Bennett Stirtz credits Ben McCollum for reaching NBA: 'He was a great influence'

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Enjoying the first few days of being an NBA player, Bennett Stirtz had one of the more unique ascensions. You can't say too many top-16 picks had played at the D-II level at one point in their journeys. But the 22-year-old kept climbing the collegiate ranks.

The Oklahoma City Thunder added Stirtz with the No. 16 pick of the 2026 NBA draft. They were so locked in on acquiring him that they sent the Memphis Grizzlies the No. 17 pick and two future second-round picks in a trade-up move.

Throughout the predraft process, Stirtz was mentioned around the lottery range. That's how things played out. Zooming out, Iowa head coach Ben McCollum played arguably the biggest role in his basketball ascension to land on an NBA title contender.

McCollum and Stirtz were tied at the hip for four years. Both were at D-II's Northwest Missouri State for two years together. And then when the former landed a D-I gig at Drake, the latter followed. Once again, the same thing happened when both moved to the Hawkeyes this past season.

McCollum has done nothing but win at every school he's coached. He was the Northwest Missouri State head coach from 2009-22. Knocking on the door to make the jump at D-I, he won four national championships in his last eight seasons there before finally getting the call-up at Drake.

At Drake, he went 31-4 and reached the Round of 32. That was enough for Iowa to hit McCollum up and offer him their coaching job. Along with Stirtz, they helped the Hawkeyes go 24-13 and made a hot run to March Madness' Elite Eight stage.

"He was a great influence. Pushed me beyond my limits. Showed up every day," Stirtz said about McCollum. "I thought for some days, I was having a good practice and he got on me and thought I could do better. He definitely pushed me and made me who I am today."

Seldom do you see a college player stick with one head coach at three different spots. In today's transfer-happy world, that type of longevity has become a rarity. That said, Stirtz's journey to the NBA is pretty one-for-one. He worked his butt off in a collegiate career that rivals any Disney feel-good movie.

Now, Stirtz will see if he can hit things off with the Thunder and Mark Daigneault. He'll surely help out on offense from the jump — both on the ball as a pick-and-roll savant and off the ball as a difficult shot-maker. Before that starts, though, he reflected on his four seasons with McCollum.

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Bennett Stirtz credits Ben McCollum for reaching NBA: 'He was a great influence'

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