Patrick McCaffery Moves into Leadership Role

Iowa Basketball Senior Veteran on Squad with A Lot of New Faces

Iowa's Patrick McCaffery dunks against Michigan State on Feb. 25, 2023 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Patrick McCaffery likes the youthfulness around Iowa’s men’s basketball team, joking that last season’s team was, well, as he said, “old.”

“I mean, Filip (Rebraca) was 32,” McCaffery joked before jabbing at his brother, “Connor…”

There was a veteran presence with the Hawkeyes last season, and there still is, with Patrick, a fifth-year senior, among that group.

Now, his father said, on a team that is trying to mix in four freshmen and two other newcomers, Patrick has to be the kind of mature presence like those he’s played with in the last few seasons.

“I expect him to be not only a consistent performer, but a leader,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “Because we’ve had great leaders the last couple years, like Luka (Garza) and Jordan (Bohannon), Connor (McCaffery), Kris (Murray), Keegan (Murray). Those guys were always really good leaders. Now, those guys are all gone, so who’s it going to be?”

It’s a challenge for Patrick, who is trying to be a little more vocal.

“I’m not going to be, like, the guy who is breaking down every huddle,” Patrick said. “That’s not really who I am. I talk a lot in the scrimmages — if some guys do something, good or bad, I’ll speak on it. You’ve got to set a standard.”

There’s a standard that Patrick wants from his own game. He averaged 10.5 points in the 2021-22 season, and then 9.8 last season, a year in which he missed a month when he took a break to deal with anxiety issues.

“We won’t have anybody in that dominating role, like Kris (last season) or Keegan before that,” Patrick said. “I expect my points to go up, and they should go up.”

Patrick was a 41 percent shooter last season, including 34 percent in 3-pointers. He has been working this summer on increasing his numbers.

“I want to be a knock-down (shooter),” Patrick said. “I’ve been working a lot of stuff in the mid-range, a lot of stuff from three.”

The goal, he said, is to be a more versatile offensive threat.

“It sets up a lot of different stuff,” he said. “You never want to be somebody that can just go finish at the basket, or only shoot threes, because teams can guard you accordingly. I never want to just stop at (driving to) the basket. Obviously you want to get to the basket if you can, but if not, you want to have other options. You’re not always going to be able to get to the three, you’re not going to be able to get to a layup.

“You have to have other spots. There are guys who can make the mid-range effectively, and I feel like I can be one of those guys. I feel like it can be a much easier shot.”

Patrick has been around long enough to now be the “old” guy. It hasn’t changed his approach.

“Whether or not I was older, or younger, I always would feel pressure on myself to play at a high level,” he said. “No matter my role on the team, it doesn’t change the expectation for myself. I’m very hard on myself. I expect to have a very good year, and that’s the standard I’ve set.”