One last ride for Connor McCaffery

It shouldn’t come as a shock that the son of a DI college basketball coach is thought of as an extension of the coaching staff when out on the court.

Connor McCaffery has been around coaching for his entire life and has also racked up plenty of experience on the floor during his college career. Over five years with the Hawkeyes, Connor has played in 134 games and logged nearly 3,000 minutes.

“As you know, you've seen it, Michigan State plays different than Indiana plays different than Wisconsin. He knows what we're going to see from all those different teams, from all those different coaches,” said Head Coach Fran McCaffery.

Connor doesn’t light up the box score with 30-point performances, in fact, he averaged just 2.12 shots per game last season. However, he brings other things to the table like level-headedness, a career 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio, a high basketball IQ and leadership.

“He has the respect of the guys in the locker room. He says the right things at the right time,” said Fran. “We always talk about there's a difference between talking and communication… It's got to be valuable information that's being translated from one person to another, not just making noise so it looks like you're playing hard. That doesn't do anybody any good. You've got to communicate. That's what he does.”

This season, Connor is focused on making a difference with the younger players on the roster and making sure that there are vocal leaders on to take the lead when he departs. In practice, he has been put on the gold team with freshmen Josh Dix, Dasonte Bowen, Amarion Nimmers and sophomore Riley Mulvey.

“It’s me and a bunch of guys who have never played, so I’m that guy that they come to and ask questions,” said Connor. “I’m not going to be here next year, so what happens when this next freshman class comes in? That has been my goal. How am I going to help somebody else. I’ve talked to Peyton about being more vocal, Tony about being more vocal, Patrick a little bit more vocal. Dasonte has come in and been really good as well.”

When on the court, it’s not uncommon to see Connor get into it a little bit with someone else on the other team. He isn’t afraid to get into it himself or back up a teammate if words are being exchanged during a game. The most notable example is back in March of 2020 when he went face to face with Illinois’ Da’Monte Williams during an intense game that came down to the wire at the State Farm Center in Champaign. Connor says sometimes he will stoke the fire during practice if he feels the group is lacking some energy.

“I’ve been known to get into it a little bit throughout my career, which is alright,” he said. “I’ll even try to poke the bear a little bit if I think we’re having a bad day a practice. I’ll try to get into it a little bit and get somebody talking because once they get pissed off, that’s when that energy and competitiveness really picks up.”

As for his actual play on the court? There is a chance that we will see more offensive production from him this season. In the first 19 games of last season, Connor scored just 22 points, but in the second half of the season he turned in three double digit scoring performances and shot 45.5% from behind the arc. His assist to turnover ratio over the last 15 games was 4.86. He talked about the potential of being a bigger offensive threat this season.

“In certain times and certain lineups, I need to be capable and ready (to score) when it’s needed,” he said. “Last year, I got hot at the end of the year and started scoring more, but then I’ve also been in games where I won’t attempt a shot because Keegan had 30 and I need to find a balance…I need to be ready to step up and knock down a shot if I have to.”

Fran says he has seen a difference with Connor focusing solely on basketball compared to years where he was with the baseball team. “I think it's been a dramatic difference for him. He'd still be playing baseball now, so all summer long, all fall, he's been on the court. He's in more basketball shape, so that helps, especially when you're playing more than one position. But I think from strictly a basketball standpoint, he's been way more aggressive offensively, shooting the ball really well, which is understandable. When you're playing more, you're more comfortable.”

Connor McCaffery has the Big Ten Championship ring and now says the last thing missing from his time at Iowa is a run in the NCAA Tournament and he’s looking to do that this season.