AP FILE PHOTO - North Dakota forward Filip Rebraca (12) shoots over Gonzaga forward Anton Watson (22) during the second half of a college basketball game Nov. 12, 2019, in Spokane, Wash.

IOWA CITY — After losing a pair of players to the transfer portal, the University of Iowa men’s basketball team has gotten one back.

On Thursday, the Hawkeyes received workd that North Dakota post player Filip Rebraca announced he had made a decision to join the Hawkeyes for 2021-2022.

Rebraca is a big pick-up for head coach Fran McCaffery and staff on a number of fronts. For starters, Rebraca measures up at 6 feet, 9 inches, and 222 pounds, and has the build to bang inside in the Big Ten Conference.

In fact, he already has. In December, Rebraca led all scorers with 23 points in a 76-67 North Dakota loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers while holding star big man Liam Robbins to just nine points on 4-of-11 shooting.

That size is exactly what Iowa needs with both Luka Garza and Jack Nunge now gone. Iowa has freshman Josh Ogundele set to return and class of 2022 recruit Riley Mulvey reclassified to this year to add depth, but the Hawkeyes desperately needed at least one experienced big man to plug in for serious minutes in 2021-2022. That’s Rebraca, who will also have the option to return in 2022-2023 if he chooses due to the extra year all players are afforded by COVID-19.

The North Dakota product, originally from Serbia, averaged 16.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as an all-Summit League player last season. He’s a versatile big with an ability to step out beyond the arc, shooting nearly 37 percent from deep a season ago. He has a little bit of everything and believes he can play the 3, 4 or 5.

Beyond the on-court impact the big man can make, his commitment is big time for Iowa as it provides some positive momentum after an offseason of woes. Despite the turmoil, Fran McCaffery identified Rebraca as soon as he hit the portal and was able to close the deal with him.

Also of note, landing him meant keeping Rebraca off of Iowa’s schedule. Despite offers from Virginia Tech, South Carolina and Stanford, this one came down to Iowa vs. Minnesota. A head-to-head win over the Gophers is a major bonus.