Connor McCaffery Watches, and Learns

Iowa guard had 11 assists in exhibition win.

The 11 assists on the box-score line came in an exhibition game. Maybe they’ll be an afterthought once the college basketball regular season begins.

But Connor McCaffery’s stat line in 23 minutes of play in Iowa’s 96-58 win over Lindsey Wilson College on Monday night was a sign that the third-year sophomore has picked up on a lot of things at the point-guard position.

It’s something that has been built during his time with the Hawkeyes, but the roots are deeper.

Like when his father, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, was coaching at UNC-Greensboro.

“He has been watching film since kindergarten, so he does have a certain feel,” Fran said on Wednesday. “He's played a lot of basketball, so he's traveled with teams, going back to when we lived in North Carolina. I think he's had good coaches growing up.”

Connor said all of that watching of game tapes came when he joined his dad at practice after school.

“I used to watch film with them, as soon as I could start walking and going to practice.” he said.

“He would come to practice every day, and whenever we had a film session he would be in there watching,” Fran said. “Whenever we watched film as a staff, he'd be in there watching.”

Connor laughed when someone asked if it was an “abnormal” childhood.

“It is,” he said. “It’s definitely abnormal, for sure. But it’s just what I was interested in. I feel like every kid goes through stages, like playing with Legos or wearing costumes.”

It’s turned Connor into, as he said, a “visual guy.”

“I like to see how things are done, the process,” he said. “What works, what doesn’t work.”

The Hawkeyes are a visual team — “We watch a lot of film as a team,” Connor said — but he’ll still break down video on his own.

It’s all about learning, especially from mistakes.

“It’s not like you watch as much on your own anymore,” Connor said. “But, that being said, depending on the game, I’ll go back, look at certain plays, see stuff that I want.

“I’ll go back and I’ll watch turnovers, see what did I miss, stuff like that. What’s the read I missed here? I’ll look at defense. Why did they get an open layup here? Should I have helped over?”

Point guard is a position of feel, something Connor learned last season in his first full year. He averaged three assists per game last season, and he was often in the game in late-game situations, allowing Jordan Bohannon to play more off the ball.

“The most important thing with him, he has a winning mindset, so he recognizes that we have some talented offensive players on this team that need the ball, and not only that, where do they need to get it, if a guy is coming off a screen you have to put it in a certain place, guy is in the low post you've got to throw it away from the defense,” Fran McCaffery said. “You want your big guys to run, you have to get them the ball. You want your shooters to move without the ball, you've got to throw it to them when they are open. That's the only way we're going to score. So he understands that. He takes pride in it. He's not as concerned with his own scoring, but has always been a scorer in his career. I think he can be that again.”

Connor took just one shot in Monday’s game, a 3-pointer he made.

He knows he has to have the confidence to be a scorer.

“Moving forward, it’s just still being aggressive, making plays,” he said. “Shooting when I’m open, being aggressive, nothing as an afterthought. Just being assertive, always making the right play. I don’t want to force shots. I just want to do what I’m supposed to do in that role. I’ve got a lot of guys around me who can shoot it. I’m going to stay in my role.”

He’s also learning the better way to play two sports. Connor is also on Iowa’s baseball team, and over the summer he played in a wood-bat league in Albany. There, he got game experience while also being able to work on his basketball game at nearby Siena College, where his father coached before coming to Iowa.

Three weeks before Connor was scheduled to come back to Iowa City, he was hit by a pitch on his right wrist, ending his summer baseball season.

So he came home to get treatment on his wrist, but he was also able to work out with the basketball team.

“That started developing some team chemistry,” Connor said. “Being able to play with (redshirt freshman guard) C.J. (Fredrick), being able to play with (Joe Wieskamp), developing some relationships in the backcourt. I think that helped.”

Last season, fully healthy after his first year that was cut short by illness and injury, Connor was able to play both sports.

“Having gone through it, like you said, it’s so big,” he said. “Knowing what to expect — what worked, what didn’t work.

“I have these periods where (the seasons overlap), that’s the toughest part. So now I know — OK, what didn’t work last year.”

He’s learning basketball, but also breaking down his swing in baseball.

Again, it’s all about the video.

“They video me, I see myself doing it, and then I know what to fix,” he said. “That’s a lot easier said than done, because I’ve been doing this swing all of my life.”

The “visual guy” wants to see everything.