Incoming freshman Maishe Dailey likes how he fits in Iowa’s system

WATERLOO - Three games into the Prime Time League season, the latest comer to the Iowa men's basketball 2016 recruiting class is making a big impact.

Maishe Dailey, a 6-foot-6, 180-pound freshman from Beachwood, Ohio, came to the Hawkeyes after a pair of transfers opened a pair of scholarships. One went to redshirt sophomore Nicholas Baer, the other landed on Dailey, who logged 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting, including a perfect 5-for-5 first half, in Sunday's Prime Time League game. He also pulled in three rebounds and an assist.

The lanky guard, who will need to pack on weight in his freshman season, made an impact on Sunday in his team's victory and could make an impact for the Hawkeyes in the future.

A Rutgers commit until a coaching change prompted him to reopen his recruitment, Dailey said the call from Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery took him by surprise.

'It was really big. I was really excited because Iowa was one of my dream schools because I like the way they play,” Dailey said. 'When they called me it just felt like a dream. I didn't think anything was real.

'I had it on speaker. I looked at my mom, and we were both like, really excited because that was one of my dream schools and my dream conference, the Big Ten.”

Dailey was drawn to the Hawkeyes by their style of play, what he described as a system that allows players to be versatile and play more than one position. He said he liked the flexibility of players McCaffery recruits.

He also said the sound defense and freedom on offense were draws as well.

Dailey was a solid scorer in high school, averaging 13.2 points per game on 64 percent shooting and 41 percent from the 3-point line. He pulled in 6.5 rebounds and pushed out 4.1 assists per game as well.

His Hawkeye teammates have seen firsthand the impact he could make come basketball season already this summer.

'He's very skilled,” said Iowa forward Dom Uhl, who played against Dailey on Sunday. 'He just has to get stronger. He kind of reminds me of me my freshman year, super-skinny, but he's definitely skilled. He can shoot. He can drive. He can do everything.”

Dailey credited fellow Ohioan Ahmad Wagner as helping most with the transition to Iowa, but Brady Ellingson, who matched up with Dailey on Sunday and had 14 points of his own, also noted the potential impact Dailey could have.

'I think he's a great team player, someone you'd like to have on your team,” Ellingson said, also praising Dailey's dribbling and ball handling ability.

While the Prime Time League is far from the structure the Hawkeyes typically play with, and the level of competition is not that of a Big Ten season, Dailey said the summer of playing with and against his teammates will helps him prepare for the college season.

'It's really good playing with my teammates, to get comfortable with my teammates, playing with them and against them,” 'I just like the competition, getting out on my feet.”