Expectations for Iowa freshman basketball players Chris Tadjo and Cooper Koch

IOWA CITY — Chris Tadjo provided backup for fellow freshman Cooper Koch during a basketball practice for Iowa this month.

Koch lined up a 3-pointer during a live-action drill. Although the ball clattered off the iron, it’s a shot he’s certainly capable of making. Still, Tadjo was prepared for a potential miss and collected the ball after it bounced off the rim. He took a powerful dribble, used a feint to get Owen Freeman airborne, and finished with a layup.

Koch and Tadjo, the two scholarship players from Iowa’s freshman class (Trey Buchanan is a preferred walk-on), are preparing for their first seasons with the Hawkeyes. Summer workouts have offered glimpses of where they are in their development and what they can offer early in their Iowa careers.

As briefly demonstrated in that offensive rebound, Tadjo’s physical skills stand out. While Koch missed a 3-point shot in that particular instance, he made other long-range chances on several occasions.

“Cooper — he can really score,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “He can play more than one position. He can handle it, stretch the floor, shoot 3-pointers. But he’ll rebound the ball, too. Chris has tremendous athleticism, a phenomenal intensity player. Plays really hard and is as good an athlete as you’ll find anywhere in the country.”

Aside from the fact that they are both freshmen and 6 feet 3 inches tall, the similarities between the two are fairly fleeting.

How Chris Tadjo Ended Up at Iowa

Tadjo is well-traveled, having lived in the Ivory Coast, Canada and Mexico before moving to Iowa for college. During the recruiting process, Tadjo was playing for the NBA Academy Latin America when he came on Iowa’s radar.

“They put these teams together and they train and they practice,” McCaffery said of the NBA Academy. “They do academic stuff. So we saw Chris (at an event) last year. And (he) was underrated, I thought, and played really well. I felt like he offered something that we were looking for in the classroom.”

Tadjo has received interest from Xavier, TCU, Akron and Iowa. He committed to Iowa shortly after visiting in September 2023.

“When Iowa first offered me, I didn’t know much about Iowa,” Tadjo said. “But as I went through the recruiting process, I was looking for what Iowa is all about? And something really interested me. I thought, why not go there? My heart just led me here. I had my first visit here, so I thought, if this is the school I like, I’m just going to go there. I’m a religious person, so I pray a lot before I do anything. So I put that in God’s hands and found out that this was the place I wanted to stay.”

Tadjo is still relatively early in his development process for someone his age. He said he’s only been playing basketball for about seven years. Knowing he may only be scratching the surface of his potential is part of what makes him an intriguing prospect. Iowa’s track record of developing talent is reason to be optimistic about his future.

“I’m learning new things,” Tadjo said of his first offseason in the program. “It’s a little bit uncomfortable. Sometimes I’m a little bit frustrated because there are things I haven’t seen before. I’m really excited because all my coaches here help me a lot. And I really like the team.”

Video: Freshman Chris Tadjo talks about his journey to the Iowa men’s basketball team

Iowa freshman Chris Tadjo meets with the media on July 15, 2024.

More: Meet Trey Buchanan, a favored walk-on in the 2024 recruiting class of the Iowa men’s basketball team

Cooper Koch has been a Hawkeye practically since birth

Unlike Tadjo, Koch was familiar with the Hawkeye program from a young age. His father, J.R., played four seasons for Iowa before being selected 46th overall by the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Draft.

Koch, from Peoria, Ill., had received interest from a handful of Big Ten programs, including Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Purdue. But he scrapped his recruitment early in the process, opting to follow in his father’s footsteps. In his commitment post to Iowa, he stated, “I grew up dreaming of playing for the Hawkeyes.”

“I just felt a click here and it ended up being a great decision,” Koch said this summer.

Koch added: “Certainly the style of play. Because going up and down — that’s what I like to do — compared to Purdue and Wisconsin. They’re up and down, but not compared to Iowa.”

Koch learned from Payton Sandfort early in his time at Iowa. It’s not hard to draw parallels between the two. They’re not only similar in stature, but also in their ability as wings who can cover the floor. Sandfort has improved incrementally each season at Iowa and now enters his senior year as one of the best players in the Big Ten. He could be a blueprint for Koch to follow.

“He’s been through the (NBA) Draft process and I have to guard him all the time in practice,” Koch said of Sandfort. “So the fact that I see myself in his position in a couple of years gives me a lot of motivation.”

Video: Freshman Cooper Koch tries to follow Payton Sandfort’s example

Iowa freshman basketball player Cooper Koch meets with the media on July 15, 2024.

What can Iowa basketball fans expect from Tadjo and Koch?

Iowa should have the advantage this season of not having to rely as heavily on its freshman class as it did last season. The four members of Iowa’s 2023 recruiting class, now rising sophomores, have carried a significant load given their lack of college experience. But Koch and Tadjo could certainly carve out meaningful roles if they prove capable.

One of Tadjo’s most translatable skills in the short term is rebounding, something that was an issue at times for Iowa last season. Tadjo, Ladji Dembele, Riley Mulvey and Even Brauns could provide frontcourt depth behind Owen Freeman.

Koch’s shooting could be a weapon for Iowa this season. But competition for minutes is shaping up to be fierce, as Iowa has a handful of bigger perimeter threats between Payton Sandfort, Seydou Traore and Pryce Sandfort.

“Probably a little too early to tell,” McCaffery said generally about the newcomers’ potential roles. “But I think the new guys will play. They expect to play. I expect them to play. So it’s going to depend on how they continue to grow, how quickly they pick things up, what we expect from them.”

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