Monday's Quotebook: Fredrick Is Almost Perfect, But Defense Is His Game
C.J. Fredrick was nearly perfect shooting in Iowa’s 96-58 exhibition win over Lindsey Wilson College at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
There is something the redshirt freshman guard likes better.
“I just like playing defense,” Fredrick said.
For a team that has been challenged defensively at times in the last couple of seasons, that’s a good sign.
“I take pride in stopping the guy I’m guarding,” said Fredrick, who at 6-foot-3 could be lockdown guard Iowa needs. “Just having that competitive edge, being back out on the court, I was just really pleased in my defense.
“It’s something I take pride in. If my teammates and my coaches are seeing that, I take great pride in that. I just like playing defense. There’s something about it I like.”
Fredrick, though, was one of the offensive standouts in the victory. He had 18 points, going 6-of-7 from the field, 4-of-5 in 3-pointers.
“I saw what I expected to see,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “A guy who’s got a complete game. I thought he was terrific. Shot it, drove it, move without (the ball), defended, got on the glass.
“He’s a terrific player.”
Fredrick sat out all of last season to get stronger and get a feel for the college game.
Which is why he was ready for this game.
“I would just say I just felt giddy before the game,” he said. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I was really excited to get out there and play in front of the fans.”
Fredrick hit two 3-pointers in the span of 29 seconds early in the game.
“It felt great,” Fredrick said. “First game, first shot went in, you really train for that. And then after that, it was back to normal, just playing my game.”
“You could tell last year he wanted to be involved, he wanted to be out there,” said sophomore guard Joe Wieskamp. “Last season, he took full advantage of that redshirt. So to see him go out there and succeed tonight, was just great for him. There’s more to come.”
Fredrick was in the starting lineup and played 19 ½ minutes.
“I never really try to rush shots,” he said. “I feel like I take good shots, stay within the offense. But yeah, I was happy with how I played today.”
Family night
It was a good night for McCaffery’s sons.
Connor McCaffery, a third-year sophomore guard, started and played 22 minutes. He scored just three points, but had 11 assists against only three turnovers.
“He’s got command of what we want,” Fran McCaffery said. “C.J.’s hot, we’ll load him up. Joe’s hot, we’ll load him up. Luka (Garza) is hot, we’ll throw it in. We’re not going to quick-shoot the ball when we’ve got guys going like that, and he knows that. And I thought his defense was good tonight, as well.”
Patrick McCaffery, a freshman forward, scored 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting that included a couple of dunks.
Asked if Patrick got that explosiveness from his father, Fran McCaffery smiled.
“He got his shooting touch from his mother,” he said. “But he’s always been explosive like that, even when he was in middle school. He was a little nervous, a little jumpy in the beginning.”
Game facts
Starting lineup: Connor McCaffery, C.J. Fredrick, Joe Wieskamp, Jack Nunge, Luka Garza
First off the bench: Jordan Bohannon at the 13:48 mark of the first half.
Leading scorers: Wieskamp 19, Fredrick 18, Garza 16, Patrick McCaffery 12, Nunge 11.
Leading rebounder: Joe Toussaint 7.
Leading assists: Connor McCaffery 11.
Assist/turnover: 26 assists against seven turnovers. “I wasn’t surprised,” Fran McCaffery said. “We’re not a mistake team.”
Injury report: Forward Ryan Kriener got his foot stepped on in the second half. After a quick trip to the training room, Kriener came back, but did not play the rest of the game. “He tweaked it a little bit,” McCaffery said.
