Iowa City, Iowa – The vibe at media day is always upbeat and positive and that was certainly the case for Fran McCaffery and the Iowa men's basketball team on Monday.

The Hawkeyes return four starters and the reigning Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year in junior forward Nicholas Baer from a team that won 19 games last season and just missed making the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season. Iowa instead played in the National Invitation Tournament where it lost to eventual champion Texas Christian University in the second round.

The Iowa players are determined to make it back to the NCAA Tournament and that was their message on Monday.

Iowa adds two promising 6-foot-11 freshmen frontline players in Luka Garza and Jack Nunge, while sophomore forward Cordell Pemsl has fully recovered from a sports hernia surgery and trimmed his weight down 235 pounds.

Sophomore point guard Jordan Bohannon worked hard during the offseason to expand his game, as did sophomore forward Tyler Cook. They both made the Big Ten All-Freshmen team last season.

Here are multiple interviews with the players, including freshman guard Connor McCaffery, who is Fran McCaffery's son. Connor McCaffery still plans to redshirt in basketball before joining the Iowa baseball team next spring.