Iowa’s season was on the verge of collapse.
The Hawkeyes walked into Assembly Hall on Jan. 17 as losers of three straight games, all in Big Ten play. They were sitting at 2-4 in the conference, desperately needing a win against Indiana to avoid a 2-5 conference record and a steep uphill climb toward the NCAA Tournament. With their backs against the wall, Iowa turned to its superstar point guard, Bennett Stirtz, to lead the way. While Stirtz was incredible, scoring 27 points, he wasn’t the only one to step up.
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Cue Tavion Banks.
The senior scored 26 points and added eight rebounds to help the Hawkeyes to a 74-57 win and a much-needed Big Ten victory. Banks’ performance against the Hoosiers came two years to the day from one of the worst games of his career.
On Jan. 17, 2024, Banks was a sophomore at Northwest Florida State, an NCJAA school, when they took on Tallahassee Community College. While his team picked up a 62-53 win, Banks struggled. He scored one point on 0-for-3 shooting from the field, but did add four rebounds and two steals in just 12 minutes of action. That game was an outlier for Banks, who was a great contributor in his two seasons at Northwest Florida State.
He appeared in 69 career games as a Raider, averaging 10 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. He helped lead the Raiders to a record of 58-14 and two appearances in the NCJAA Division I Tournament. As a freshman, Banks was part of a team that made it to the championship game of the tournament. While they ultimately lost that game, Banks left the program in a better place.
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A winning player.
After his sophomore season at Northwest Florida State, Banks got the call to move up to the Division I level. He would pack his bags for Des Moines, Iowa, to join a hotshot head coach who was also making the move to the Division I level: Ben McCollum. The two would unite at Drake University, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference with a strong basketball history.
Banks and McCollum were very similar when they arrived at Drake. Both had paid their dues and done nothing but win at lower levels of college basketball. The expectations were high for the Bulldogs when the duo arrived, as Drake had won the Missouri Valley Conference and made the NCAA Tournament the year prior. And it didn’t take long for Bulldog fans to fall in love with McCollum’s team.
Drake raced out to a 12-0 start to the 2024-25 season, which included marquee wins over Miami, Vanderbilt, and Kansas State. Back-to-back losses in early January were quickly forgotten as Drake finished the regular season 27-3 and rolled into the conference tournament with a ton of momentum. And while he didn’t get all the headlines, Banks was an integral piece.
Mar 20, 2025; Wichita, KS, USA; Drake Bulldogs guard Tavion Banks (6) celebrates after a basket in the second half of a first round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the Missouri Tigers at Intrust Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images
He was named the Missouri Valley Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year after being an all-around sparkplug off the bench. He averaged 10.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 52% from the field. While the regular season was nothing but successful for Banks and the Bulldogs, they would be judged on what happened in the postseason.
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Drake cruised past Southern Illinois and survived Belmont to reach the Missouri Valley Conference Championship game. And that’s when Banks did what he does best: help his team win. He had 13 points and nine rebounds as the Bulldogs took down Bradley, 63-48, to win the conference championship and clinch their spot in the NCAA Tournament. The best was yet to come for this team, as they were about to accomplish a feat that hadn’t been seen in over 50 years.
Drake was an 11-seed in the NCAA tournament, earning a matchup with the 6-seed Missouri Tigers. Many expected the Tigers to roll to a victory and advance in the tournament. Banks and McCollum had other ideas. In what turned into an explosive back-and-forth affair, the Bulldogs pulled off a stunner, taking down Missouri, 67-57, to earn the school’s first NCAA tournament victory since 1971.
Banks was incredible in the win, putting up 15 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. He put his name into the spotlight on a national stage, as the Bulldogs instantly became the darlings of the tournament. While their run came to an end with a 77-64 loss to Texas Tech in the next round, Banks, Stirtz, and the rest of the team became hot commodities in the transfer portal. And little did they know, the perfect home would soon present itself.
While things were going great in Des Moines, they weren’t as rosy two hours East in Iowa City. The Iowa Hawkeyes had missed the NCAA Tournament again under longtime head coach Fran McCaffery, and tensions were high. The two sides decided to move on, creating a coveted opening for a program in the Big Ten Conference. Iowa cast a wide net, interviewing tons of deserving candidates. But one name rose above the rest. And he wouldn’t have to go far to accept the offer.
Ben McCollum, Iowa’s new head men’s basketball coach, speaks during his introductory press conference Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
The Hawkeyes kept it in-state, hiring McCollum to be their next men’s basketball head coach. Growing up as an Iowa fan, this was a dream job for McCollum, who had won at every single level of college basketball he’d ever coached at. With much of Iowa’s 2024-25 roster off to the transfer portal, McCollum turned to his Drake team to help build his new team.
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He recruited numerous Bulldogs to join him in Iowa City, including Banks, who would move up another level of college basketball, going from the Missouri Valley Conference to the Big Ten. Many pundits expressed concern about McCollum’s new roster at Iowa and whether they’d be able to translate their game in a much tougher conference. Banks answered those questions early.
He scored 17 points in his Hawkeye debut against Robert Morris, now a starter after coming off the bench at Drake. He was good in his first few games of the season, but ran into some struggles once conference play started. He combined for 12 points in two games against Michigan State and Maryland, as it looked like people may have had a point about those former Drake players having a tough time transitioning to the Big Ten.
Once the Hawkeyes returned to conference play, the pressure was on to prove those doubters wrong. Banks dropped 10 points in a win over UCLA, and then just five points in a road loss to Minnesota. Following that loss to Minnesota, Banks would be tested in a massive way off the court. He had the flu and was very sick, leading up to a big game against Illinois, losing almost 10 pounds in the process.
Despite the sickness, Banks showed off just how tough he is.
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He played 25 minutes against the Illini, putting up 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals. He was the best player on the court in black and gold, earning a ton of respect from his teammates and head coach, even though the Hawkeyes came up short in the game.
Iowa’s Tavion Banks (6) reacts after being called for a foul during a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini Jan. 11, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
“Tavion probably lost about 10 pounds the last two days and was throwing up in the locker room afterwards, and he didn’t seem to have any issues,” McCollum said of Banks after the Illinois game.
Banks would score nine points in Iowa’s next game, a road loss to Purdue. That was the third Big Ten loss in a row for the Hawkeyes, which led them to Bloomington for that game with Indiana. Following his explosive 26-point outing against the Hoosiers, Banks made sure he didn’t stop there. He had 12 points and played great defense in a close win over Rutgers. And when Iowa needed him to step up again, he did.
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Iowa’s latest conference game saw them fall behind early to USC at home. With the rest of the conference schedule, this was a must-win game for the Hawks. And once again, Banks rose to the occasion. He scored 20 points and added seven boards and two steals as the Hawkeyes got a huge 73-72 win over the Trojans. It was the third straight Big Ten win for Iowa, after it looked like things could go off the rails. And McCollum was quick to praise Banks afterwards.
“He played winning basketball today, he was awesome,” McCollum said about Banks.
Banks has flourished into the second scoring option that the Hawkeyes have been looking for next to Stirtz. He’s averaging a career-best 11.1 points per game, and his 3-point shot is a big reason why. Banks really struggled behind the arc at Drake, going just 2-of-22 from three all season. This season, he’s completely flipped the script. He’s 13-for-24 from three as a Hawkeye, a massive leap from last season.
“I thought he could shoot last season, he just couldn’t figure out which shots to take. So this year, during the summer, he worked out a ton, figuring out which shots to take. He stopped hunting them and they started coming to him. When they start coming to you and you get some confidence, then you can make them when you’re hunting them. And that’s what you see,” McCollum said of Banks after the USC game.
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With the Hawkeyes gearing up for the stretch run, they’ll rely on Banks to continue his recent scoring surge and strong defensive play. From Northwest Florida State to Drake and now at Iowa, Banks’ entire collegiate basketball journey has led him to this moment. Another chance to show the entire country exactly who he is.
A winning player.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Tavion Banks’ journey, rise with Iowa basketball
