While the rest of the basketball world was busy watching the NCAA Tournament narrow down to the Final Four, Patrick McCaffery was busy on the basketball court winning his own version of a national championship.
The future Hawkeye and 2019 prospect made his way to Colorado Springs this weekend for the 3 x 3 U18 National Championship and all he did was go undefeated and earn MVP honors at the event.
“It was a lot of fun and we had really good chemistry and a great group of guys,” McCaffery said Sunday evening as he was preparing to fly back to Iowa. “It was cool to be named MVP of the event as well.”
McCaffery scored 7 of the 21 points needed for victory, including the game winning basket.
With the championship and MVP award, McCaffery will likely be headed to Argentina in early October to represent the United States in the Youth Olympic Games. The U.S. team will be selected from a pool of players who participated in the event this weekend and given that McCaffery earned MVP honors, he will certainly be a part of the team.
“It’s really cool to think that I will have the opportunity to represent our country in an international event this fall,” he said.
McCaffery’s teammates included an Iowa recruiting target in the Class of 2021, Carson McCorkle, a 6-foot-3 guard from North Carolina. The Hawkeyes have already offered the talented guard and McCaffery enjoyed playing with him and their two other teammates, 2020 guard Dudley Blackwell from Florida and 2020 forward Jyare Davis from Delaware.
“We really played well with each other and other bigger players were also very mobile and I think that helped us a lot,” he said. “I’ve didn’t know the two other guys on my team prior to the event, but Carson and I have gotten to know each other a little bit and it was great playing with him.”
Up next for the junior forward is a trip to San Antonio with the rest of the basketball world, to the Final Four. McCaffery will be playing in a USA Basketball sponsored event that will include 24 of the top players in the Class of 2019, along with two other international teams in that age group.
“Coach Showalter called my dad and let me know I had been invited to the event, but I really didn’t know much about it since it was the first time they have held it at the Final Four,” McCaffery said. “I think it’s a really big opportunity for me to play with and against the best players in my class on a big stage.”
Basketball never stops and after his trip to San Antonio this coming weekend, McCaffery will begin playing with a new AAU team this spring. He announced last week he was moving from playing with the Iowa Barnstormers since arriving in Iowa City, he would be playing with D1 Minnesota this year.
“It was one of the hardest decisions that I have had to make in my life. I had played with all of those guys on the Barnstomers for so long and they are great friends and I will always be a part of that program,” he said. “I just felt that in order to clear my head and play well, I just needed to make the switch and play with D1 Minnesota.”
The D1 Minnesota 17’s squad is very talented and includes Matthew Hurt, a five star forward with an offer from Iowa and just about every major school in the country, and Tyrell Terry, a three star point guard who holds and offer from the Hawkeyes.
McCaffery says that he will be making his own recruiting pitch to both players on a regular basis this spring and summer to join him in Iowa City.
“I plan on recruiting both of them very hard this spring and summer and I would love to play with them at Iowa,” he said. “I know Matthew is going to tough one because he can go pretty much anywhere he wants, but he’s going to have me in his ear a lot. I’ve gotten to know Tyrell pretty well too and he’s a good guy. I think we are going to have a lot of fun playing together this year.”
