Future Hawks having solid finishes to prep careers

Future Iowa basketball players Aaron White and Josh Oglesby have put together strong performances in late-season action for their high school teams.

White, a 6-foot-8 forward from Strongsville, Ohio, scored 36 points to lead his squad to an upset of unbeaten Garfield Heights in overtime. Garfield Heights was Ohio's top-ranked team and No. 1 in the Cleveland Plain Dealer Top 25.

White's teammate, future Iowa tight end Ray Hamilton, grabbed 18 rebounds for Strongsville (15-5).

The performance caught Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery's attention.

“(White) is going to have a chance to start, and if he doesn't start, he is going to play a lot,” McCaffery said. “He is a guy that just does it with no fanfare. He has a great court demeanor and a complete skill set. He can play as an undersized four or a big three, get a rebound in traffic and push it himself and pass it. He has 3-point range and is really athletic and long. He is a perfect fit for our style of play, and we are really excited about him.”

Oglesby, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Cedar Rapids Washington (16-8), scored 27 points in a Class 4A substate quarterfinal against Clinton and followed with 25 points against Dubuque Senior in a substate semifinal.

Iowa has two open scholarships for 2011, and McCaffery has said he'd like to recruit a point guard and a post player. One potential recruit is Cezar Guerrero, a 6-foot point guard from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. ESPN ranks Guerrero as the nation's 23rd-best point guard. Rivals.com ranks Guerrero as the nation's 14th-best point guard and the 10th-best crowd-pleasing player.

Iowa also appears to be in the mix for a pair of big men from Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kan. The players include 6-9 Eric Katenda and 6-10 Gabe Olaseni.

Streak week

Iowa's final three regular-season games all involve unfortunate streaks for the Hawkeyes.

Saturday's 81-68 loss at Illinois was Iowa's record sixth straight in the series.

The Hawkeyes have lost 16 straight games (by an average of 13 points) at Michigan State, dating to 1993.

Iowa finishes the regular season against No. 6 Purdue, which has beaten the Hawkeyes a series record eight straight times.

Attendance spike

Iowa's average home paid attendance is 11,602 with one home game left. The Hawkeyes are on track to post their best attendance number since 2006-07, when Iowa finished 17-14 and 9-7 in the Big Ten.

“I've been absolutely blown away by our home crowd,” McCaffery said.