Catching up with Iowa's Fran McCaffery; Uthoff vs. Niang

CHICAGO — Jarrod Uthoff and Georges Niang squared off in an NBA scouting combine match-up Friday that was all about helping their draft stock and nothing resembling their college teams' bitter rivalry.

Uthoff, a 6-foot-10 Iowa forward, scored seven points on 3-of-6 shooting, grabbed four boards and dished three assists in 21 minutes, 18 seconds. Niang, a 6-foot-8 Iowa State forward, finished with 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting. He added five rebounds and an assist but also had six turnovers in 23:28.

They defended one another on several possessions. But when asked if the match-up had any extra juice, well, not really.

'We're both doing a great job of representing the state of Iowa out here at the combine,' Niang said. 'I was out there playing basketball. I wasn't focused on what he was doing unless I was guarding him.'

'I didn't think anything of it,' Uthoff said. 'Just another game.'

Hlas: Niang offered offense galore at combine Thursday. Is it enough?

Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery and Iowa State Coach Steve Prohm were on hand to watch the players compete. So was Niang's first coach at Iowa State, now Chicago Bulls Coach Fred Hoiberg. Although Niang said he met with eight different teams, the Bulls were not one of them.

'He probably knows a ton about me and could give them a lot of insight,' Niang said. 'Being in Chicago would be a blessing and with that being said, playing for any of these 30 teams would be a blessing also. It would be pretty cool if I was with my old coach but if that doesn't happen, that's a different challenge.'

MCCAFFERY ON SCHEDULES, DALE JONES AND FOREIGN TRIP

McCaffery, who attended Uthoff's game Friday afternoon, said his team's non-conference slate is completed except for his Big Ten-ACC Challenge opponent.

'It's definitely going to be on the road,' McCaffery said. 'A lot of times we know and we're not supposed to tell anybody. I really don't know. I knew about Seton Hall (the Gavitt Games match-up) before we released it.'

Iowa forward Dale Jones is petitioning the NCAA for a sixth season after tearing his ACL last December. Jones, who is entering his fifth season, previously picked up a red-shirt after tearing his ACL two years ago. Jones played in six games last year, well under the NCAA's 30 percent line to qualify for a medical red-shirt.

'It's a long process that won't be done for a while,' McCaffery said. 'I've always said this: the reality is there's precedent for it. If you look at his case, you'd say, 'Why wouldn't they?' Sometimes you look at a case and say, 'Well, he might not get it.' You look at his case and say, 'He got hurt twice. That's why that petition possibility is there to begin with.' There's no other reasons why he didn't play. He wasn't arrested; he just got hurt. It wasn't his fault.'

Iowa guard Peter Jok continues to explore his NBA draft prospects. Jok, a junior, will have until May 25 to return to school or permanently remain in the draft. McCaffery said, 'I don't have anything to report there,' regarding Jok's status.

In the summer of 2017, Iowa will be eligible to take a foreign summer trip. The Hawkeyes last did that in 2013, when the team played in London and France. Part of that trip was to showcase then-Iowa center Gabe Olaseni, who was from London. Iowa currently has German-born forward Dom Uhl on its roster. Uhl will be a junior this fall.

'If we stay true to form, Germany will be in the mix because of Dom,' McCaffery said. 'We did that for Gabe. It's always going to be a function of where we can get legitimate games, I'm sure we can get a game in Germany or two. There's really good basketball over there. We had two guys (Olaseni and Aaron White) play there last year. Mike (Gesell) could end up there.'

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