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If you peruse YouTube, you can find cool highlight reels (or "mixtapes," I guess, nobody uses reels anymore) for all the Iowa recruits and virtually anyone else with a couple D-I offers. There's a lot for 2016 PF/C Tyler Cook, for example; those are fun.
Rare is the treat where you get to see two future Hawkeyes square off against each other, however, and that's what we got with Tuesday night's clash between Dubuque Wahlert, home of 2016 F Cordell Pemsl, and Iowa City West where 2017 wing Connor McCaffery is holding things down. And as you'll see, neither disappointed:
A few quick observations:
Pemsl's ready for the Big Ten. He's a big dude, at least two inches taller than McCaffery, and he looks like he lives in the weight room. The off-season surgery to correct his knock-knee condition looks like a total success, as he's got strong lateral movement and explosion. His transition defense is not stellar (at least, not in these clips) so there's some consistency to work on, but he's comfortable leading the break on offense and either distributing or finishing in the lane—where his 230-pound frame will help him get off a good shot against contact at the next level. And those post moves at the 1:40 mark? Whewwww.
Connor McCaffery fits the stereotype. When you hear "coach's son," it's fair to roll your eyes and just assume it's code for "white," but the qualities that term purportedly describes are all on display here. McCaffery's shooting form is solid (though we're sure Fran can find flaws), there's nothing sloppy about his play and you can see him punish mistakes. Turning right into the double-team from Pemsl is the biggest flaw on the reel, but overall his basketball IQ looks great. He's fearless with his shot from deep, strong enough to muscle a player out of position on the post, and throws a crafty pass or two. He's legit.
West High won this one 58-46 with McCaffery throwing in a game-high 23 points, and Pemsl was close behind with 21 and 10 rebounds. The two teams are strong state title contenders, but they won't face each other again in the playoffs; West is ranked second in 4A while Wahlert is No. 2 in 3A. But fret not; it just means that we might see two future Hawkeyes hold up state titles this March.