Iowa notes: Streak week, recruiting update, home attendance soars

Future Iowa basketball players Aaron White and Josh Oglesby have put together strong performances in late-season action for their high school teams.

White, a 6-foot-8 forward from Strongsville, Ohio, scored 36 points to lead his squad to an upset of unbeaten Garfield Heights in overtime. Garfield Heights was Ohio's top-ranked team and No. 1 in the Cleveland Plain Dealer Top 25. White's teammate, future Iowa tight end Ray Hamilton, grabbed 18 points for Strongsville (15-5).

The performance caught  Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery's attention, and said he's impressed with White.

"(White) is going to have a chance to start, and if he doesn't start, he is going to play a lot," McCaffery said. "He is a guy that just does it with no fanfare. He has a great court demeanor and a complete skill set. He can play as an undersized four or a big three, get a rebound in traffic and push it himself and pass it. He has 3-point range and is really athletic and long. He is a perfect fit for our style of play, and we are really excited about him."

Oglesby, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Cedar Rapids Washington (16-8), scored 27 points in a  Class 4A substate quarterfinal against Clinton and followed with 25 points against Dubuque Senior in a substate semifinal.

Iowa has two open scholarships for 2011, and McCaffery has said multiple times he'd like to recruit a point guard and a post player. One potential recruit is Cezar Guerrero, a 6-foot point guard from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. ESPN ranks Guerrero as the nation's 23rd-best point guard. An ESPN scouting report says Guerrero "is about as quick as it gets at this level. He has tremendous speed with the ball in his hands and he's an acrobatic finisher in the paint. He has looked to get his teammates more involved (last) summer and has the ability to make the spectacular pass."

Rivals.com ranks Guerrero as the nation's 14-best point guard and the 10th-best crowd-pleasing player. Rivals also reports Guerrero scored 30 points when McCaffery was in attendance and could visit Iowa this weekend for the Hawkeyes' home finale against Purdue.

Iowa also appears to be in the mix for a pair of big men from Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kan. The players include 6-foot-9 Eric Katenda and 6-foot-10 Gabe Olaseni. According to www.HawkeyeReport.com, Sunrise Coach Kyle Lindsted said the players are interested in Iowa and could visit the school this spring.

Streak Week

Iowa's final three regular-season games all involve unfortunate streaks for the Hawkeyes

Saturday's 81-68 loss at Illinois was Iowa's record sixth straight in the series. Illinois owns the Hawkeyes in Champaign, winning 21 of the last 22 between the teams at Assembly Hall and 60 of 74 historically. But the programs traditionally held serve on their home courts until recently.

Iowa has lost 16 straight games (by an average of 13 points) at Michigan State, dating to 1993. Iowa's win on Jan. 28, 1993 was known more for the circumstances surrounding the game than for the win itself. Iowa junior Chris Street was killed in a car accident nine days earlier, and the game was delayed because of Street's death. Iowa rallied from a 15-point deficit with 3:13  left in the game to send it into overtime and pull out a 96-90 win.

Iowa (10-18, 3-13 Big Ten) finishes the regular season against No. 6 Purdue, which has beaten the Hawkeyes a series record eight straight times. Ohio State, which has beaten Iowa twice this year, has a six-game winning streak against the Hawkeyes, which is also a series record.

Attendance Spike

Iowa's average home paid attendance is 11,602 with one home game left. The Hawkeyes are on track to post their best attendance number since 2006-07, when Iowa finished 17-14 and 9-7 in the Big Ten.

"I've been absolutely blown away by our home crowd," McCaffery said. "I had heard a number of things before I got here in attendance. They've been absolutely phenomenal for us."