Quick hits on Iowa basketball: Schedule, PTL, most improved player

Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said it's unlikely the program will schedule a high-major opponent for a single game this season.

“It doesn't look like it,” McCaffery said. “Those games are harder to pull off than you think. I'd like to do it. Next year we're probably going to try to start earlier.”

He said the team has one more basketball game to schedule for the upcoming season.

McCaffery said his program remains committed to the Prime Time League despite Northern Iowa Coach Ben Jacobson pulling his players from the North Liberty-based summer league.

“We'll see how it goes this year,” he said. “It's unfortunate we only have four teams this year. The fans like it, our guys like it.”

As far as his team, McCaffery touted the growing leadership of incoming junior Melsahn Basabe. McCaffery said incoming senior Eric May, who suffered an injured back last January, has improved healthwise. May will be a team captain and will compete for a starting spot, McCaffery said.

As far as which player has improved the most this spring, McCaffery said “It's Gabe (Olaseni) without a doubt. Without a doubt.”

Olaseni, who stands 6-foot-10, will be a sophomore center next fall. He averaged 1.4 points in 18 games last year.