Fran McCaffery wants more from Iowa's Melsahn Basabe

IOWA CITY - Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery wants Melsahn Basabe to get back on track.

The sophomore forward has disappointed himself and his coach with his most recent performance. Basabe scored just two points and grabbed three rebounds in 17 minutes against Creighton. He also had two turnovers, took only three shots and had four fouls.

“I don't really know how to say it. Foul trouble does put a part in it,” Basabe said after the game. “I only took three shots. So I wasn't in any kind of rhythm as far as that.”

While at Siena, McCaffery recruited the 6-foot-7 Basabe and then brought him to Iowa when he took over in March 2010. They have a relationship that's developed over time, and the conversations since Sunday's game have been frank and honest.

“What we have to do with him is just keep coaching him,” McCaffery said Tuesday. “He's a terrific young man, he's got character, he gets emotional at times and what he has to do is refocus and get back to doing what he does well.”

Basabe scored a combined 29 points in easy Iowa wins against Chicago State and North Carolina A&T, the latter of which he registered a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He disappeared at times in Iowa's third game - a win against Northern Illinois - scoring eight points and pulling down two rebounds in 20 minutes.

But for a player who averaged 11 points and 6.8 rebounds a game last year and was a member of the Big Ten's all-freshman squad, the performances have concerned McCaffery.

“I think in some respects, obviously he wants to expand his game,” McCaffery said. “He wants to do his thing, everybody does that. But sometimes in trying to do those things and work on those things, you forget about doing the things that you've always done well. For him, he's not rebounding. He always been not a good rebounder, but a great rebounder.

"He's got to get back to getting five or six offensive rebounds every night and be up 10, 11, 12 rebounds every night. When he does that he'll get putbacks, then he'll get fouled more. The point numbers will go up.”

The most recent game was troubling because of the competition. Creighton sophomore forward Doug McDermott, a player and friend who nudged out Basabe for the national U-19 team, scored 25 points and had nine rebounds with nary a turnover in a 23-point Creighton win.

“I wasn't really doing anything. I wasn't being effective,” Basabe said. “I just got to go back and I don't know, just keep working and keep being focused and watching film and see what's going on.”

During the offseason Basabe worked on his midrange jump shot, which McCaffery said has gotten better. But to improve going forward, Basabe needs to focus on what made him a rising star in the Big Ten.

“In the post he's getting a little bit too fancy, and he's trying to make too many moves,” McCaffery said. “He was always a get-it-and-go guy. He's explosive, and he's long. I'd like to see him do a little more of that.

“In many respects, it's back to the basics with him, and he's a good person and he'll get it figured out. We'll get it figured out with him and we'll be better.”