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It’s been a weird year. The start of Hawkeye basketball is imminent amidst a delayed football season. We’ll continue our postponed countdown over the next 24 hours. Next up: Patrick McCaffery.
Previously:
55: Luka Garza
30: Connor McCaffery
24: Nico Hobbs
23: Josh Ogundele
Patrick McCaffery
Forward, 6’9”, 200 lbs
RS Freshman, Iowa City, IA (West)
Pat McCaffery is an absolute wildcard for the 2020-21 squad. He entered his freshman year as a highly touted recruit - 247 has him #5 on Iowa’s all-time rankings - but with a lot of questions surrounding him after averaging 25 points & 7 boards on an Iowa HS state champion squad.
Is he big enough? What position does he play? Can he shoot? Et cetera Et cetera.
Unfortunately none of the questions were really answered as Pat was forced out due to complications from his bout with cancer earlier in his childhood (it was not a reoccurrence of the cancer, to be clear).
He did notch a couple games played early and flashed some athleticism but not much else.
With his redshirt, McCaffery used the opportunity to put on weight, and lots of it. His bio lists him at 20 pounds heavier than he was a year ago, and even an inch taller. John Bohnenkamp went deep on Pat’s trials and tribulations. McCaffery went from weighing less than roommate Joe Toussaint to where he is now, including some initial struggles in conditioning.
As the eighth man returning from last year’s team, it makes sense to slot him into Iowa’s rotation as a 3/4 hybrid off the bench. Perhaps Fran is feeling crazy and plays his middle son at the 5 in small ball lineups. However, Pat seems unlikely to push for significant minutes game in, game out with Joe Wieskamp, Jack Nunge, and even his brother Connor vying for similar minutes.
Ultimately, we’re happy Patrick is much healthier than he was this time last year and look forward to his high flying contributions to the program over his time in Iowa City.