The Iowa basketball forward was sidelined before the start of the season

As the Iowa men's basketball team prepares to finish its 2024-25 season tonight, they will do so without forward Seydou Traore, who showed up in a walking boot and did not warm up.

Traore joined the Hawkeyes via the transfer portal from Manhattan this offseason after playing one season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

In his only season with the Jaspers, Traore averaged 11.9 points and 8.1 rebounds in 32.4 minutes per game, along with 62 assists and 34 blocks. He also made 43.3% of his shots from the field and 80% from free throws.

During Iowa's annual media day in October, Iowa men's head basketball coach Fran McCaffery explained what Traore, Ladji Dembele and Cooper Koch will provide for the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes.

“Well, all the guys fighting for playing time there are all really good and all different. Ladji, Cooper, Seydou. But again: all three are not four men. You can play the foursome court. You can play third place. You can play fifth place.

“Ladji maybe more like four or five. Coop and Seydou, maybe three, four. I would like to play Seydou in the backfield. The same applies to Coop. Someone will start there, but there will be a lot of different people there,” McCaffery said of the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes’ versatility.

With Iowa playing a weaker opponent, the injury isn't likely to be a significant factor in the outcome, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on moving forward.

The Hawkeyes' season and home opener tonight against Texas A&M-Commerce from Carver-Hawkeye Arena begins at 7:00 p.m. CT and will air on BTN+.

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The story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire