Connor McCaffery Receives One of Open Scholarships

[IHawk94]

I don't know anything about that Minnesota team, so I can't say one way or the other. I will be at 2 AAU events in Minneapolis over the next few weeks, so maybe I'll catch them at one of those events.
I do know that he'll have to play physical defense in the Big Ten, no matter how long his arms are.

For sure. I would love to watch that team. It's got Tyrell Terry on it as well, Iowa PG target in '19. Zeke Nnaji also a '19 target runs with them. Look out for them if you are at those tournaments.

 

[Robowe]

Uthoff played away from the basket as a stretch 4 because of his 3 pt shooting (career 38%). PMac (26% in high school) can't shoot the 3 like Uthoff. And unless he drastically changes his shot, he never will.

So, comparing apples to apples, Uthoff shot the following in HS (using quikstats):

Soph year = 23.8 % from three point range
Jr = 29.8 %
Sr = 34.2 %

So, he wasn't great in high school, but he improved and got even better in college. Let's hope Patrick can do the same.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

The idea that he won't be good at defense is pretty much based entirely on his pigmentation. We haven't seen enough of him playing healthy at a college level to know if that is true or not. He is long, he is fairly sturdy, and he seems to be a smart basketball player. From his success as a multi-sport athlete, I am guessing he has good hands. Those 4 things combined give you a pretty good head-start on being a solid defender.

Elite quickness certainly helps to be a good defender, but it is not a prerequisite, nor is it a guarantee. Using the NBA as an example, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, and James Harden are all below-average defenders with good quickness. Jamal Crawford has been one of the most dangerous off-the-dribble players his entire career, but he has always been a bad defender.

On the flip side, Ricky Rubio has been one of the best perimeter defenders in the league his entire career because he is smart, has good hands, and is long. Marc Gasol won a defensive player of the year with middle-of-the-pack athleticism. Draymond Green's dominance on defense has little to do with quickness and much to do with strength, intelligence, and attitude.

Basically, that is a long-winded way to say I will wait and see if Connor is a good defender or not.

Maybe for some of those that have said that but I've watched him play and he's not the fastest, quickest or most athletic guy I've seen at 6'5 200ish. He's just not. He's a crafty lefty. I think he's a classic coaches kid so he'll play smart out there. I don't think he'll be a terrible defender because his effort will be there and he is long as you mentioned. But that all said there's a certain amount of quickness, speed and anticipation needed to be good at D and to give him a fair shake we should wait and see how he does more so. I'll just be surprised if he's a great defender due to what we have seen of him so far.

 

[lightning1]

So, comparing apples to apples, Uthoff shot the following in HS (using quikstats):

Soph year = 23.8 % from three point range
Jr = 29.8 %
Sr = 34.2 %

So, he wasn't great in high school, but he improved and got even better in college. Let's hope Patrick can do the same.

It's not apples to apples because I saw Uthoff's shooting form in high school and I've seen PMac's shooting form in high school. Uthoff needed to get stronger to hit at a higher %. PMac has to change his shot and get stronger to get to a higher %. At least in my opinion. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. Hopefully PMac can find another niche on the offensive end, until he puts on some pounds.

 

[Robowe]

It's not apples to apples because I saw Uthoff's shooting form in high school and I've seen PMac's shooting form in high school. Uthoff needed to get stronger to hit at a higher %. PMac has to change his shot and get stronger to get to a higher %. At least in my opinion. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. Hopefully PMac can find another niche on the offensive end, until he puts on some pounds.

Apples to apples was referring to comparing Uthoff's college three point shooting % to Patrick's HS %. Let's see if Patrick is able to put on the weight and improve his outside shot. I see a possibility of redshirting his freshman year if it is determined he needs to add some weight to compete in the Big 10.

 

[lightning1]

Apples to apples was referring to comparing Uthoff's college three point shooting % to Patrick's HS %. Let's see if Patrick is able to put on the weight and improve his outside shot. I see a possibility of redshirting his freshman year if it is determined he needs to add some weight to compete in the Big 10.

Fair enough. I wasn't the poster to make that initial comparison. I was responding to that comparison made by others. And my point still stands. PMac's shot is not anywhere near as sound as Uthoffs.

 

[Fryowa]

Regina? I don't know and I don't care. You're not doing your kid any favors by doing that. I think Joe Weiskamp staying at Muscatine helped his game far more than if he had transferred to Iowa City West of something like that.

No, Regis.

You know how expnesive that school is? I know I wouldn't be able to send my kid there.