By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Tony Perkins is a guard.

He isn’t necessarily a shooting guard or a point guard.

He’s just a 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior guard.

Sophomore Dasonte Bowen, who’s listed at 6-2, feels the same about his skill set in that he is also just a guard, and likewise with 6-4 sophomore Josh Dix.

Perhaps the best way to describe the three members of the Iowa men’s basketball team is that they’re combo guards, meaning they can play both point guard and shooting guard.

Freshman Brock Harding might be the closest on the roster to being a pure point guard, but the 6-footer from Moline, Illinois can shoot and score like a shooting guard, or at least he did in high school, which culminated with him and Iowa freshman forward Owen Freeman winning a state title together last season.

“Like I’ve said in past years, I don’t really care as long as I’m on the court,” Perkins said at Iowa’s media day when asked if he prefers playing point guard or shooting guard. “I could play, one, five, four, or three or two. It doesn’t matter. I just want to be on the court.”

Perkins isn’t short on confidence, and that’s good because much will be expected from him, and from the other guards and newcomers on the roster as Iowa moves on without at least one of the Murray twins for the first time in three years, without combo guard Connor McCaffery for the first time in six years, and without Filip Rebraca, who started in each of the past two seasons in the post.

Perkins has played a key role since about midway through his freshman season, but up until now, it has been more of a supporting role because he was always surrounded by star veteran players.

From Luka Garza to Joe Wieskamp to Keegan Murray and Kris Murray, there were always veteran players to whom Perkins could look to for leadership.

But now he’s that veteran player that others will look to for leadership, and Perkins is ready to embrace that role.

“It feels a little different because I’m used to being the little guy and just listening to everybody,” Perkins said Monday. “But being able to have a leadership role feels good because then I can move people into certain places that I want them to be and where they should be and where coach Fran (McCaffery) wants them to be.

“So, watching them do it for these last four years, it isn’t really that hard, honestly, because I’ve seen Connor, Luka, Wieskamp and all them dudes do it. So, I think I can do it.”

Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery met with the media for about 30 minutes on Monday as part of Iowa’s annual media day event and he was asked if he expects to have a point guard by committee or if he would prefer that one player lock down the position.

“We could have a lot of options at that position,” Fran McCaffery said. “I think we’ll see Tony there at times. I think Dasonte and Brock and Josh Dix can all play that position. Normally, you don’t have that many options, and fortunately, all those guys can also make shots.

“So, sometimes, they’re sort forced to be in a distributor position because no one really scores at all. But at the end of the day, we just want to push it and I think all those guys are really good assist guys with no turnovers. Their numbers from when they started here, and obviously, since the young guys have got here, they’re really good. We track that stuff every day. So, I trust all four of those guys to do a good job there.”

Perkins, Bowen and Dix combined for 142 assists and 91 turnovers last season.

Iowa plays at a fast pace under Fran McCaffery and that leads to more possessions, but also the chance for more turnovers.

But with guards that are interchangeable, Iowa should always have at least two reliable ball handlers on the court at the same time.

Connor McCaffery will be missed in so many ways, from his passing to his leadership and toughness, and his ability to play both guard positions.

But his departure will create more opportunities for the other backcourt players and Bowen is ready to seize that opportunity.

Bowen came in highly regarded from Boston, Massachusetts last season, and while he flashed at times as a freshman, he also struggled, averaging just 9.3 minutes per game, and making just one start.

Fran McCaffery said Monday that he probably should have played Bowen and Dix more down the stretch last season.

Bowen was told what McCaffery said and had this response from media day.

“He had to do what he had to do at the time, and I respect that,” Bowen said. “It would have been cool if I would have played a little bit more. But you can’t dwell on the past too much. I’m just excited for this season.”

Iowa’s roster has seven newcomers, including four freshmen and 6-9 transfers Ben Krikke from Valparaiso and Even Brauns from Belmont.

With that many new faces, the veteran players, namely Perkins senior forward Patrick McCaffery and junior guard/forward Payton Sandfort, will all be counted on to play expanded roles as Iowa even stated in its release to the media on Monday.

Krikke also was brought in to play a key role after having led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring last season, while Brauns, a 6-9, 245-pound power forward from Iowa City, will give Iowa a rugged player in the paint to rebound and defend, and to score when needed.

Perkins ranked third on the team in scoring last season (12.3), first in steals (46), second in assist per-game (2.75) and tied for third in rebounding (4.1).

However, the Indianapolis native only shot 33 percent from 3-point range, making 22-of-66 attempts, and that has been an emphasis for him this offseason.

“During the summer, I’ve been shooting a lot,” Perkins said. “And during workouts and practice, I’ve been shooting better three-wise. The pull-up is still there, and defense is still there. Just shooting the three ball more.”

Perkins expects to score more this season as Iowa adjusts to playing without Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca, the two leading scorers from last season’s team that finished 19-14 overall and made the NCAA Tournament.

“Yeah, but I feel like we’ve got a bunch of scorers” Perkins said. ” So, even if I don’t score a lot, I feel other players will be able to pick up the slack.

“But I feel like I’ll be able to score more this year. So, I’m not too worried about that.”

In addition to Brock Harding and 6-10 Owen Freeman, Iowa’s freshmen class also has 6-6 forward Pryce Sandfort, who is the younger brother of Payton Sandfort, and 6-8, 250-pound forward Ladji Dembele, who attended high school in New Jersey.

Fran McCaffery expects them all to contribute in some capacity this season.

“All four of them are going to play,” Fran McCaffery said of the freshmen. “They’re all good players. They’re not mistake guys. They compete. Sometimes you have a guy whose body is not ready. They’re good, they’re going to be good, but it’s going to take a year. I wouldn’t say that for any of those guys.

“And they all bring something to the table that’s a little different. That’s why I recruited them in the first place.”

Redshirt freshman guard Carter Kingsbury, who is the son of former Iowa guard Chris Kingsbury, and 6-4 freshman Spencer Hutchison will provide depth in the backcourt, as will 6-11 sophomore Riley Mulvey in the post.

Iowa will face Quincy in an exhibition game on Oct. 30 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and will then face North Dakota in the season opener on Nov. 7 at home.