Iowa notes: Virginia AD once hired McCaffery

IOWA CITY -- Iowa coach Fran McCaffery received his first job in college basketball from a man who indirectly will oppose him in an NIT quarterfinal Wednesday night.

Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage became the head basketball coach at Pennsylvania in 1982. McCaffery graduated from Penn's vaunted Wharton School of Finance and Commerce in 1982 but wanted to coach basketball rather than work on Wall Street. Littlepage then hired McCaffery as an assistant and head coach of the junior varsity.

McCaffery stayed with Littlepage for only one year before leaving for Lehigh as an assistant and recruiting coordinator. But McCaffery said he learned a great deal from Littlepage.

"He's one of my favorite people in our profession," McCaffery said. "He's been terrific to me my entire career. He's one of the great gentlemen that I've ever met.

"I watched him play when he was in college; he was a good player, too. Very good player. I learned a lot from him. I only worked for him for one year. He gave me my first job, and I'll always be thankful for that."

Littlepage played basketball at Penn through 1973. In 2001 he took over as Virginia's athletics department, becoming the first African-American athletics director in ACC history. He also has served as chairman of the NCAA tournament selection committee.

The Iowa-Virginia winner (6 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN2) will advance to the NIT semifinals on April 2 in New York City.

Iowa point guard Anthony Clemmons has struggled to end his freshman season, but McCaffery said Monday he has faith Clemmons will rebound.

Clemmons has combined for no shots, one point in 11 minutes of NIT action. He had three turnovers in the NIT opener against Indiana State, including one that sent him to the bench and had McCaffery twice shout "get tougher" at Clemmons.

"As far as Anthony's concerned, he's not far," McCaffery said. "I know he's struggling. He just has to trust his talent and go back to being aggressive. I think he'll be fine."

Against Michigan State in a Big Ten quarterfinal, Clemmons was erratic, producing good plays mixed with rough ones. He had three steals, two assists and six points, but he also committed five turnovers.

Iowa guard Mike Gesell continues to nurse a stress reaction in his right foot but he will play Wednesday at Virginia.

Gesell scored five points in 19 minutes and came up with a crucial 3-pointer to ignite a second-half run against Stony Brook. McCaffery said he'd like to limit Gesell to the 20-minute range, but he won't be shy about giving him more time, either.

"I would feel comfortable increasing his minutes if it were necessary," McCaffery said. "If it were in a perfect world, he'd be right around there. But if we're in a situation where we would have double overtime or something like that, I wouldn't be opposed to playing him 30 minutes."

Both Iowa and Virginia rank among the elite defenses nationally. Iowa led the Big Ten in opponents' field-goal percentage (38.7) and 3-point percentage (29.0). Virginia ranked fourth nationally in points per game (55.2), 12th in point per possession (0.9), 12th in fouls per game (15.2) and 14th in steals (5.1). The Cavaliers hold opponents to 38.6 percent from the field.

"I think there are similarities in the sense that both teams put an emphasis on defense," McCaffery said. "How they recover, getting back, things of that nature. They're really solid in their schemes and where their people are positioned on the floor, limiting opportunities to drive. They do some things a little bit differently than we do, but it's real sound, fundamental, defensive basketball."