Who Would Guess That Iowa Has a 4**** Soph PG on Its Roster

[HawkGold]

While there are some things in your OP I disagree with, I do agree with the fact that Fran has created a roster completely void of the things Connor does best in terms of being strong with the ball and handling the ball. JBo can dribble but it’s hard for him to be strong with the ball or create separation.

Connor has helped this particular team in those areas along with a good B-ball IQ and just general toughness.

But yes, as many have suspected he was wildly overrated as a recruit, even after his ranking fell off towards the end. Before this season I suggested he wasn’t a P5 level player, I think the jury is still probably out on that. His stats in B1G play are as follows:

2.8 PTS / 2.6 AST / 1.1 TPG
29% FG / 9.1 % 3P / 68% FT
8.1 PER

That’s bad, really bad, freshman or otherwise.

Again, he’s brought some things to this years team and I think he will continue to do so. In the midst of a really good season I don’t want to spend too much time trashing a player, but I do think there is legitimate argument to be made that Fran created this roster with opportunity for Connor in mind.

What pg in the big would you rank lower than CM in being strong witb the ball? NW?

Go back and watch the kick ptior to JBo.

 

[revkev73]

I don’t want to argue either, but your still claiming to be right about Garza? LOL. Come on man. He’s the immediate future of the program and one of the best C Iowa has had in decades. A slump is something most every player goes through. I know you did have good comments about Connor. You’ve eaten plenty of crow on it, but with your stances on other guys being wildly off base I assumed at some point you’d get gun shy. It’s all good, I was just busting your balls like usual. I mean it in a friendly manor but I’ll admit I am a snarky lil bitch sometimes.

I like Garza's attitude.

 

[NikeHawk21]

I don’t want to argue either, but your still claiming to be right about Garza? LOL. Come on man. He’s the immediate future of the program and one of the best C Iowa has had in decades. A slump is something most every player goes through. I know you did have good comments about Connor. You’ve eaten plenty of crow on it, but with your stances on other guys being wildly off base I assumed at some point you’d get gun shy. It’s all good, I was just busting your balls like usual. I mean it in a friendly manor but I’ll admit I am a snarky lil bitch sometimes.

I never said Garza wasn’t a very solid player or wouldn’t be a great Hawkeye. Actually I said he was very good and would go down as a great hawk. What I said prior to the season was he was at or closer to his basketball ceiling than most players on our team. He’s certainly gotten better, but if you look at his numbers many of them are actually down. So yes I think that statement has been pretty dead on. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player, he’s a very solid player, he just has limitations.

 

[Fryowa]

I’m not from the state so I don’t follow Iowa high school recruiting as closely.

What’s the deal with that kid? Did he have any P5 offers? What is he ranked by the recruiting services?

I thought everyone in the country was from Iowa?

 

[Knight78]

He's the most underrated point guard in the country. Diamond in the rough. Stay tuned!


I'd have to see the brackets. Odds are good they both play in the Wells. Carton should be there as well.

I have checked with the IHSAA site and there is no pairing for the different substate game winners. IC West is in Bracket #6, DM North is in Bracket #2 and Bettendorf is in Bracket #4. There is no bracket at this time describing the first round of the state tournament, only when they play.

 

[99topdawg]

The biggest reason Connor hasn't been more successful at PG is that he's left-handed and the Nike ball Iowa uses is a right-handed ball.

 

[skinnykilmer17]

I have checked with the IHSAA site and there is no pairing for the different substate game winners. IC West is in Bracket #6, DM North is in Bracket #2 and Bettendorf is in Bracket #4. There is no bracket at this time describing the first round of the state tournament, only when they play.

There are still 2 rounds of "substate" play to determine who goes to state for 3A and 4A. Fewer teams in 3A and 4A so they don't use "District" terminology like in smaller classes. They play one fewer round than smaller schools.

Teams are seeded after state berths. Sorry if you already knew this. Didn't quite follow your post. Just trying to be helpful.

 

[Knight78]

There are still 2 rounds of "substate" play to determine who goes to state for 3A and 4A. Fewer teams in 3A and 4A so they don't use "District" terminology like in smaller classes. They play one fewer round than smaller schools.

Teams are seeded after state berths. Sorry if you already knew this. Didn't quite follow your post. Just trying to be helpful.

I knew that teams were seeded after the substate brackets were completed. That's why there are no brackets for the state tournament. But you are right - I didn't actually say that they are seeded.

 

[IowaLawWasRight]

InGoodCo - I would agree, you must be watching different games than the rest of us (or are simply too strong of a homer to be objective) if you believe Connor is living up to his billing and his contributions have been worth 5 years of Iowa not recruiting a point guard.

Connor is not "sitting behind" JBo at PG. He plays on the floor with him most of the time he's out there. JBo is not the reason for his lack of productivity.

Connor's minutes are way up. Friday against Indiana, he played the same minutes as starters Moss and Wieskamp, and 6th man Baer. The problem is, Connor scored just 1 point (the last point of the game, when the Hawks had it wrapped up and he made 1 of 2 meaningless fts before the buzzer). He also had just 1 rebound. He also struggled mightily trying to cover Indiana's quick pg as he routinely blew by him, requiring someone else to help out, leaving their man open.

You say Connor has made "huge strides this year." The stats show the opposite is true. Prior to laying a goose egg against Indiana, he had just 6 points 2 boards the game before against Maryland. He actually put up better numbers in the first games of the season, where he had 11 pts against Green Bay and 19 against UCONN.

How many 4 star point guards in the class of 2017 would you say are putting up lower numbers? My guess is none, while there are several 2 star PGs out there who are playing better right now.

I don't see it that way at all either. I must be watching different games and players. But your question is fairly easy. Connor isn't starting because he's a freshman playing his first year of college ball sitting behind likely the most prolific shooter that Iowa has ever had at PG. Not to mention a team full of upper class men that are in the midst of a solid year. I am extremely encouraged by his play on both ends of the court. He's young, young guys turn the ball over. I would say guys like Joe W are the exception in that regard, but even he does it.

He's probably never going to be a big time scorer, but IMO, he's made as much stride as any player on the team this season. Smart player, great at feeding the post and running the offense. Great at in bounding the ball and makes a lot of smart heady plays for this team. He does actually have some great moves to get into a defense. His #'s aren't jumping off the page, but IMO - SOLID start for Connor at Iowa. One of the big pieces to Iowa's turn around this year IMO and Iowa doesn't need him to score - at least not on this team.

To answer your question - "Me, I would guess that Iowa has a 4 * PG on their roster". Iowa is ranked #21 and 20-6. It's 6 loses are to Quad 1 teams. I know I am in the minority, but I think it speaks volumes about the team we have that we don't have to rely on a 4* freshman PG to be our meal ticket.

 

[Knight78]

InGoodCo - I would agree, you must be watching different games than the rest of us (or are simply too strong of a homer to be objective) if you believe Connor is living up to his billing and his contributions have been worth 5 years of Iowa not recruiting a point guard.

Connor is not "sitting behind" JBo at PG. He plays on the floor with him most of the time he's out there. JBo is not the reason for his lack of productivity.

Connor's minutes are way up. Friday against Indiana, he played the same minutes as starters Moss and Wieskamp, and 6th man Baer. The problem is, Connor scored just 1 point (the last point of the game, when the Hawks had it wrapped up and he made 1 of 2 meaningless fts before the buzzer). He also had just 1 rebound. He also struggled mightily trying to cover Indiana's quick pg as he routinely blew by him, requiring someone else to help out, leaving their man open.

You say Connor has made "huge strides this year." The stats show the opposite is true. Prior to laying a goose egg against Indiana, he had just 6 points 2 boards the game before against Maryland. He actually put up better numbers in the first games of the season, where he had 11 pts against Green Bay and 19 against UCONN.

How many 4 star point guards in the class of 2017 would you say are putting up lower numbers? My guess is none, while there are several 2 star PGs out there who are playing better right now.

Iowa hasn't recruited a point guard? We have gone after several but they chose different schools. What, do you think since we offer the recruit is obliged to sign with Iowa? Do you think that the other schools hold a gun to the head of recruits and say "Don't sign with Iowa"? Only 2 of the 20 point guards we've offered since 2014 have signed with us: Trey Dickerson and Jordan Bohannon. Now granted, we didn't go all in when recruiting most of them (we do have limited resources) but we did go hard after Tyler Ulis, Charlie Moore, Zavier Simpson and some others.

Oh, and by the way, where do you get the idea that he was a 4-star point guard? Connor was a 3-star small forward coming out of high school, according to 247. He was a 4-star shooting guard according to Rivals. He was a 4-star shooting guard according to ESPN. No one, repeat NO ONE, had him as a point guard coming out of high school

https://247sports.com/Player/Connor-McCaffery-69924/

 

[GotTimDodge]

LOL at the high school girl guards comment.

 

[hawkinarkansas]

Seeing the minutes CM is getting is nuts, watching him get late game minutes over Moss simply tells me Fran is being that father who thinks his son is better than all the others, despite the metrics that are well established. CM’s production speaks for itself, he’s been in the program 2 years now and is slow footed, plays like he is 5’10” instead of 6’5” and is not a threat to score. Getting minutes over Moss at this juncture, when you know what he is, has to be confusing to the team as well. I can see how this could affect team chemistry at some point.

 

[HuckFinn]

Seeing the minutes CM is getting is nuts, watching him get late game minutes over Moss simply tells me Fran is being that father who thinks his son is better than all the others, despite the metrics that are well established. CM’s production speaks for itself, he’s been in the program 2 years now and is slow footed, plays like he is 5’10” instead of 6’5” and is not a threat to score. Getting minutes over Moss at this juncture, when you know what he is, has to be confusing to the team as well. I can see how this could affect team chemistry at some point.

Ever watched a college basketball game? This is a really dumb post.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Seeing the minutes CM is getting is nuts, watching him get late game minutes over Moss simply tells me Fran is being that father who thinks his son is better than all the others, despite the metrics that are well established. CM’s production speaks for itself, he’s been in the program 2 years now and is slow footed, plays like he is 5’10” instead of 6’5” and is not a threat to score. Getting minutes over Moss at this juncture, when you know what he is, has to be confusing to the team as well. I can see how this could affect team chemistry at some point.

Don’t post about things you don’t understand...basketball in this case. This is incompetent.

 

[koralakers]

Conner is a high IQ guy on the court. He is a great passer. However, not a great slasher or shooter. For a freshman he is serviceable.
But, YES, we have needed a PG that can slash, break-down a defense. I think one is coming. We could be real solid next year fellas.

 

[DDThompson]

What are the odds Locure and McCafferey meet up in the playoffs?

99% — cuz .... Iowa

 

[hawkeyebob62]

This team is a mediocre pg away from being something special. We've got some of the more talented bigs in recent memory in Cook and Garza. We've got talented wings who can shoot the rock as good as any in JBo, Moss, & Baer. We've even got a guy who will land on the Big 10's all-freshmen team for the first time in ages in Wieskamp.

But what about the gaping hole at PG? Let's take an honest look at why Fran has not been able to land a point guard in 4 or 5 years. My guess is that it's because Fran's own son was a highly touted PG who committed to come to Iowa lonnnng long ago (believe it or not, while Conner committed in 2014, the same year as long forgotten Hawks like Trey Dickerson, and even before Dale Jones and Christian Williams). The mediocre level PGs we've offered likely did not like the prospect of sitting on the bench while the coach's son started 3-4 years. This is a reasonable assumption.

The flip side is that McCaffrey came in as a stud 4**** recruit. An argument can be made that landing a 4 **** PG offsets any recruiting losses associated with having the coach's son commit so early, right?

So far, it's not looking like it. He is two years into the system, yet ranks last among all guards in college basketball at 3 point shooting, hitting an ice cold 12% (2 of 16). This is a % exceeded by most high school girls guards in Iowa). He's playing 20 mins per game, including ends of games, but his points per game are last on the 8 man rotation at 4.8. Perhaps his role is more of a ball handler than a scorer? That argument is blown by the fact that he's got 29 turnovers (by comparison, Moss, who starts and plays a lot more minutes, has 32 turnovers, and Wieskamp has 31).

Make no mistake, this team is better with McCaffrey on it, and he's bound to improve his shot. But is McCaffrey seeing minutes because of his talent or because of the lack of point guards his dad has recruited to compete with him since he committed? If Bohannon's class or Garza's class or even Wieskamp's class brought in a single serviceable PG, it is more likely than not that 4**** Connor would be seeing walk-on minutes even after redshirting a year. Rivals.com only goes back to 2002, but every 4**** recruit we've had in that time period has started from the day they walked on campus.

Here's to hoping next year's PG recruit out of NY is that missing ingredient that this team lacks.

Um, with respect to what I put in BOLD in your above post: JBo and TyCook were on the B1G All-Freshman team for the 2017 season.

Please, I implore you, know WTF you are talking about before you post this insanely long shit you call "analysis" of any Iowa-related sports stuff. It makes it so much easier for the reader.

 

[Robowe]

Um, with respect to what I put in BOLD in your above post: JBo and TyCook were on the B1G All-Freshman team for the 2017 season.

Please, I implore you, know WTF you are talking about before you post this insanely long shit you call "analysis" of any Iowa-related sports stuff. It makes it so much easier for the reader.

Since 2017 ...

 

[Robowe]

InGoodCo - I would agree, you must be watching different games than the rest of us (or are simply too strong of a homer to be objective) if you believe Connor is living up to his billing and his contributions have been worth 5 years of Iowa not recruiting a point guard.

Connor is not "sitting behind" JBo at PG. He plays on the floor with him most of the time he's out there. JBo is not the reason for his lack of productivity.

Connor's minutes are way up. Friday against Indiana, he played the same minutes as starters Moss and Wieskamp, and 6th man Baer. The problem is, Connor scored just 1 point (the last point of the game, when the Hawks had it wrapped up and he made 1 of 2 meaningless fts before the buzzer). He also had just 1 rebound. He also struggled mightily trying to cover Indiana's quick pg as he routinely blew by him, requiring someone else to help out, leaving their man open.

You say Connor has made "huge strides this year." The stats show the opposite is true. Prior to laying a goose egg against Indiana, he had just 6 points 2 boards the game before against Maryland. He actually put up better numbers in the first games of the season, where he had 11 pts against Green Bay and 19 against UCONN.

How many 4 star point guards in the class of 2017 would you say are putting up lower numbers? My guess is none, while there are several 2 star PGs out there who are playing better right now.

I know there are flaws with the +/- stat, but here's one for Connor ...

 

[hawkeye23]

I'm perfectly happy with the PG we have starting....he's the most clutch shooter in Iowa history. Is he a perfect player? Nope, he has flaws just like Moss, Garza, Cook, Baer and everyone else on the team. This team is 21-6 with 5 of those losses to very good teams and the first Iowa team in 30 yrs to start 21-6. Their defense has improved, their energy and attitudes seem to be in line. Hopefully they can win a couple in the NCAA tourney. They were 14-19 last year so just stop nit picking over the PG position and enjoy the year they've had.