think?’” Schweitzer said. “And they’re like, ‘100%’. So as a sophomore, he became our starting point guard.”
Coleman went on to etch his name in the record books at Waubonsie Valley. He ranks first in program history in all-time steals with 168, fourth in assists with 279 and fifth in points with 1,339.
After one season at Illinois State — where he averaged 10 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 50.4% from the field and 41.6% from deep — Coleman entered the transfer portal and committed to Iowa basketball.
Coleman filled one of Iowa’s most glaring transfer portal needs: A dynamic guard to help the Hawkeyes move forward after Bennett Stirtz’s success in his lone season in Iowa City. It would be unrealistic to expect Coleman to immediately replicate Stirtz’s production, but it’s also difficult to deny Coleman’s potential.
“Right away, his twitchiness and his burst jump off the page,” Schweitzer said of Coleman’s skillset. “He’s smooth. His handles and his ability to navigate a ball screen are top-notch. He can shoot the 3 at a high percentage. He is just an automatic paint touch, and I think that’s what so many schools were so excited about.
“You surround him with shooters and bigs, he’s going to be able to generate a lot of offense, both for his teammates and himself, when the time calls for it. He’s an aggressive on-ball defender. He’s elite in that regard, as well, in my opinion.”
As he looked for his next college, Coleman did not have an agent, which is a rarity in the modern landscape of college sports. Schweitzer was part of Coleman’s inner circle, helping the guard navigate the transfer portal. Between Coleman’s production at Illinois State and connections from Waubonsie Valley, it didn’t feel necessary to hire an agent.
“Not that this was the driving force, but any money he gets, that’s his,” Schweitzer said. “He earned it. But also like, when you get agents involved, sometimes they’re not looking for the best fit, they’re looking for the best financial. And that was always a secondary, if not 4th, 5th, 6th piece to us. His dad and I have a great relationship. We wanted to make sure that we had people looking out for his best interest.”
But Schweitzer also made it clear that Coleman was the one in charge.
“We always said, Ty’Reek was the one steering the ship,” Schweitzer said. “I told Ty’Reek over and over again, if there’s something that you don’t like that we’re doing, tell me. He was just happy for the help. We had a spreadsheet organizing the schools with analytics, with intangibles, just to help him stay organized.”
Schweitzer provided a window into what it’s like to help someone maneuver the transfer portal.
“I would tell you it’s chaos,” Schweitzer said. “Not this past Friday, the Friday before, literally a seven-hour straight period I was on and off my phone with different schools. From basically 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. that night. It was insanity. Finally, Ty’Reek and I joked, we’re like, we’re both going on ‘Do Not Disturb.’ We’re done for the night. So, navigating that. Different schools approach things differently. Different schools approach the money side differently.”
The Hawkeyes’ staff already had some familiarity with Coleman.
When Iowa assistant Connor Wheeler was on staff at Southeast Missouri State, he watched Coleman at an open gym in high school. Drake and current Iowa head coach Ben McCollum were also involved in Coleman’s high school recruitment. Most of Iowa’s current staff followed McCollum from Drake, including Jesse Shaw, who was Schweitzer’s main point of contact as the Bulldogs pursued Coleman in high school.
So, there were already previous connections when Iowa recruited Coleman from the transfer portal. Coleman visited Kansas State and Nebraska before Iowa.
“Iowa pretty much checked all his boxes,” Schweitzer said. “He was looking for a style of play that fits him. It’s a ball screen heavy offense… It’s a head coach that’s about more than basketball. He’s real. He’s genuine. He’s authentic. A lot of the values that Ty’Reek and his family preach and believe in lined up with Iowa. I think Iowa sold their people, man. Their staff, the community around, their support for student-athletes, the student body. I think that is what really sold them. And then obviously developmentally-wise, Ben McCollum is elite when it comes to point guard development.”
From a personality standpoint, Coleman also seems to fit the program like a glove.
“He is one of those people that walks into a room and just electrifies it,” Schweitzer said. “He’s got a big smile. He’s got a big heart. Like I said, he’s pure. He’s one of those guys. He’s humble… He’s just a character, man. But he’s locked in. His work ethic is second to none. But he’s also a normal guy. He doesn’t act like he’s above anyone.”
During the transfer portal recruiting process, Iowa showed Coleman film of Stirtz and Trevor Hudgins, two of the great point guards McCollum has coached. Stirtz is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Hudgins scored more than 2,800 points in his career at Northwest Missouri State and was a two-time NABC Division II National Player of the Year.
There’s still work to be done for Coleman to get to that level.
Making the jump from a mid-major to a power conference is not always smooth sailing. Coleman’s assist-to-turnover ratio needs improvement — he only logged five more assists than turnovers last season (62 to 57) — but that’s also not uncommon for a freshman guard. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds, Coleman needs to become better equipped physically for the Big Ten.
“Skill-wise, I would tell you he can hold his own, if not do well, as you can see from how he did against USC and Auburn (where he combined to score 33 points),” Schweitzer said. “But he needs to work on his physical frame. That is the biggest thing for him to be able to adjust and take his game to the next level. And then also I would just tell you, obviously, as a freshman, sometimes you make freshman mistakes.”
“…And I think being with Ben McCollum, in my opinion, the ultimate point guard whisperer, he’s going to be able to learn. All the mistakes he made as a freshman, they’re all teachable and correctable. They are things that I know Ty’Reek will attack, and I know the right guy for that job is Ben McCollum and his staff.”
Schweitzer believes that Coleman will shine with the Hawkeyes.
“I’m telling you, this kid’s going to be a star in Iowa City,” Schweitzer said. “His smile, his personality, the joy that he plays the game with. He’s just pure, man. It’s truly like, what you see is who he is.”
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How Iowa basketball landed Illinois State transfer Ty’Reek Coleman
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
