By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Isaiah Johnson-Arigu can’t help Iowa this season, but coach Fran McCaffery thinks the 6-foot-7 forward can be a key player for the Hawkeyes in the future.

Johnson-Arigu, a mid-season transfer from Miami (Fla.), joined the Hawkeyes this week and was on the bench for Tuesday’s game against Minnesota. He can’t play for the rest of this season, and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

“Really good player,” McCaffery said on a video conference previewing Friday’s game against Penn State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. “We recruited him hard out of high school. Watched him a lot. Versatile, proven winner, powerful athlete, dribble, pass and shoot, can guard and rebound, and a wonderful young guy. So we’re just thrilled with him.”

Johnson-Arigu played in 10 games for the Hurricanes, averaging 1 point and 0.8 rebounds. He entered the NCAA transfer portal in late December after Miami coach Jim Larrañaga announced his retirement.

Johnson-Arigu was a four-star recruit by 247 Sports, ESPN and On3 out of Totino-Grace High School in Minnesota. He averaged 20.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists last season.

McCaffery said the relationship he and his staff built with Johnson-Arigu and his family was important. McCaffery got to know Johnson-Arigu after watching him play in the same AAU organization as McCaffery’s son Jack.

“He’s got tremendous athletic power,” McCaffery said. “Obviously, there was a coaching change there, so he went into the portal. There was obviously a relationship that didn’t sour when he didn’t come here the first time. I think the world of him, got to know him and his parents.”

SLOW STARTS: The Hawkeyes fell behind by as much as 11 points in Tuesday’s 72-67 loss to Minnesota, something that is a trend in the current three-game losing streak.

Iowa was down by 33 points in the first half of the 94-70 loss at UCLA last Friday, and was down by 16 points at halftime of the 99-89 loss at USC on January 14.

“I don’t think it’s an energy issue at all,” McCaffery said. “I think the one area that needs to be addressed is shot selection early. And that could be a function of we let our guys go and give them freedom. I think defensively, the other night we had a pretty good start.. Offensively, we did not. So we just have to make sure that even though we’re running and we’re going, we take really good shots and move the ball until we get good shots and make the other team play defense a little bit more. We do that, we’ll be fine.”

SANDFORT’S LEADERSHIP: Forward Payton Sandfort had 21 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s loss to the Gophers, playing almost 37 minutes after McCaffery wasn’t sure he was going to be available following an injury suffered in the loss to UCLA.

Sandfort has been dealing with a shoulder issue all season but has played every game, averaging almost 30 minutes.

“It says a lot of things,” McCaffery said. “Obviously, he’s a young guy with great character, but, he really wants to lead and he wants to be there for his guys. So I’m really proud of that. Not surprised, because I know him so well, but he practiced yesterday, practiced well, practiced hard. He’s special, and I appreciate his leadership.”

Photo: Isaiah Johnson-Arigu has joined Iowa as a mid-season transfer. (Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire)