Iowa’s offense is about to have a different look, and Tate Sage is one of the biggest reasons why.
With Bennett Stirtz gone, the Hawkeyes no longer have that ball-dominant guard steering everything. That opens the door for a more balanced attack, one where scoring comes from a few different places instead of funneling through one player. Sage, entering his sophomore season, appears ready to be one of the main beneficiaries of that shift.
Last season, the Oklahoma native averaged 6.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while shooting 49 percent from the field and 38 percent from three. His numbers only tell part of the story.
Sage had some of his best moments when the pressure was highest, including a career-high 19 points in the Sweet 16 win over Nebraska and 10 points in the Elite Eight loss to Illinois. He also delivered timely baskets in the Round of 64 win over Clemson and played with a fearlessness that stood out throughout his first year in Iowa City.
That kind of rise was already taking shape before the season even started. Around this time last year, Iowa’s coaches were seeing Sage adjust to the college game faster than expected during his first month on campus. That early momentum carried into his freshman year, and by the time the NCAA Tournament arrived, he was producing when the Hawkeyes needed it most.
His path to Iowa makes that even more notable. Coming out of Weatherford, Okla., Sage had only one high-major offer, and Iowa landed him after Ben McCollum and his staff decided to bring him to Iowa City when he had initially been headed to Drake before McCollum took the job at Iowa.
Sage spent much of last season as an off-ball scoring wing, spacing the floor and finding ways to hurt defenses without needing the ball in his hands for long stretches. He made 71 percent of his 31 shot attempts off cuts, and he was especially effective as a spot-up shooter, knocking down 43.8 percent of his spot-up threes on 48 attempts. He also hit a couple of threes coming off screens and dribble handoffs.
Now, Iowa wants more from him. Sage will still have that off-ball role, but the Hawkeyes also plan to use him to start actions and make plays with the ball. He’s not being asked to become a lead guard, but he is expected to handle more creation duties, attack off the dribble, and help set up teammates when needed.
“I’m going to have a bigger role,” Sage said. “I’m going to have the ball in my hands a lot more, more looks at the rim.
I’ve been shooting a lot, working on my ball-handling, and all these ball-screen actions, really whatever the team needs. If I need to be a scorer, I’ll be a scorer.
Whatever needs be.”
“I’ve been working on having the ball in my hands a little bit more, getting more looks. I’m still going to carry my shooting identity with me; I feel like that’s me, but I’m not going to lose the cutting.
That’s been me my entire life. When I move off the ball, I’m going to move off the ball, and just do whatever the team needs.”
That responsibility should grow quickly. Sage was sixth on the team in percentage of possessions used while on the floor last season, and that figure is expected to jump significantly with Stirtz no longer in the mix. Sage says he’s ready for it.
“It’s definitely one of the bigger leaps for me,” Sage said. “This is D1, Big Ten Basketball, and it’s going to be a big leap.
This is what I wanted. I wasn’t in high school wishing I’d sit on the bench at a D1 school; this is what I wanted.
Going through high school every year, you take a step, and there is more and more expected of you, and like that here, there is more expected, and I’m ready to fulfill that.”
That confidence has been part of Sage’s game from the start, and his tournament run only added to it. He still carries the chip that comes from being overlooked as a recruit, and from proving he could deliver on a major stage as a freshman.
“From my confidence. Always believing in myself.
I never walk onto the court, one-on-one or whatever I’m doing, thinking I’m going to get beat,” he said. “I kind of proved to myself last year that I could compete with anybody and that’s been my mindset going forward.”
Sage also sees the bigger picture around him. McCollum’s program has leaned into the underdog identity, and Bennett Stirtz’s rise to No. 16 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder after starting at Northwest Missouri State is part of that story. Sage knows there are still doubters, and he’s using that as fuel.
“Keep proving them wrong,” he said. “There are still a lot of people who don’t believe, and, shoot, you can tie it back to Bennett, with people thinking it was a mistake for the Thunder to take Bennett. I feel like that’s been our identity all along, that’s something I carry with me, and that’s fuel to the fire.”
Sage won’t be carrying the load alone. Iowa is also counting on Cooper Koch, Kael Combs, Cam Manyawu, Trey Thompson, Andrew McKeever and Ty’Reek Coleman to take on bigger roles. It’s a group effort, and Sage knows he’s one of the players with real weight on his shoulders.
Still, that fits the way McCollum’s program works. The development curve matters.
Time in the system matters. Consistency matters.
Sage is bought in.
“Losing Bennett is big, and not sure you can replace a guy like that, but we trust Coach McCollum, we have good players, and we’re just going to work with him,” Sage said. “We’re just going to try to keep this thing rolling and keep moving forward.”
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