REPORT: Connor McCaffery Expected to Play Basketball This Season

Not long (literally seven minutes) after we posed the question of what Christian Williams’ departure from the program means for Iowa Basketball, it appears as though there’s already a bit of clarity on the subject, as Connor McCaffery is expected to shift his focus to the hardwood this season.

Of course, it’s not official yet, but you’d think that Fran saying anything about it publicly essentially confirms that Connor will play basketball during the 2017-18 season instead of baseball. After the announcement that Williams would transfer, the Hawkeyes were extremely thin at the point guard position and Connor played extended minutes there during the first exhibition game, tipping the hand of Fran and Company. It was likely already decided, but a conversation with Rick Heller was probably in order before things could progress further.

Connor McCaffery, all things considered, has the potential to be a major upgrade from Christian Williams immediately. While Williams was arguably Iowa’s best perimeter defender, McCaffery is coming in as a borderline Top-100 recruit and is better suited to take over backup PG duties than Williams, who struggled as a primary ball-handler and shooter.

McCaffery will likely compete with Brady Ellingson for the lion’s share of minutes backing up Jordan Bohannon, but his availability on the team certainly improves the depth if someone were to go down with an injury at any point this season.

UPDATE: Here is the audio from Fran McCaffery’s podcast appearance on College Hoops Today with Jon Rothstein. Fran comes in at about five minutes, while he discusses Connor at about 15 minutes. It sure sounds a lot less certain than Rothstein’s initial tweet made it sound, but it still sounds like a distinct possibility.