Can we say...

I

Ian Pike Hammer

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Connor McC is a bona fide power 5 conf. player, based on the 4 games we've seen, or is the sample size too small? When will you know for sure? How would you grade him out so far? Based on the UConn win, I'm giving him a "B+".
 
I think he's a BIG role player. Time will tell if he's going to be a difference maker. He could be. He's got plenty of dog in him. Which is what this team needs.
 
Things I don’t think are sustainable:

-Averaging double figures (I imagine he will end the year in the 5-7 PPG range)

-Averaging 7 free throw attempts per game (That number will come down fairly drastically)

Things I do think are sustainable:

-Quality ball handling and being strong with the ball, which alleviates some of the pressure for JBo

-Quality post feeds to our bigs

-Energy and effort off the bench

-Calming presence he brings when he is out there.


It’s well documented that I wasn’t high on Connor and so far he has proved me wrong. Hopefully it continues.
 
I'm pretty sure you can trust what you saw against UCONN...those were significant minutes against what was supposed to be relentless pressure...from an experienced backcourt from UCONN. The difference may be the physicality in the B10, but I think that may move more to Connor's strengths...he's a physical guard...and doesn't shy away from contact. He also showed he will take the smaller quick guy down low and score or get fouled.

UCONN's guards are the strength of their team. Smith, Adams, Gilbert are all 21 or 22 years old and are seniors and I think Gilbert is a junior. That was a big test for our guards last week. Trust your eyes.

I know it's early...but what I saw from Connor was a guy with good handles, who remained calm and attacked when it was there. We were a better team when he was running the point against UCONN.
 
NikeHawk21 said:
Things I don’t think are sustainable:

-Averaging double figures (I imagine he will end the year in the 5-7 PPG range)

-Averaging 7 free throw attempts per game (That number will come down fairly drastically)

Things I do think are sustainable:

-Quality ball handling and being strong with the ball, which alleviates some of the pressure for JBo

-Quality post feeds to our bigs

-Energy and effort off the bench

-Calming presence he brings when he is out there.


It’s well documented that I wasn’t high on Connor and so far he has proved me wrong. Hopefully it continues.
Click to expand...

Good analysis.... the sustainability of getting to the line was my first thought.

Going back to your other thread, I think that’s why we’ll need more from Joe, Moss and Dailey moving forward.
 
Initially I wasn't that impressed with Connor. His highlight tapes weren't exciting and he didn't really have any "wow" factor. I really thought it was just Fran giving his son a scholarship. I was wrong. His highlight tapes aren't impressive because he does all the intangible things that make a team better.

What's funny is I feel the same way about Patrick. So hopefully I'm way off on both of them.
 
mopkins said:
Initially I wasn't that impressed with Connor. His highlight tapes weren't exciting and he didn't really have any "wow" factor. I really thought it was just Fran giving his son a scholarship. I was wrong. His highlight tapes aren't impressive because he does all the intangible things that make a team better.

What's funny is I feel the same way about Patrick. So hopefully I'm way off on both of them.
Click to expand...

I hope you are too.
 
Conference play does seem to reveal who a player is, but in this case it isn't too early to tell.

Connor is going to be a true PG, something Iowa has sorely lacked for seemingly forever.
Pros:
He understands the game and the situation.
Rarely in a hurry and has his head up looking for the open man.
Can patiently lull a defender and drives well.
Makes his FT's.

Cons:
Needs to be consistent shooting from outside, not a surprise.
Also has to close out better to the shooters on defense, he tends to sag too far leaving too much space for the open man. When he closes out he stops short a lot of times.
He commits some bad fouls by just looking lazy in his rotation or is just that out of position.

Overall, the cons are fixable because he plays hard and all indications are he works hard as well. Is he an NBA player, probably not, but Iowa really doesn't have any NBA players at this point (I coach a kid whose dad is an NBA scout, his feedback), but that really doesn't bother me.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
I'm pretty sure you can trust what you saw against UCONN...those were significant minutes against what was supposed to be relentless pressure...from an experienced backcourt from UCONN. The difference may be the physicality in the B10, but I think that may move more to Connor's strengths...he's a physical guard...and doesn't shy away from contact. He also showed he will take the smaller quick guy down low and score or get fouled.

UCONN's guards are the strength of their team. Smith, Adams, Gilbert are all 21 or 22 years old and are seniors and I think Gilbert is a junior. That was a big test for our guards last week. Trust your eyes.

I know it's early...but what I saw from Connor was a guy with good handles, who remained calm and attacked when it was there. We were a better team when he was running the point against UCONN.
Click to expand...
From what I have seen, he seems to make other players better by being good at what he does. What he doesn't have is getting into the other players' mind. He does have the confidence to be able to compete in B1G, I assume he will get better.
 
Ian Pike Hammer said:
Connor McC is a bona fide power 5 conf. player, based on the 4 games we've seen, or is the sample size too small? When will you know for sure? How would you grade him out so far? Based on the UConn win, I'm giving him a "B+".
Click to expand...
B+ is a fair grade so far. I think the level of competition he faced against Oregon and UConn tells us he is ready for B1G quality guards. You can tell he's already a very smart player. It's going to be fun to watch him develop and play a big role in the years to come.
 
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last season, he played in 4 games: Southern, Drake, S. Utah and Colorado. This season: UMKC, WGB, OR and UConn. He's played against 3 B1G level opponents and played well to better than well in those 3 games, in my opinion, and hasn't had a bad game, yet. He'll have bad games like everyone else does, but to me, he's passed the test of quality play vs high level competition. I am really optimistic about him. i think he's legit P5 caliber. he won't be flashy but he'll get done what a pg needs to get done and that's what we need.
 
He’s tough, he’s cocky, he’s confident, he whines after calls. He’s smart, he’s the coaches kid, he’s a multi sport level college athlete. Other teams are gonna hate him, it was shocking to me that so many Iowa fans hasd cold feet on a kid that was ranked as high as Connor was. It was all his last name unfortunately and a lot of Iowa fans turned on the McCaffery’s the first chance they got.
 
meechiganhawk said:
Conference play does seem to reveal who a player is, but in this case it isn't too early to tell.

Connor is going to be a true PG, something Iowa has sorely lacked for seemingly forever.
Pros:
He understands the game and the situation.
Rarely in a hurry and has his head up looking for the open man.
Can patiently lull a defender and drives well.
Makes his FT's.

Cons:
Needs to be consistent shooting from outside, not a surprise.
Also has to close out better to the shooters on defense, he tends to sag too far leaving too much space for the open man. When he closes out he stops short a lot of times.
He commits some bad fouls by just looking lazy in his rotation or is just that out of position.

Overall, the cons are fixable because he plays hard and all indications are he works hard as well. Is he an NBA player, probably not, but Iowa really doesn't have any NBA players at this point (I coach a kid whose dad is an NBA scout, his feedback), but that really doesn't bother me.
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Another couple pros:

He is going to be a four year starter/contributor...

The quintessential "make haste slowly" player...
 
He is playing better that our top recruit from Muscatine. That said the big Ten has a lot of good guards so we will see how he does then. He will be great but as a youngster we can expect TO.
 
InGoodCo said:
He’s tough, he’s cocky, he’s confident, he whines after calls. He’s smart, he’s the coaches kid, he’s a multi sport level college athlete. Other teams are gonna hate him, it was shocking to me that so many Iowa fans hasd cold feet on a kid that was ranked as high as Connor was. It was all his last name unfortunately and a lot of Iowa fans turned on the McCaffery’s the first chance they got.
Click to expand...

I don’t think that’s fair. I wasn’t very high on Connor and I’ve certainly changed that opinion but it never had to do with his last name. It’s just that his game is not that flashy. He’s big for a PG and isn’t a good enough scorer to play the wing.

I think it’s just fair to say there were some legitimate questions.

But for all the reasons you’ve mentioned, it seems like it will work out. Which has me more excited for Patrick but I have concerns that he’ll at need a redshirt to add some bulk but he’ll wind up a good player too.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
I'm pretty sure you can trust what you saw against UCONN...those were significant minutes against what was supposed to be relentless pressure...from an experienced backcourt from UCONN. The difference may be the physicality in the B10, but I think that may move more to Connor's strengths...he's a physical guard...and doesn't shy away from contact. He also showed he will take the smaller quick guy down low and score or get fouled.

UCONN's guards are the strength of their team. Smith, Adams, Gilbert are all 21 or 22 years old and are seniors and I think Gilbert is a junior. That was a big test for our guards last week. Trust your eyes.

I know it's early...but what I saw from Connor was a guy with good handles, who remained calm and attacked when it was there. We were a better team when he was running the point against UCONN.
Click to expand...
I was hoping for a competent ball handler, but I believe he is better than that. His passing to our bigs had been tremendous, I think he doesn't fall into the JBo trap where he thinks he has to drive everything. He is an excellent bounce passer and strong enough to take a hit while driving and still get a shot off. Most importantly he has had a calming influence on the team. If he continues to hit his free throws they will win a lot of games late if teams have to choose from fouling him or Jordan. Just look at the PG from UConn, all the speed and athletism but was all over the place without a clue to what he was doing. Conner knows what he's doing out there.
 
So far he has shown that he values the ball,and is trying to get he’s teammates the ball in positions where they can score,that’s a what you want in your point. The sample size after MSU,ISU and Wisky should be enough to tell more,so far a solid B
 
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