By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Ben McCollum now has enough players from Drake following him to Iowa to form a starting lineup.

Tavion Banks, a 6-foot-7 guard/forward, committed to Iowa on Friday, making him the fifth former Drake player to make the move from Des Moines to Iowa City since McCollum was hired as the Iowa head coach.

Banks has one year of eligibility remaining, and he is the fifth player from Drake to officially sign with the Hawkeyes, joining Bennett Stirtz, Kael Combs, Cam Manyawu and Isaia Howard.

Stirtz was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year this season.

All five played under McCollum during the 2024-25 season, helping the Bulldogs to a 31-win season, a Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament title and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Banks averaged 10.1 points and 5.0 rebounds this season and was named the Missouri Valley Conference Sixth Man of the Year.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Banks shot 52.0 percent from the field and played a key role in helping Drake finish 31-4 while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Banks scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had three steals in Drake’s win over Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Banks entered the transfer portal on Wednesday with a do not contact tag, which meant his decision already had been made.

Banks played the 2023-24 season at Northwest Florida State where he averaged 10.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.