Fleming recaps Iowa visit

Since committing to play basketball at the University of Iowa, Andrew Fleming hasn't been to Iowa City during a time when the campus was full of Hawkeye fans around to greet him. Fleming has been a hit on social media, but his experience this weekend took his love for Iowa fans to another level. Fleming recaps his official visit, discusses his interactions with the players and coaches, and much more.

Q: How did the official visit go this weekend?

FLEMING: It was so much fun. I had a great time with the team, the coaches, and the fans.

Q: Walk us thru your official visit.

FLEMING: On Friday they had a plan for me. I went with my family and we watched the team practice. After that we had dinner at a really nice place. We had dinner with Josh Oglesby, my family, the entire coaching staff expect for Coach Dillard and Coach Speraw, who were out. Then I went out for a while with Josh.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast and then we went to the football game, which was a lot of fun. The fans were crazy and the game was incredible. Then we went over to the arena and I hung out with the guys on the team before they had practice. After the practice, my dad and I went shopping for some more Iowa shirts and then we met up with the team again for a team dinner. We all ate together and it was really good. Then Josh and the rest of the team took me out in Iowa City and that was a lot of fun.

Q: This was your first chance to really sit in on a practice and see what that is like. What were your thoughts?

FLEMING: I really feel like I am getting better in my overall game at Oak Hill and now I realize why and it's because our practices there are a lot like the one's there. Coach Smith at Oak Hill kind of runs the same type of practices as Coach Fran does at Iowa. I know I will feel very comfortable with Iowa's practices, which is good. I really like Coach Fran's coaching style. He likes to run and gun and let players make plays. I am looking forward to getting to Iowa, getting better in practice, and learning from the coaches.

Q: This was probably the first time you have been able to be around some of the guys on the Iowa team. What were your thoughts and how do you feel like you fit in?

FLEMING: I wasn't really surprised by this, but all the guys on the team were very welcoming to me. I had a lot of fun with them. I thought I fit in very well. I think I will fit in very well as a player because of the style of play and off the court they are a lot like me. They are nice guys who are good teammates on and off the floor.

Q: You have seen the fan support on social media. What was it like in person?

FLEMING: It was crazy. I took lots of pictures and even signed a few autographs. It was cool how the fans knew who I was and I haven't even gotten to Iowa yet. I am really excited about getting to Iowa and making plays and helping the team win. I've been on visits elsewhere and seen fans at a lot of other schools and there's nothing that compares to the fans at Iowa.

Q: How has Oak Hill gone for you? How have you fit in there?

FLEMING: The school is great. They have a lot of kids there from a lot of different walks of life. Some of them have been through some hard times in their life and it has been interesting to get to know them and learn from their life experience.

The basketball experience has been crazy good. We practice every single day and lift four times a week. We play pickup after dinner every night too, so I am playing basketball about three or four hours every day. I have gained a few pounds of muscle and I feel like I am in the best shape of my life. Right now I can bench press more than anyone on the team, including the bigs, so I feel like I will be a step ahead of the game once I get to Iowa.

The coaches think I am playing faster and I feel like that will help me when I get to Iowa. We have had a few scrimmages and I am averaging 15 points a game and 5 assists a game. I think I am playing pretty well. I feel like I am finding people on the floor really well, playing unselfish basketball, and making open shots. I am also working on continuing to play hard on the defensive end.

Q: Even though you played AAU basketball with and against some very good players, I am guessing that playing with the talented guys at Oak Hill has really helped you improve as a basketball player?

FLEMING: Yep. We fight every single day. It's non-stop competition. I saw that same thing at Iowa this weekend. Guys are competing all the time and trying to get better and helping their teammates get better. I know I am playing against some of the best players in the country every day in practice. We have a guy on our team going to Florida State and every single day in practice I am going up against him. He's an incredible player and that has helped me become a better defensive player. The practices are just so intense and competitive. I feel like I am getting better every single day.

Q: With Josh Oglesby playing the same position that you will likely play at Iowa, did you guys talk about that and what is like to play that position for Coach McCaffery?

FLEMING: Yeah we did. He told me that he had trouble in his career and he talked about when he struggled shooting the ball a couple of years ago. He said he just wasn't playing very well and his playing time went up and down. He said that at the end of the day you have to play well to get the minutes and the coaches will help you get there. He told me you just have to go out there and keep competing and that's what he did. He said for shooters the coaches will do things to get you going. They will run plays for you to get the opportunity to shoot the basketball. Hearing that, I can really see myself in the Iowa offense because I can hit four, or five, or six three's in a game by just running off screens. He just said to keep working hard on my overall game because I want to be known as more than just a jump shooter.