IOWA CITY, Iowa — Keegan Murray and Connor McCaffery are co-winners of the Chris Street Award for the 2022 University of Iowa men’s basketball season. The duo are two of eight players who garnered recognition at the team’s award ceremony held Thursday evening at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Chris Street Award is presented annually to a Hawkeye player, or players, who best exemplify the spirit, enthusiasm, and intensity of Chris Street. Street was an Iowa basketball player who died in an auto accident in 1993, midway through his junior year.
Murray arguable put forth the best single season in program history as a sophomore. The native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was a finalist for the Naismith, Wooden, Lute Olson and Lefty Driesell national awards. He became the program’s fourth consensus first-team All-American, joining Murray Wier (1948), Charles Darling (1952), and Luka Garza (2020 and 2021). Murray earned unanimous first-team all-conference, and NABC and USBWA All-District recognition. He was named Big Ten Player of the Week a program-best six times this season, becoming just the third player to earn six or more Big Ten Men’s Basketball weekly honors in a single season. He was voted the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player after amassing a tournament record 103 points and 38 field goals made in leading the Hawkeyes to their third tournament championship and first since 2006.
Murray also earned the team’s Top Rebounder Award and was co-winner of the Academic Award. Murray totaled 822 points, 303 rebounds, 68 blocks, 66 3-point field goals, 52 assists and 45 steals. He is only the second player in Division I history to amass more than 800 points, 60 blocks, and 60 3-pointers in a single season (Texas’ Kevin Durant in 2007). Murray was the only player nationally to average 23+ points and 8+ rebounds in 2022. Murray, who was an Academic All-Big Ten honoree, ranked first in the country in Player Efficiency Rating (37.8) and scoring 25+ points (16); fourth in points per game (23.5); 34th in field goal percentage (.554); 46th in blocks per contest (1.94) and 51st in double-doubles (10).
Connor boasted a team-best 5.0 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2022. He dished out three of more assists in 11 contests, playing meaningful minutes all season despite being banged up. McCaffery made 12-of-19 (.632) from 3-point range during February, including a stretch of making 11-of-15 (.733) over final four contests of the month. He scored a season-high 17 points on “Senior Night,” making a career-best five 3-pointers against Northwestern.
Connor also was recognized as co-winner of the Academic Excellence Award, making the fifth straight season that the Iowa City native was honored with his excellence in the classroom. Connor, who will graduate with finance and political science degrees next month, is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, a two-time NABC Honors Court selection and multiple Dean’s List honoree. He is Iowa’s all-time leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.47) and member of four NCAA Tournament teams (2020 canceled due to COVID). Connor, who can play all five positions effectively and efficiently, led the Hawkeyes to 91 victories and upper division finishes in the Big Ten each of the past four years.
Jordan Bohannon and Patrick McCaffery were the recipient of the Kenny Arnold Hawkeye Spirit Award. This award is presented to the Hawkeye(s) who exemplifies Arnold’s spirit of leadership, character, courage, determination and poise. This player(s) inspires his teammates to be their very best in spite of the odds.
Bohannon holds Iowa career records in 3-pointers (455), assists (704), free throw percentage (.887) and games played (179, which also is the most in NCAA history). His 455 triples are second most in NCAA history by a player from a major conference (Duke’s J.J. Reddick, 457). He is the only player in program history — and one of 10 players in NCAA history — with over 2,000 points and 700 assists. Bohannon netted double figures 100 times, including reaching 20 points in 23 games. He averaged double figures in scoring all five full seasons played, including 11.0 points per game in 2022. Bohannon is one of only three Hawkeyes with four 100-assist seasons. He concluded his career winning the 2022 Men’s and Battle of the Champions 3-Point contests in New Orleans, site of the Final Four.
Bohannon also was co-winner of the Top Playmaker Award, earning the accolade for a fifth time. The native of Marion, Iowa, was an honorable mention and voted to the All-Big Ten Tournament Team in 2022. He sank a school and Xfinity Arena record 10 3-pointers (one shy of the Big Ten record) in only 31 minutes at Maryland on Feb. 10. Bohannon made 91 treys in his sixth year, second most in the Big Ten, including sinking the game-winning shot at the buzzer against the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on March 12. He netted 20 points, bolstered by six triples, in Iowa’s ACC Challenge-road victory at Virginia. Bohannon missed only 10 free-throw attempts in his final season (80-of-90, .889).
Ash was a leader on the scout team the past five seasons, playing in 44 career games. The native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, earned a scholarship prior to the 2021-22 season. He posted single season bests in points, scoring, assists, and rebounds and 3-pointers in 2022.
Patrick started all 32 games played as a sophomore, ranking third on the team in points (10.5) and free throws made (1.7) per game, fourth in rebounds (3.6), 3-pointers made (1.03) and blocks (0.5) per game, and second in field goals made (3.9) and attempted (9.2) per contest. He posted single season bests in every statistical category. Patrick reached double figures 21 times in 2022, including leading the team in scoring (18) and 3-pointers made (4) in Iowa’s NCAA Tournament game versus Richmond (18). The four triples against the Spiders were a personal best.
Sophomore guard Ahron Ulis also shared the Top Playmaker Award with Connor and Bohannon. The native of Chicago registered single season bests in nearly every statistic in 2022. Ulis ranked third on the squad in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.28). He dished out three or more assists in 10 games off the bench. He played a personal-high 27 minutes, scoring all seven of his points from the free throw line in overtime, at Penn State on Jan. 31.
Kris Murray and Tony Perkins received the team’s the Most Improved Player Award. Kris was the team’s leading scorer (9.7) and rebounder (4.3) off the bench. He improved his scoring average by 9.1 points and rebounding average by 3.7 per outing. Kris was second on the team in 3-point percentage (.397). He ranked second on the squad in blocks per game (0.9) and field goals made (124), third in offensive (1.6) and defensive (2.7) rebounds per contest, and fourth in steals (0.8) per contest. His 31 blocks and 43 triples rank seventh and eighth, respectively, by a Hawkeye sophomore. Kris’ best game in 2022 came in leading the Hawkeyes to victory over Indiana on Jan. 13 (29 points; 11 rebounds; 3 steals; 3 blocks).
Perkins played all 36 games, including starting the final 15 games of the season. Over the final 15 games, the Hawkeyes posted a 12-3 record, including winning four straight games in four days to win the 2022 Big Ten Tournament Championship. He ranked third on the team in steals per game (0.9), fourth in offensive rebounds (0.9) and free throws made (1.4), fifth in scoring (7.4) and field goals made (2.8), and sixth in rebounding (2.4). Perkins shot 80 percent (62-of-65) from the foul line. The Indianapolis native reached double figures 10 times, including 15 or more in five games. Perkins recorded career bests in scoring (20) at Nebraska and rebounds (12) at Illinois in the final week of the regular season.
Filip Rebraca and Payton Sandfort were honored as the Newcomers of the Year. Rebraca, who transferred from the University of North Dakota prior to the season, started all 36 games at center. He ranked second on the team in rebounds (5.6), third in blocks (0.7) and sixth in scoring (5.8). The Sombor, Serbia, native netted double figures in scoring five times and rebounding three times, and rejected a season-best two shots in seven contests. He shot 53 percent from the field (86-of-161).
Sandfort made 34 triples, fourth most on the team and eighth most ever by a Hawkeye freshman. He missed only one free throw attempt (15-of-16, .938). The native of Waukee, Iowa, tallied double figures in scoring seven times. Sandfort poured in a season-high 21 points, bolstered by making five 3-pointers, in a victory over Alabama State. He made 6-of-10 (.600) from long distance in Iowa’s four games en route to the Big Ten Tournament Championship, including sinking both attempts in the championship contest versus No. 9 Purdue. Sandfort sank a combined ten 3-pointers in back-to-back games (Alabama State; Western Michigan).
Iowa posted a 26-10 overall record, won the 2022 Big Ten Tournament and placed fourth in the Big Ten regular season. The Hawkeyes finished the season ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll and its 26 victories are second most in a single season in program history.
2022 IOWA MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM AWARDS
CHRIS STREET AWARD: Connor McCaffery & Keegan Murray
TOP PLAYMAKER: Jordan Bohannon, Connor McCaffery, Ahron Ulis
NEWCOMER(S) OF THE YEAR: Filip Rebraca & Payton Sandfort
MOST IMPROVED: Tony Perkins & Kris Murray
TOP REBOUNDER: Keegan Murray
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD: Connor McCaffery & Keegan Murray
KENNY ARNOLD HAWKEYE SPIRIT AWARD: Jordan Bohannon, Patrick McCaffery, Austin Ash
