Quick Iowa basketball notes on recruiting, Prime Time League

I caught up with Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery this morning in Chicago and chatted about a few topics. Among these include 2011 recruiting and the summer Prime Time League.

Iowa has one basketball scholarship available for the 2011-12 season. When asked if he's done recruiting for the upcoming season, McCaffery said, "never done. If somebody's out there ... you never know."

Three of his players will compete this summer for national teams. Incoming seniors Matt Gatens and Bryce Cartwright will represent the United States on an East Coast All-Star Team that will compete in the Four Nations Cup held in Tallinn, Estonia in early August. They will leave in late July for a two-day training camp before heading to Eastern Europe.

Incoming sophomore Melsahn Basabe has been invited to try out for USA's U19 team. Basabe is one of 17 players who will attend training camp from June 17-24 and 12 make the squad.

McCaffery said all three players will be enrolled in summer school. Cartwright and Gatens will play in the Prime Time League, while Basabe's status remains undetermined.

"Gatens and Cartwright will be going (to Estonia) after ... the Prime Time League will be pretty much over," McCaffery said. "Basabe, of course, has to make the team."

McCaffery said Basabe has a good chance of making the squad, which will be coached by George Mason's Paul Hewitt.

"I think he could because he's playing really well," McCaffery said. "I think he'll like Paul (Hewitt). Paul's a terrific coach, a great guy. Paul's style of play is like our style of play. He'll fit right into that, the running, the athletic side of it. I think he'll like Melsahn and I think Melsahn will like playing for him."

The North Liberty-based

Prime Time League begins play June 19 and lasts until July 24.