Iowa’s McCaffery: ‘We’ll be a different team’

INDIANAPOLIS - Fran McCaffery sat in a booth in downtown Indianapolis and received well wishes nearly every three minutes by a friend or a fan attending the Final Four.

Two ladies walked up to the Iowa men's basketball coach and raved about Wisconsin's victory against Kentucky. McCaffery politely acknowledged their comment and the success of the Badgers which, of course, are a rival of his squad. Then he continued his conversation with a reporter.

The topic was about next season, which seems both logical and surreal considering the rest of the basketball world was focused on the present.

'We'll be a different team,” McCaffery said.

Iowa basketball's present provides a juxtaposition. The Hawkeyes finished their season two weeks ago at 22-11 and won their first NCAA tournament game in 14 years. They crushed Davidson by 31 points, the largest margin of victory in the school's 54-game NCAA history. Iowa returns five players who started at least 12 games last year and nearly 60 percent of its scoring.

But the Hawkeyes lose three core players, including the school's second all-time leading scorer in Big Ten first-team forward Aaron White. The league voted center Gabe Olaseni as its sixth man of the year. Guard Josh Oglesby was a 3-point threat who scored 633 career points. White, Olaseni and Oglesby stand 6-foot-9, 6-10 and 6-6, respectively, and combined for 28.5 points and 14.2 rebounds last season.

'Those guys played a lot of minutes, very productive, and very reliable,” McCaffery said. 'When you lose reliable players, it's difficult. When you lose reliable players and one of them is a superstar, that's tough, too.”

Iowa signees Ahmad Wagner (6-7), Isaiah Moss (6-6), Brandon Hutton (6-5) and Andrew Fleming (6-4) are long, athletic players, as is Iowa commit Christian Williams (6-6). But they're simply not as tall as Iowa's departures, which will force McCaffery to adapt.

'Obviously (7-1 center Adam) Woodbury's going to play a lot more,” McCaffery said. 'He's got to stay out of foul trouble, which he's done a much better job of in the last year and a half. The first year and half, not so much. He does play physical, and he will foul. So we're going to have to play differently if he's out. We'll have some 6-7s and 6-8s and three guards, four guards, that kind of stuff, which a lot of people are doing.”

Along with Woodbury, Iowa returns three-year starting point guard Mike Gesell, forward Jarrod Uthoff and shooting guard Peter Jok. Guard Anthony Clemmons opened 12 games and averaged 20 minutes. All but Jok (a junior) will be seniors next year.

For some programs, the combination of holdovers and a large recruiting class could create chemistry issues. McCaffery said his returnees' prowess should ease the transition.

'I don't think that will be a problem,” he said. 'We have four starters back and when guys come in, they want to take somebody's job. They know they're going to play, and they know they're going to play a lot when those guys leave.

'Uthoff should be one of the best players in the league. Woodbury should be one of the best centers in the league. Mike should be one of the best point guards in the league. I think Pete's got to take another jump. He took one last year. I'd like to see him take another jump and be an all-league-caliber player, a 15-, 16-point scorer. I think that's well within his capability.”

Along with the newcomers, McCaffery expects 6-9 sophomore Dominique Uhl to take an enhanced role. Shooting guard Brady Ellingson sat out with a red-shirt but was considered one of Iowa's top perimeter shooters. Those two plus several of the newcomers will play key minutes next season.

'We'll have a little more flexibility and athleticism I think on the wings,” McCaffery said. 'Then you just hope you'll have enough shot makers, and I think we will.

'Isaiah, Ahmad, Hutton and Fleming, those guys are 6-5, 6-6, 6-7 so it's a little different. They can all dribble, pass and shoot. They can all rebound, they're all athletic, they all can play fast. I think they're all capable of (making an impact). It's interesting to see how that all unfolds.”

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