Hoops Crootin’ Boogie: Hawkeyes Sign Two in Class of 2022

The Iowa Hawkeyes officially kicked off the 2021-2022 basketball season with a convincing win over Longwood on Tuesday night. It was the first game in four years without Luka Garza on the floor for the Hawkeyes as they turn the page to a new chapter.

On Wednesday, head coach Fran McCaffery and company looked to start writing yet another chapter in this book of basketball as they kicked off the class of 2022 signing period by inking the two existing commitments in the class.

Iowa’s class of 2022, as it stands on signing day, consists of a pair of 3-star guards. Dasonte Bowen was the first commit in the class, pledging his verbal to McCaffery back in June.

Bowen is an electric point guard from the Boston area. At 6’3”, he has great length for the position, but the length doesn’t come at the expense of quickness. The Brewster Academy product is tremendous with the ball in his hands and consistently beats his man off the dribble. Once into the paint, he’s an excellent finisher through contact and can rise up to finish above the rim.

This past summer, Bowen averaged 15.2 points on 53% shooting from the field and 47% shooting from beyond the arc, along with 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game on the EYBL circuit. He’s the 91st rated prospect in the ESPN top-100 for the class of 2022.

Here’s Fran McCaffery’s take on Bowen from today’s press release:

“Dasonte is creative and fearless on the basketball court. He has incredible vision and makes plays. Dasonte can step back and hit the three, but he is constantly attacking the defense. He can rebound and score a variety of ways. He is an incredibly unselfish player. We are excited to welcome him to the Hawkeye family.”

Bowen is joined in the class of 2022 by fellow guard Josh Dix. Dix is also a 3-star prospect and hails from Council Bluffs. While Bowen is set to be the point guard of the future, Dix is more of a combo guard.

He boasts the ability to handle the point for stretches, but is longer, not as quick and has a better outside shot at this point. At 6’5”, he too has a great frame for a combo guard. As a junior Lincoln last year, Dix led his team with 19.4 points per game on 54% shooting from the floor and 38% from deep. He added 7.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game

Here’s what McCaffery had to say about Dix:

“Josh is incredibly versatile. He can play multiple positions. He has a great frame. Josh is good with the ball in his hands finding people and getting to the rim. He’s physical defensively and is an excellent rebounder for his position. Josh is a winning player. We are really excited about him.”

With two players signed, McCaffery will head into the spring with some flexibility. Super senior Jordan Bohannon does not currently count against the scholarship limit, leaving Iowa with one open at the moment. This despite walk-on Austin Ash taking one during the offseason.

Dix and Bowen will fill those two spots in 2022, but Iowa also has Connor McCaffery and grad transfer Filip Rebraca who could move on or stay for a COVID year. Rebraca has already mentioned having two years in Iowa City so it’s likely he sticks around. However, both Connor and Patrick offer scholarships for flexibility if Fran finds the right fit either via the prep route or the transfer portal. That’s to say nothing of the possibility of Iowa losing a player to the portal themselves.

Welcome aboard, officially, Josh Dix and Dasonte Bowen!