Iowa City West wins easily, as sophomore Patrick McCaffery shows off improved game

IOWA CITY — This is not the same Patrick McCaffery we saw last season.

For one thing, there's more of him. The Iowa City West sophomore said he has gained about 15 pounds.

He's still almost painfully thin. But the extra weight, some extra strength and overall improvement in his game is making the 6-foot-7 forward noticeably better.

He scored 18 points, one less than his older brother, Connor, in West's season-opening 72-42 win Friday night over Marian Catholic of Chicago Heights, Ill.

'He's really kind of come together as a player,' Connor McCaffery said. 'Athletically he has grown into his body. He's long, he can shoot it, he's a finisher. He's really figuring it all out. Defensively, he's blocking shots and getting in front of people. He's stronger, he's taking hits a lot better than he used to. You wouldn't think that by looking at him, but he really has gotten stronger.'

The younger of Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery's two West High boys got pushed around a lot last season as a freshman. He played in every game, averaging 4.7 points for Class 4A's state runner-up team.

Those numbers are going to be infinitely better judging by Friday's performance. He ran the floor well in a successful West transition game, held his own on the interior and even finished with three dunks.

Matched defensively against Marian Catholic's 6-9 TeeAaron Powell, he limited his taller and beefier opponent to just two points.

'I learned last season that nothing comes easy,' McCaffery said. 'At the level we play, it's going to be a good game, and you've always got to come out ready to play ... I'm a lot better, gained (weight). I have gotten better finishing at the basket, gotten better shooting. I didn't really take a jumper tonight, but I feel like I've gotten better at that part of the game. Overall, more rounded.'

'Defensively we gave him a tough matchup tonight, told him 'Use your length,'' West Coach Steve Bergman said. 'I thought he did a nice job. He had a couple of fouls, lost him a couple of times, but I thought he did a good job. Offensively it's much better. He's stronger, though sometimes it's hard to see. He's got more stamina. We told him 'It's OK to seek contact. Don't be afraid of it.' He's doing a good job with that.'

West was a little rough at times in the first half, leading only 29-20 at the break. But the second half was dominant on both ends.

Good defense led to a lot of Marian Catholic misses, which led to a lot of rebounds, which led to a lot of fast-break points. Devontae Lane added 14 points for the Trojans, who shot an even 50 percent from the field and who made 13 of 14 free throws.

'I didn't know what to expect,' said Bergman, pointing to injuries and a late start for some of his players because of a long football season. 'That first quarter I thought we looked a little (off). I thought defensively we were good, but offensively we just stood around and settled for some average shots. We got the running game going in the second quarter and that continued. We changed our break, just went 'Let's go.' Throw it ahead when somebody's open and attack the basket. It looked pretty good at times.'

'Defensively this is exactly what we wanted to do,' Connor McCaffery said. 'We came out and held them to 42. That's definitely a goal of ours. Offensively that first quarter, we weren't getting out and running like we wanted to. But that second half, I thought we really got out and started running.'

Victor Akinyemi led Marian Catholic (3-2) with 12 points off the bench.

AT IOWA CITY WEST

MARIAN CATHOLIC (42): Warren Allen 2-6 0-1 4, TeeAaron Powell 1-3 0-0 2, Sean Taylor 2-10 1-2 6, Brandon Hurt 1-10 1-2 3, Chase Adams 0-6 0-1 0, Victor Akinyemi 5-5 2-2 12, Chris White 3-4 0-1 6, Malik Tidwell 2-3 0-0 4, Ahron Ulis 1-3 1-1 3, Joseph Stith 1-1 0-1 2, Joshua Blair 0-0 0-0 0, Jesiah Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Josh Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Timothy Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Tolu Thomas-Ailara 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-52 5-11 42.

IOWA CITY WEST (72): Seybian Sims 1-1 0-0 2, Patrick McCaffery 9-13 0-0 18, Connor McCaffery 6-13 6-6 19, Izaya Ono-Fullard 2-5 0-0 5, Devontae Lane 4-11 6-6 14, Nate Disterhoft 1-3 1-2 4, Evan Flitz 3-4 0-0 8, Dante Eldridge 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Van Roekel 1-1 0-0 2, Jacob Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Mulhim Nasr 0-0 0-0 0, Hirsche Henstrom 0-1 0-0 0, Raijad Lee 0-1 0-0 0, Timothy Hillberry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-53 13-14 72.

Halftime — West 29, Marian Catholic 20. 3-point goals — Marian Catholic 1-6 (Taylor 1-3, Hurt 0-1, Adams 0-1, J. Jones 0-1), West 5-15 (Ono-Fullard 1-4, C. McCaffery 1-4, Lane 0-1, Disterhoft 1-3, Flitz 2-3). Rebounds — Marian Catholic 41 (White, Powell 5), West 35 (Sims 10). Total fouls — Marian Catholic 15, West 15. Fouled out — None. Turnovers — Marian Catholic 15, West 10.