Before Ben McCollum headed north to Iowa to coach Drake and then the Hawkeyes, he played and coached college basketball at Northwest Missouri State.
McCollum had tremendous success at the Division II level, amassing a career record of 395-91 and four Division II National Championships in 15 years with Northwest Missouri State.
On his one-year stop with the Drake Bulldogs program (2024-2025), he turned a lot of those same Division II guys into champions and earned an NCAA Tournament berth.
McCollum brought many of those same guys to Iowa City after taking over the Iowa program, with six of Iowa's 14 players on the roster coming from Missouri.
Those deep ties to the state of Missouri have paid dividends this season, and are starting to pay dividends on the recruiting trail as well.
CG prospect Jimmy McKinney II has stayed in constant contact with Iowa
Iowa has hit multiple home runs on the recruiting trail early on in McCollum's tenure, including four-star prospects Trey Thompson (2025) and Ethan Harris (2026), but they are still trying to secure their first prospect in the 2027 class.
McCollum and his staff have been aggressively pursuing multiple talented prospects in the class, and have stayed in constant contact with an intriguing combo guard.
Through the changes of his high school recruitment, St. Louis (Mo.) Vashon PG Jimmy McKinney III has remained consistent with Iowa, a program with staffers tied to his home state of Missouri.
— Kenny Van Doren (@thevandalorian) February 25, 2026
More with the #Mizzou legacy: https://t.co/AKJWEn5vJP pic.twitter.com/422hf90rx6
As 2027 prospect Jimmy McKinney III goes through the ups and downs of recruiting, one thing has remained constant: his relationship with the Iowa program.
According to On3 Sports' Kenny Van Doren, the Hawkeyes have multiple staffers connected to Missouri, and they have remained in constant contact with the talented combo guard from St. Louis, Missouri.
The Hawkeyes have remained diligent as McKinney navigates his recruitment process, but they will have to beat out multiple other teams for his services.
McKinney has racked up 10 offers, including from Missouri, where his father, Jimmy McKinney II, played basketball.
Rivals currently ranks McKinney III as a three-star prospect, Missouri's No. 7 overall prospect, and the No. shooting prospect in the 2027 recruiting class.
247Sports currently ranks McKinney III as a three-star prospect, Missouri's No. 5 overall prospect, the No. 16 shooting guard prospect, and the No. 111 overall prospect in the 2027 recruiting class.