By Pat Harty

IOW CITY, Iowa – Ronnie Lester and B.J. Armstrong are widely regarded as the top two point guards in the history of the Iowa men’s basketball program.

And while fellow point guard Bennett Stirtz didn’t have enough time to join that select group after playing just one season for the Hawkeyes, Stirtz could join Lester and Armstrong as part of another select group of Iowa point guards on Tuesday.

That will depend of whether Stirtz gets picked in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday in New York City.

If that were to happen, Stirtz would join Lester and Armstrong as the only Hawkeye point guards to be picked in the first round of the NBA Draft.

Lester was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 10th pick overall in the 1980 NBA Draft, while Armstrong was picked 18th overall by the Chicago Bulls in 1989.

The 6-foot-4 Stirtz is coming off a senior season in which he led Iowa to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 1987 under first-year head coach Ben McCollum.

Stirtz also led Iowa in scoring (19.8), 3-point baskets ( assists (163) and steal (51) in his only season as a Hawkeye.

He finished his college career with over 2,000 career points after playing for Northwest Missouri State as a freshman and sophomore under McCollum and for Drake as a junior while also playing under McCollum.

Stirtz and McCollum have both seen their stock rise dramatically over the past four years, and especially over the last two years while having huge success at the Division I level.

The NBA Draft is the next step for Stirtz; a new beginning and a new challenge.

Wherever Stirtz ends up, it will mark the first time in four years that he and McCollum won’t be part of the same team.

What Stirtz might lack in quick-twitch and explosive athleticism, he more than makes up for with his keen instincts, vision, length, ball-handling skills and shooting ability.

A native of Liberty, Missouri, Stirtz sort of served as a coach on the floor for McCollum; a calming influence who had a knack for controlling tempo at the collegiate level.

Whether Stirtz can do that at the NBA level, and without McCollum, remains to be seen.

However, the fact that Stirtz will attend Tuesday’s draft as an invited guest, and that he projects as a mid-to-late first-round pick would certainly suggest that NBA teams think highly of him.

Stirtz excels in the pick-and-roll and he has an extremely high basketball IQ, which is essential for a point guard.

He also is low maintenance with zero baggage from a personal standpoint; or in others words, a high-character guy.

The same was said about Lester and Armstrong when they made the jump to the NBA 46 and 37 years ago, respectively.

Twin brothers Keegan and Kris Murray, both of whom are 6-8 forwards, were the last two Iowa players picked in the first round of the NBA Draft as Keegan was picked fourth overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2022, while Kris was selected 23rd overall by Portland in 2023.

Iowa has had 11 players overall selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.

2026 NBA Draft

When: Tuesday 7 p.m. (first round); Wednesday 7 p.m. (second round)

Where: Brooklyn, New Your, (Barclays Center)

TV: ABC/ESPN will broadcast the first round, and the second round will be on ESPN.