Iowa has checked in on an intriguing transfer forward to add to a crowded forward group

The transfer portal for men's basketball has been open since April 7, but the Hawkeyes have not been active through the early stages of the window.

Iowa is coming off an Elite 8 appearence for the first time since 1987 last season, and are looking to continue that success next season.

Iowa is currently losing only two players, as Bennett Stirtz and Brenden Hausen have exhausted their college eligibility, but it has a few areas to address next season.

One of the areas of need: more long-range shooting.

Iowa has been in contact with sharpshooting transfer Blake Barkley

The Hawkeyes ran one of the slowest offenses in college basketball last season, opting to move the ball around and take shots deep in the shot clock.

They weren't a horrible three-point-shooting team, ranking No. 87 overall in three-point shooting percentage last season, but without Stirtz running the show, they need more shooting to balance the offense.

With that key goal in mind, Ben McCollum and company have reportedly reached out to East Tennessee State (ETSU) transfer Blake Barkley.

Iowa is one of over a dozen teams that have shown interest in Barkley, and his prolific shooting is the main reason.

Last season for the Buccaneers, Barkley averaged 14.6 points per game on 58.9 percent shooting from the field and 38.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

With needs elsewhere, it is a little strange that Iowa is interested in Barkley, and the Hawkeyes already have a crowded forward group.

Iowa has Cooper Koch, Ethan Harris, Trey Thompson, Tate Sage, Jaidyn Coon, and Alvaro Folgueiras competing for time at one of the forward spots, and Barkley would add even more competition to an already crowded room.

It is never a bad thing to have too many versatile forwards, and Barkley's shooting is definitely too good to pass up, so it will be interesting to see if Iowa lands Barkley from the portal.