Bennett Stirtz, who was a very good College Basketball player during the past four years, was selected in the first round of this year’s NBA Draft last week. Ben McCollum, who is a very good College Basketball Coach, has also achieved a very high level of success and has accumulated many wins at three different NCAA schools.

I know that Stirtz and Mc-Collum were both highly successful on their own, even before they met each other. However, I strongly believe that a main factor that helped take these two to even a higher level of success, was the very strong and unique player-coach partnership that they developed with each other over the past four years.

Ben McCollum and Bennett Stirtz before they really knew each other

Ben McCollum was an Assistant Basketball Coach at Emporia St University for 4 years, and then became the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville in 2009, and remained in that position for 13 years prior to coaching Bennett Stirtz. His teams won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022, along with 10 MIAA Conference titles, during that time.

Bennett Stirtz played High School Basketball at Liberty High School, and his Dad was his high school coach. Stirtz was an All State player his Senior year at Liberty, and he averaged 18.3 points per game.

Stirtz and McCollum together at Northwest Missouri State

Ben McCollum recruited Bennett Stirtz to come to Northwest beginning with the 2023-24 Basketball season. Stirtz was instantly a starter for Northwest, and he was consistently a double figure scorer, averaging 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game during his Sophomore year. He received All Conference Honors in both his Freshman and Sophomore years, and the Northwest Bearcats were MIAA Conference Regular Season and Conference Tournament Champions both years. The Bearcats were 31-3 during Stirtz’s Freshman year and 295 his Sophomore year, where they made it to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16.

McCollum becomes the Head Coach at Drake and takes Stirtz with him After 15 years as Head Coach at Northwest Missouri State, Ben McCollum was recruited to become the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa for the 20242025 season. When he took the Drake job, McCollum immediately went to Stirtz, and asked him to come along with him. Stirtz and McCollum had definitely established a great player-coach relationship, so Stirtz did not hesitate and agreed to go along with his coach. They also convinced several other Northwest players to come to Drake with them.

Drake had a great year, as they were the Missouri Valley Conference Regular season, and Post season Conference Tournament Champions. The Bulldogs had a 31-4 overall record, and Stirtz was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year, and the Conference Player of the Year. Drake made the NCAA Tournament, and as many around here will remember, they led pretty well wire to wire, and upset the Missouri Tigers in a first round game, where they ran a very disciplined offense, with Stirtz being their leader. Drake then bowed out of the tournament in the second round.

After only one year at Drake, the two go to the University of Iowa After a successful year at Drake, McCollum was again aggressively sought after, this time by the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big 10 Conference to be their new Head Coach. He hated to leave Drake after only one year, but this was another big step forward, so he accepted, and guess who he invited to go with him.

You guessed it, as it was Bennett Stirtz, and they both headed off to Iowa City, for their third different school in as many years. The Hawkeyes had a 10-10 Conference Record, and received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. That is where they peaked, as they beat Clemson 67-61 in the first round, and then pulled off maybe the biggest upset of the Tournament by beating 1 seeded defending Champion Florida 73-72 to advance to the Sweet 16.

They then upset Conference foe Nebraska 77-71, advancing to the Elite 8, before bowing to Illinois 71-59, to wind up 24-13 for the season. Stirtz led Iowa in scoring, averaging 19.8 points per game to lead his team., and he was named All American Honorable Mention.

Why was the Stirtz McCollum Partnership is so Unique and so Special In today’s world of College athletics, how many times do you see a player and a coach be together at 3 different schools in a total of 4 years. Many athletes move several times in their College years, under some of today’s crazy rules, but many who move, go for more money and certainly don’t stay with the same coach the entire time.

There is no doubt in my mind, that Ben McCollum and Bennett Stirtz have as much respect, admiration, and loyalty for each other, as any duo in any sport at any level. Stirtz was drafted last week by the Memphis Grizzlies, who immediately traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a strong NBA contender, who apparently wanted him badly.

Stirtz had this to say about his former coach: “Coach Mc-Collum was a great influence on me, and he normally pushed me beyond my limits. Some days I thought that I was having a good practice, but he would get on me, and convince me that I could do even better. He showed up every day, and definitely made me who I am today.”

After all, isn’t the type of player-coach relationship that Ben McCollum and Bennett Stirtz developed and maintained over time, what good coaching is all about.