Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery on recruiting, Brommer's timeline and Oglesby's shooting

Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery skipped his scheduled media session Wednesday to attend an open workout in Dubuque. He instead met over the phone with media Thursday morning and discussed several topics. Here are among the high points:

McCaffery said Andrew Brommer will stay out for at least a week, possibly as many as two with a sprained MCL in his right knee. Brommer could miss the team's opener on Nov. 11 against Chicago State and possibly games on Nov. 14 against North Carolina A&T and No. 17 against Northern Illinois.

"He's really optimistic," McCaffery said. "He's saying a week, and I'm saying to myself a week and a half. But in reality he hasn't even started running yet, so let's be realistic here. I'm not going to rush him back. I think that could be the most foolish thing I could do. So maybe it's two weeks. I have not even - to be realistic with you - looked at, 'OK, let's get him back for this game.'"

Senior Devon Archie will start at center in Brommer's place. Freshman Gabe Olaseni also will see some action in the post.

"I don't know what it's going to be like when (Brommer) comes back," McCaffery said. "It really depends on how mobile he is and how explosive he is and what kind of shape he's in. He's working hard, individual pool workouts and things like that. So I think his weight and his lung capacity seem to be OK."

Iowa will mix and match lineups during Sunday's exhibition against Division II Northwest Missouri State. McCaffery likes the team's depth, led by sophomores Devyn Marble and forward Zach McCabe, as well as for freshman guard Josh Oglesby and freshman forward Aaron White. Marble returned to practice last week after a concussion.

"Marble is going to be a key guy off the bench without question, as will McCabe for sure," McCaffery said. "He's played extremely well.

"I think Oglesby and Aaron White have been spectacular, so there's nine. I've got the ability to then bring Marble in as either a backup at one (point guard behind Bryce Cartwright) or replace Matt (Gatens) or to replace Eric (May). I've got a lot of ways that I can go. The other thing is, I think Olaseni is ready to give us some minutes as well. I don't know if anybody was really counting on him, but we were. He's been our top rebounder from the first day of practice.

"Last year it was a little more streamlined in terms of who was playing. We really have 10 guys now who are ready to play legitimately, and Brommer will when he gets healthier."

McCaffery's high praise for Oglesby and White continued:

"Josh has shot the ball as well as anybody I've ever coached, and Aaron is as versatile as 6-8 player I've ever had," McCaffery said. "They can score, they can defend, they work, they listen, they're team players, they can pass it, they're not mistake guys. They pick the offense up, they know what they're doing. They sort of stepped in and you always hoped that your freshmen, that you anticipate them being like this and they are like this. They're going to play a lot, and that's because they deserve to play a lot."

Iowa has five commitments for the 2012-13 basketball season, headlined by Rivals four-star center Adam Woodbury of Sioux City East and four-star guard Mike Gesell of South Sioux City, Neb. Three-star players point guard Anthony Clemmons (East Lansing, Mich.), shooting guard Pat Ingram (Indianapolis) and forward Kyle Meyer (Alpharetta, Ga.) also are committed.

Basketball's early signing period begins Wednesday, and all five expect to sign their letters of intent. Iowa does have one more scholarship available for 2012-13, but McCaffery doesn't expect to offer it next week.

"It really doesn't look like we're going to go on anybody else early," McCaffery said. "I would be shocked. We're not really checking anybody that hard now. Not on the verge, nobody visiting, I think that's probably a safe bet.

"We could carry it to the spring, we get a transfer, we could sign somebody in the spring, or we could carry it to next year."

So what would it take to get McCaffery to use the scholarship for 2012-13?

"I think a couple of things. No. 1, if there's a phenomenal transfer that we just absolutely love, an experienced guy that we think makes sense for us," he said. "And No. 2, it will be a function of how this team develops and at some point as this season goes on, you identify a need that you didn't anticipate, now we can address the need; we have a scholarship. We can address the need immediately and not have to wait a year."