IOWA CITY, Iowa — Fifth-year senior Patrick McCaffery received the Chris Street Award for the 2023-24 University of Iowa men’s basketball season, it was announced Tuesday night at the team’s annual awards banquet held in the Feller Club Room inside 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.
McCaffery was one of eight players recognized during the evening. Josh Dix was named the Most Improved Player and was the co-recipient of the Best Defensive Player and Kenny Arnold Hawkeye Spirit Award, Owen Freeman was selected as the Newcomer of the Year and Top Rebounder, Payton Sandfort earned the Top Rebounder and Academic Excellence Awards, Ladji Dembele was the co-winner of the Best Defensive Player, Brock Harding was the Top Playmaker, Pryce Sandfort received the Academic Excellence Award and Ben Krikke shared the Kenny Arnold Hawkeye Spirit Award.
McCaffery appeared in 31 games with 15 starts during the 2023-24 season, averaging 8.9 points and 2.8 rebounds. He scored in double figures in 14 games with two 20-point contests. The Iowa City, Iowa, native became the 54th Hawkeye to reach the 1,000 career points mark on Feb. 27 against Penn State.
McCaffery was a member of five Hawkeye teams that won a total of 106 games during his career.
Dix earned the Most Improved Player, Best Defensive Player and shared the Kenny Arnold Hawkeye Spirit Award after having a breakout sophomore season. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native averaged 8.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists en route to earning honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition. He scored in double figures in 11 games with four 20-point contests, including three straight in late February. Defensively, Dix was Iowa’s best perimeter defender, matching up against the opposition’s best player each night.
Freeman was named the Newcomer of the Year and Top Rebounder after enjoying a stellar freshman season. The Moline, Illinois, native became the second Hawkeye all-time (and first in 30 years) to earn the Big Ten Freshman of the Year honor and he was the Big Ten Freshman of the Week nine times – second most in league history — during the regular season. Freeman averaged 10.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks – leading the team in rebounding (225), blocks (61) and field goal percentage (.614), while ranking second in steals (32) and fourth in scoring.
During the season, Freeman had a pair of 20-point contests and scored in double figures in 18 games. His five double-doubles were tied for the most on the team and the most by a Big Ten freshman. He finished the season with Iowa freshman records in blocks and rebounds and was second in field goal percentage and double-doubles.
Payton Sandfort earned the Best Rebounder and Academic Excellence Award after being Iowa’s best player in 2023-24. The forward earned third-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging a team-best 16.4 points and 6.6 rebounds. He finished the year with 94 3-point field goals – tops in the Big Ten. He was one of just four players nationally to average 16 points, 6+ rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 3-point field goals.
Sandfort landed in double figures in 27 games with a team-best 11 20-point games and he tied for the team lead with five double-doubles. He notched the first triple-double in program history, finishing with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on Feb. 27 against Penn State and he scored a career-high 30 points with seven 3-pointers in Iowa’s NIT victory over Kansas State.
Off the court, Sandfort was named an Academic All-Big Ten, CSC Academic All-District and was a Dean’s List honoree. He carries a 3.91 grade point average while majoring in finance.
Dembele shared the Best Defensive Player honor after being Iowa’s best low-post defender as a freshman. The Newark, New Jersey, native saw action in 32 games, averaging 11.1 minutes per game. He averaged 2.2 points and two rebounds, grabbing five or more rebounds three times.
Harding was selected as the Top Playmaker after being a spark off the bench. The guard averaged 3.4 points and 2.6 assists in 10.8 minutes per game and his 89 assists were the most by a freshman in the Big Ten. Harding had five games with 5+ assists, including a 10-point, 12-assist double-double in a career-high 29 minutes against UMBC in late December.
Pryce Sandfort appeared in 32 games, averaging 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds during his true freshman season. The guard made 17 3-point field goals during the season, connecting on 34.7 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Krikke shared the Kenny Arnold Hawkeye Spirit Award after averaging 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting 54.7 percent from the floor in his lone season as a Hawkeye. The honorable mention All-Big Ten selection led the team in field goals (186), was third in scoring, field goal percentage and steals (30). He reached double figures in 24 games with eight 20-point contests and also had four double-doubles. Krikke surpassed the 2,000-career point mark on Feb. 27 against Penn State, finishing his collegiate career with 2,065 points in four seasons at Valparaiso and one season at Iowa.
The Hawkeyes finished the 2023-24 season with a 19-15 overall record. The team tied for six in the Big Ten (10-10 record) and advanced to the NIT Second Round.
2023-24 IOWA MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM AWARDS
CHRIS STREET AWARD: Patrick McCaffery
TOP PLAYMAKER: Brock Harding
BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYERS: Josh Dix, Ladji Dembele
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Owen Freeman
MOST IMPROVED AWARD: Josh Dix
TOP REBOUNDER(S): Owen Freeman, Payton Sandfort
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD: Payton Sandfort, Pryce Sandfort
KENNY ARNOLD HAWKEYE SPIRIT AWARD: Josh Dix, Ben Krikke
