This weekend is all about football with the Iowa Hawkeye set to travel to #7 Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions. But before we can get to football, the Hawkeye hoopers took center stage on Friday night as Fran McCaffery and staff got some excellent news on the recruiting trail.

In Iowa’s football non-conference finale, they played host to a couple prospects. The news was relatively light and somewhat overshadowed by reports Iowa had stopped recruiting forward Caden Diggs, who was reportedly set to commit to the Hawkeyes a week ago, and missed out on another top prospect, Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, who committed to Miami around kickoff.

One such guest was Canadian big man Chris Tadjo. The Montreal native came away impressed. Enough so that he announced his commitment to Iowa on Friday night.

Tadjo is a new name for Hawkeye fans, but one they’ll get to know very quickly. Originally from Montreal, he’s spent the last two years in Mexico City honing his skills at Nba Academy Latin America.

And skills Tadjo has.

At 6’8” and 230 pounds, he has a great frame for a Big Ten power forward. But the frame is just the beginning. Tadjo brings elite level athleticism reminiscent of former Hawkeye Tyler Cook. He immediately jumps off the screen on video, penetrating through traffic and leaping head and shoulders above would-be defenders for emphatic dunks.

On3’s Jamie Shaw declared Tadjo one of the top-3 three rebounders in the country in the class of 2024, noting his athleticism as a key contributor:

The two things that are hard not to notice when watching Chris Tadjo are his frame and his motor/explosion. Tadjo is a lengthy and quite strong, 6-foot-8 forward who plays with a see-the-ball and get-the-ball mentality… He has a unique blend of explosion and fluidity. Each time I have seen him play live, the production has simply been off the charts.

While unranked by Rivals and 247 Sports, Tadjo is a 4-star prospect according to On3 and ranked as the 66th best player in the class (11th PF). While he has the frame and explosion to play in the post, he is noted for his quickness, which allows him to guard all five positions. The only thing lacking from his game at this time appears to be a jumper with range.

That makes Tadjo a great pairing with fellow class of 2024 commit Cooper Koch. Also a 4-star PF, Koch is noted for being a tremendous shooter with length but perhaps lacking in the quickness and explosion. The two appear to be a match made in basketball heaven.

Iowa is looking at potentially taking one more prep prospect in the class of 2024 to go with Tadjo and Koch. They’re slated to host 6’6” wing Pharaoh Compton on a visit later this month.

Welcome aboard Chris Tadjo!

Chris Tadjo, PF
Ht: 6’8”
Wt: 230 lbs
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec (NBA Academy Latin America)
Ranking: On3 – 66th; Rivals – NR; 247 Sports – NR