By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – There were times in Tuesday’s open practice when incoming freshman guard Peyton McCollum stood out amongst his Iowa teammates, but not because he was over-matched and in over his head as the son Iowa head coach Ben McCollum.

Peyton McCollum stood our because of his efficiency on offense and because of his effort and execution on defense.

In no way will he be a star for his father’s team this season, and Peyton McCollum might never be a star in college.

But he is also not a charity case.

His father truly believes that Peyton McCollum, a 6-foot-2 guard, can play at this level.

And one of the perks with being the head coach is having the final say on who gets to fill the roster spots.

“There’s pressure,” Peyton McCollum said of playing for his father. “But you can’t really think about it. You’ve just got to come in every day and work hard and do what you’ve got to do.”

Peyton McCollum was among four Iowa players that were made available to the media after Tuesday’s practice, along with freshman guard Tate Sage, redshirt freshman forward Joey Matteoni and junior forward Cam Manyawu.

Assistant coaches Bryston Williams and Josh Sash were also made available to the media on Tuesday.

Peyton McCollum answered all sorts of questions about playing for his father and about how much his life had changed over the past two years.

Peyton McCollum assumed that he would play for his father at Drake after graduating from Waukee Northwest High School in May.

But then his father would go on to lead the Bulldogs to a 31-4 record and to their first win in the NCAA Tournament since 1971 in what would prove to be Ben McCollum’s only season as the Drake head coach.

Iowa athletic Director Beth Goetz was so impressed with what Ben McCollum accomplished in one season at Drake, and in 14 seasons at Northwest Missouri State where he won four Division II national titles, that she hired him barely a week after having fired Fran McCaffery as the Iowa head coach in mid-March.

“I wanted to play at Drake,” Peyton McCollum said. “And then we he moved here, I’m like, ‘yeah, let’s do that. It’s a great opportunity, and it’s been good.”

Peyton McCollum assumes he will have some doubters simply from being the head coach’s son.

“For sure, a little chip on your shoulder,” he said.

Iowa fans are used to having sons play for the head coach in men’s basketball as Fran McCaffery had two of his sons play for him during his 15 seasons as the Iowa head coach. Connor McCaffery was a 6-6 guard and a gifted passer who could defend multiple positions while Patrick McCaffery was  6-9 forward who scored over 1,000 points as a Hawkeye before finishing his career at Butler this past season.

John Lickliter also was a walk-on guard under his father, former Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter, who coached the Hawkeyes for three seasons from 2007 to 2010.

However, John Lickliter was under-sized and often times overmatched on the court as a Hawkeye. His status on the team didn’t sit well with some fans.

Peyton McCollum may never achieve what the McCaffery brothers did at Iowa, but Peyton also doesn’t appear to be overmatched as was thecase with John Lickliter.

Peyton believes the best way to deal with pressure is to not think about the cause of it.

“You just have to think about coming in every day and working hard and don’t worry about the pressure,” he said. “It will all figure itself out if you trust yourself.”

This marks the first time Peyton McCollum has played for his father since way back when Peyton played basketball in a recreation league. Peyton also played for his father on a flag football team in kindergarten or first grade.

“He was still competitive, but a little more relaxed,” Peyton said of his father as a flag football coach.

Peyton McCollum grew up watching his father’s teams practice and play in games, so he kind of knew what to expect as a player.

But watching only goes so far as Peyton quickly learned after joining the Iowa team this summer.

“It’s a lot different different sitting there watching on the sidelines than actually playing,” he said. “So, I’ve learned a lot, for sure.”

The fact that six players from Drake have followed Ben McCollum to Iowa has helped to make the transition easier for Peyton McCollum because he already knew those six players from being around the Drake players last season.

“In practice last year I hopped into a couple drills and you talk to them after practice and you go eat with them,” Peyton McCollum said. “I even went to March madness with them. I flew on the plane. So it was good to be able to do that.”

Peyton McCollum made first-team all-state as a senior and helped Waukee Northwest reach the state title game.

He averaged 13. 1 points, 5.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game as a senior. He also shot 51.4 percent (128-of-249) from the field, 40.5 percent (53-of-131) from three and 84.9 percent (45-of-53) from the free throw line.

“I think I can be a great passer. I think I can shoot it really well,” Peyton McCollum said. “And I think I can be a pick-and-roll ball screener. And if not, I can be a great teammate.”

Peyton McCollum said his recruitment never really took off because it was always assumed that he would play for his father in college.

“I knew that I was going to Drake and I think that probably deterred some schools that I knew for sure that I was going to Drake, and then come to Iowa for sure,” he said.

Peyton McCollum looks every bit of 6-2 as he is listed.

“You look at other guys that are smaller and they have a tough time,” Peyton McCollum said. “It’s just easier to pass, easier to see over the top of those defenders. So, that’s really helpful.”

When asked why his father has been so successful as a head coach Peyton McCollum mentioned something that he learned as a young child.

“He does a really good job of holding players accountable where a lot of coaches find it uncomfortable to get on people and hold them accountable,” Peyton said. “He’s raised me that way as well, just holding me accountable and making sure I do the right things all the time.

“And I think that’s really helped me be who I am.”

Peyton McCollum also learned from his father at a very young age about the importance of playing defense.

“Effort is really the thing,” Peyton said. “If you don’t give effort he’s going to be madder than hell.”

With about a month of summer practice under his belt, Peyton McCollum now feels comfortable in his new surroundings.

“The first couple weeks were a little up and down,” he said. “But I’ve gotten used to it, and I’m excited to play at this level.”

Peyton now knows when to call his father “dad” and when to call him “coach Mac.”

“It’s weird because you don’t know what to call him,” Peyton McCollum said. “Like you want to call, ‘hey dad.’ And he said don’t call me dad on the floor. So he’s coach mac on the floor and he’s dad at home.”

Father and son also apparently have time for a little trash talk.

“He tells me all the time he’d beat me and still beat me,” Peyton McCollum said of his father. “But I think just his effort, I think he works really hard, especially as a coach and as player. I think I want to be more like that, and I think i can grow in that and that’s what will set me a part is effort, kind of like (NBA guard) TJ McConnell.”