McCaffery made quick impression

IOWA CITY - Fran McCaffery told Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta he wanted to coach the Iowa Hawkeyes during their first meeting a week ago in Atlanta.

Barta believed him but needed proof. So he scheduled a second meeting with McCaffery on Saturday night in Chicago.

“When he came out in the first meeting and said, ‘I want to be the coach at Iowa,' I was glad he said it, but I needed to get a better feel for whether he meant it,” Barta said. “It was clear to me after those two meetings that he really meant it through the discussions.”

At 8 a.m. Sunday morning, with both parties at their homes, Barta called McCaffery. It was a quick conversation.

“I said, ‘Let's go do this,'?” Barta said. “His simple answer was ‘I can't wait.'?”

McCaffery, 50, officially met Iowa fans, boosters and media Monday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena through a series of rallies and news conferences. He spoke with professorial diction about how he would revitalize Iowa's declining men's basketball program through better recruiting, solid relationships and a different style of basketball.

McCaffery's armed with a six-year deal beginning with an escalating salary beginning at $1.1 million. He takes over a program that finished 10-22, the school record for losses. But he insisted he's not interested in taking baby steps. Siena won six games the season before McCaffery took over. Within two years, Siena had won 20 games.

“My expectation would be to show improvement immediately,” he said. “I think that's what I was hired to do. You know, how much improvement, we'll have to see.”

He began his remarks talking about Siena and became emotional. He spoke about bringing Lehigh - his first head coaching job - to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 1985. In that game Lehigh competed against Roy Marble, whose son, Devyn, will play for Iowa next year.

When it came to basketball, McCaffery cited preparation, recruiting and style of play as his basketball foundation. He talked of possibly bringing former Hawkeyes under the fold, maybe as assistants. He also vowed to get Carver “rocking again.”

McCaffery spent parts of Monday and Tuesday meeting current players. McCaffery chose to listen rather than talk. His up-tempo offensive style appealed to them.

“Stuff that's fun to do,” freshman point guard Cully Payne said. “Like coach said, telling me one thing that stuck with me, it's not going to be a long, grueling season. It's going to fun and we're going to be excited. That's definitely fun to hear.”

McCaffery cited communication as a strength and talked of hosting his players for dinner and the NBA draft. There was a disconnect between ex-players and the program, and McCaffery seemed to embrace the contingent that included Jess Settles, Ryan Bowen and Kenyon Murray, who attended the news conference.

For Settles, there's no better time to revitalize the fan base and cultivate new relationships than now. And he's confident McCaffery can do it.

“We're a sleeping giant,” Settles said. “We're there, we're ready to jump back on, but I think think everybody feels a little burned over the last decade. So he's got to really unite people, and he has that ability. He's a humble guy, he's a great communicator. But it's also, for a lot of fans, it's wins.”

But winning is the first requisite for success at Iowa, with meeting and greeting fans a close second. McCaffery seems up to that challenge.

“(Barta) said, ‘Hey, this is different,'?” McCaffery said. “We need a good coach. I'm talking to a number of quality coaches. But we need somebody who understands what this position is, what it means to the state of Iowa and not only do you have to understand it, but you have to embrace it.”

McCaffery embraced it with rhetoric and actions. He talked of meeting all I-Club patrons during the handshake tour this spring. Yes, Mr. Barta, Fran McCaffery wants to be a Hawkeye.

“Obviously he proved it, because he had some other opportunities and throughout those other opportunities he reiterated again to me, ‘Whatever you hear, understand the job I want is Iowa,'?” Barta said.

More coverage

• Former Iowa player Bobby Hansen talks about serving on the search committee - Scott Dochterman
• McCaffery: Been there, will do this - Mike Hlas
• McCaffery's recruiting miles cover east, south, midwest - Marc Morehouse
• McCaffery plans to welcome former players - Marc Morehouse

Photos by Brian Ray - Pep Rally

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Photos by Brian Ray - Press Conference

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