By John Bohnenkamp

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Drew Thelwell said being at Iowa felt like home.

His new home, it seems, has more food options than Morehead, Kentucky, where Thelwell played four seasons at Morehead State University.

There is a wider selection of choices in the Iowa City/Coralville area, but Thelwell seems to have settled on a couple of spots.

“I’m really going crazy with (Raising) Canes right now,” Thelwell said during Monday’s media availability at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “Chipotle, sometimes. But Canes is the biggest one for me.”

Culinary choices aside, there are other reasons why Thelwell chose to play for the Hawkeyes in his final season of eligibility.

What he brings to Iowa is a veteran backcourt presence who has won a lot of games in his career. Thelwell became the winningest player in Morehead State’s program history, winning 94 games in his career while leading the Eagles to two Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles, two conference tournament titles, and two trips to the NCAA tournament, including last season, when Morehead State challenged Illinois for about 25 minutes before finally falling in the first round.

Iowa needed some experience in the backcourt with the departure of Tony Perkins and Dasonte Bowen, and Thelwell seemed like the perfect choice.

And the fact that the Hawkeyes felt that way helped Thelwell make his decision.

“After I took my visit, it felt like home,” Thelwell said. “The guys were good guys. But the coaches kept calling, and I know they wanted me, too.”

Thelwell averaged 10 points and 6.2 assists last season. He knew he had options with a final season of eligibility remaining, but when Morehead State coach Preston Spradlin left after last season to take the head coaching job at James Madison, Thelwell decided to look around at bigger schools.

Thelwell liked the fit at Iowa.

“They play fast,” he said. “At my old school, we had a slower system. I watched some of these games, and they put a lot of points on the board, and that’s what I like, that style of play.

“Everything kind of checked the boxes off for the things I wanted for my last year.”

Thelwell played four games against Big Ten opponents last season — Purdue, Indiana and Penn State in the regular season along with the Illini in the postseason — so he has an idea of what he’ll be facing.

“It’s probably the length (of players),” Thelwell said. “It’s not what you see in the OVC a lot of times.”

He’s gotten a taste of that going against Hawkeyes like Owen Freeman and Payton Sandfort in practice. Still, he said, the transition has gone well.

“I would say so for the most part,” Thelwell said. “It’s not been a bad transition. I’m just learning the plays, playing quicker.

“I know I can pass the ball well. And when you’ve got a guy like Payton who can light it up…”

He knows what he can add to the Hawkeyes.

“I think it’s just being a veteran,” Thelwell said. “I’ve had four years of college basketball already, so it’s just bringing experience to the team.”