Fran McCaffery like Iowa's basketball foundation

IOWA CITY - Three months from his first game as Iowa's men's basketball coach, Fran McCaffery likes the foundation of his basketball team.

McCaffery, who was hired March 27, has watched plenty of video of his players, ranging from their summer games in the Prime Time League to their efforts during the last Big Ten season. He had players like guard Matt Gatens and forward Eric May drop weight, and told post player Andrew Brommer to gain a few pounds. He's asked his players to think differently on the court and adapt their skills to his up-tempo offense.

So far he like what sees.

"We want big guys running, we want to push the ball, things of that nature," McCaffery said in a phone interview. "To a man they've bought into that. That's how they want to play."

McCaffery replaced Todd Lickliter, who was fired after three seasons at Iowa. McCaffery plans to change Iowa from a slower, half-court offense to an fast-paced style. McCaffery said the players have reshaped their bodies and their thinking to fit in with the new coach.

"Matt Gatens put on about 15 pounds because they (Lickliter's staff) were moving him into the front court a little bit. They needed to play him at the three and four," McCaffery said. "I want him to play predominantly two (guard), a little bit three. I want him attacking the rim a little bit more.

"He showed me a great discipline and a great desire. He's going to be in the 208-to-213 (pound) range, and that's where he needs to be. He's still strong and powerful enough, but he's a little bit more explosive."

McCaffery wanted his players to use the Prime Time League as a way to adapt to his style of play. Along with attacking the rim, McCaffery wanted Gatens to "change his mentality" from settling for jump shots to drive the ball to the basket and getting to the free-throw line.

"(The PTL) was an opportunity for those guys to just develop a faster style," McCaffery said.

McCaffery also liked May's athletic ability and Cully Payne's leadership skills. McCaffery asked May to drop eight or nine pounds to increase his stamina.

"I thought he was too big," McCaffery said. "I want him a little bit quicker. He's got tremendous athletic power. He can dunk it on anybody."

"Here's a kid (Cully Payne), who's a freshman point that played 36 minutes. How many freshman point guards played 36 minutes a game? Not that many. He learned a lot, and he had probably a couple of stinkers but that kid showed me a lot, and so did May and so did Gatens, and right on down the line. We've got some really good players coming in, and I think Andrew Brommer has got a chance, and Jarryd Cole is established. So we've got some pieces."

Iowa does have only 10 scholarship players on a team that finished 10-22 last year, setting the school record for most single-season losses. McCaffery considered bringing in other players on scholarship but ultimately chose to say at the current number.

"We were talking to a couple of kids, we thought about it," McCaffery said. "There's one kid … a lot of times at this juncture there are paperwork issues and things of that nature that complicate the process. I would say no, this is pretty much it."

Per NCAA rules, McCaffery can't comment on potential recruits and did not for this story. Iowa will have four scholarships available next year after Cole graduates. This summer McCaffery lost one potential recruit (Jarrod Uthoff) to Wisconsin and rescinded the offer of an another (Devin Coleman). Cedar Rapids Washington senior guard Josh Oglesby has a scholarship offer and will make an official visit next month.

"I would think we have a shot to have a couple of guys by the end of September, but not by the end of August," McCaffery said.

It's been a challenging year for McCaffery all-around. He accepted the Iowa job after leading Siena to its third straight NCAA Tournament, and immediately participated in a media blitz, the recruiting trail and the I-Club circuit. The summer featured more recruiting and moving his young family to Iowa City. He has four children age 12 or younger and spent most of his time away from them as he stepped into the job.

In fact, the family slipped away for a vacation, but McCaffery kept on working through it.

"I almost didn't want to go on vacation but if I didn't, I would have missed the whole year without a vacation and it wasn't fair to my family," he said. "So my kids were like 'Dad, you're on the phone the whole time,' because the first week of August you're calling kids and setting up visits and things of that nature. But we were still able to have some fun."