By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – When asked if he would win a dunk contest on the Iowa men’s basketball team, sophomore forward Seydou Traore didn’t hesitate before answering.

“Yeah, most definitely,” he said with a huge grin. “Most definitely I would win a dunk contest.”

Traore wasn’t bragging or overestimating his ability to dunk a basketball or selling his new teammates short.

The 6-foot-7 transfer from Manhattan College truly believes that he is the best dunker on the team. And it’s easy to see why given that he is blessed with outstanding athleticism, including the ability to soar high above the basket.

Traore performed a couple dunks in front of the media on Monday, the kind that raise your eyebrows and cause you to say, wow.

Now, of course there is a lot more to playing basketball than just dunking.

Traore earned a scholarship to Iowa after having a standout freshman season for Manhattan where he appeared in 28 games for the Jaspers, starting all but one.

He finished the season averaging 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery needed help on the frontline after losing forwards Ben Krikke and Patrick McCaffery, who is Fran McCaffery’ son.

Krikke exhausted his eligibility, while Patrick McCaffery transferred to Butler for his final season, mostly because he wanted a change after having played for his father for five seasons.

As part of their recruiting sales pitch to Traore, Fran McCaffery and the Iowa assistant coaches showed him video clips of twin brothers Keegan Murray and Kris Murray both playing for the Hawkeyes.

That was Fran McCaffery’s way of showing Traore how he could excel in Iowa’s fast-paced offense.

Both Murray twins were lightly recruited in high school coming out of Cedar Rapids, as was Traore while attending high school New York City.

The Murray twins attended a prep school in Florida for one year before coming to Iowa on scholarship.

They both would go on to earn All-America accolades, including first-team honors for Keegan, and they both now play in the NBA.

“They showed me a lot of film of Keegan and Kris, those two guys in particular,” Traore said. “I kind of see similarities in my game. I’ve still got a lot of things to improve.”

Traore might be more athletic than the Murray twins, but he has yet to show what he can do against Big Ten competition on a regular basis.

He was a streaky shooter for Manhattan last season as the numbers show. He shot 43.3 percent from the field, 25.6 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line.

Traore is among four newcomers on the Iowa roster, along with freshmen forwards Chris Tadjo and Cooper Koch and graduate transfer guard Drew Thelwell.

Koch is the son of former Iowa forward J.R. Koch.

Fran McCaffery was asked Monday what Traore and his two freshmen forwards bring to the team.

“Versatility, number one,” Fran McCaffery said. “Cooper, he can really score, and he can play more than one position. He handles it. He stretches the floor. He shoots threes, and also will rebound the ball.

“Chris has got tremendous athletic power, a phenomenally intense player who really, really plays hard. And he’s as good an athlete that you’re going to see anywhere in the country.

“And Seydou is skilled and also versatile. He played a year already at a very high level.”

And while Fran McCaffery might have a tendency to lay it on think when evaluating his players to the media, his four newcomers are intriguing, both individually and as group.

You could see all four of them playing together, which is a sign of their versatility.

And you could see all four of them contributing this season.

Traore didn’t leave a good situation at Manhattan to ride the bench at Iowa.

He showed last season that he could be a key contributor at the Division I level, and now he wants to play on a bigger stage.

Thelwell is in a similar situation after having played for four seasons for Morehead State.

Iowa started recruiting Tadjo early in the process, and that gave Fran McCaffery an advantage, while Koch grew up cheering for his father’s alma mater.

Cooper Koch grew up in Peoria, Illinois and started attending the Iowa summer basketball camp in fourth grade, while Tadjo hit if off immediately with the Iowa players and coaches during his recruiting visit.

“So, we’re pretty pleased with that because it doesn’t always work out that way,” Fran McCaffery said of the transition with the four newcomers. “But we felt like with this group, two portal guys and the two freshmen, it would be pretty seamless, and it has been.”

“They can play different positions. They can all dribble, pass and shoot., So each of them fit comfortably in what we’re trying to do.”

Cooper Koch acknowledged that being the son of a former Hawkeye impacted his decision.

But he never felt any pressure to pick Iowa.

The 6-8 Cooper Koch turned down scholarship offers Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, Wake Forest and Wisconsin to be a Hawkeye.

“I for sure grew up with Hawkeye stuff around my house,” Cooper Koch said. “He did not push me at all, though.

“He was impartial in my recruiting. He wanted me to make that decision for myself.”