Freshman Trey Thompson has not yet made his Iowa basketball debut. He logged DNP’s in the first five games of the Hawkeyes’ season.
Iowa coach Ben McCollum did not rule out redshirting Thompson this season, but also said “he needs to continue to plan as though he is going to play.”
“The tricky thing with these deals is if you play them a second, you lose that year of eligibility regardless,” McCollum said Nov. 24. “And so, I think that ultimately, football has the rule where you can play them four games, which kind of makes sense in basketball. Because you get two scrimmages and you have a brand new team. So you really don’t totally know the response that he would have in a game setting. You know what he’s done in scrimmages. You know what he does in practices, etc. I don’t think we rule anything out at this point.”
The former four-star prospect from Greeneville, Tenn., was originally a member of the 2026 high school recruiting class and pursued by high-profile programs such as Purdue, Tennessee and others. But Iowa won out, presenting the opportunity to move to the 2025 class and start college early, which Thompson did not turn down.
“What separated them was me playing this year and getting better and getting Big Ten experience as a 17-year-old,” Thompson told the Register after his commitment. “That’s a dream come true. Playing for a coach like coach McCollum is a dream come true. He’s a great guy, great coach, he’s about the right things and I really do appreciate that.”
Thompson, who is still 17, was not able to participate in on-court team activities this summer until he finished high school coursework and officially enrolled at the University of Iowa, putting him behind the curve.
“Trey’s good,” McCollum said after Iowa’s season opener against Robert Morris. “I would be surprised if he’s not an All-Big Ten player by the time it’s all said and done. Trey’s really good. Anytime you come in, it’s just hard to catch up to the defense. And he’s getting there. He’s good offensively, he’s fantastic. Energy’s through the roof. Trey’s good. I’m not worried about him. You just kind of have to see it progress and it takes some time.”
How long that takes is still to be determined.
“You also don’t want to all the sudden come in and you’re up 20 against a team and you put him in for a minute and there goes his year of eligibility,” McCollum said. “And let’s say, you get into Big Ten play and he’s not totally ready or hasn’t beaten certain guys out. I have no concerns he’s going to beat guys out. I have no concerns that he’s going to play and be a really good player in the Big Ten. Zero concern with that. It’s a matter of when, not all of that. So we’re just a little more cautious with that.”
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa basketball coach Ben McCollum provides outlook on Trey Thompson
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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