Former Iowa forward Patrick McCaffery, son of Hawkeyes men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery, has committed to play his final collegiate season at Butler, he announced Saturday on Instagram.
McCaffery, 6-foot-9, played five seasons at Iowa with 61 starts in 123 games and totaled 1,044 points in his career. His health derailed him at times at Iowa, in part due to his thyroid cancer diagnosis in 2014. He medically redshirted his freshman year 2019-20 after lingering effects of medication-related to cancer. In early 2023, McCaffery withdrew for nearly a month due to his anxiety. Last season, McCaffery suffered an ankle injury that limited his minutes.
As the coach’s son, McCaffery had lived in Iowa City since he was 10 years old. He seemed ready to move into a new environment in his final press conference before Senior Day, but did not indicate whether he would play professionally or enter the transfer portal.
When McCaffery entered the portal three days after the Hawkeyes’ season ended with a loss in the NIT, it caught the attention of fans who wondered if Fran McCaffery was long for the job after 14 seasons. That wasn’t the case, Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz said. Athleticism.
“As far as the transfer portal goes, I’m not going to answer for Patrick, but I think that’s reading too much into it,” Goetz said. “The kid spent his whole career here. He’s been here five years.
Like Iowa (19-15), Butler (18-15) was an NIT team last year.
What does this mean for Iowa?
McCaffery had his highlights last season, averaging 8.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. He can run the court unlike many forwards his size, and he can shoot from the perimeter with 105 career 3-pointers. But after missing time with an ankle injury, McCaffery mostly came off the bench over the final two months of the season.
His minutes next season will likely go to either second-year forward Ladji Dembele or new four-star freshmen forwards Cooper Koch and Chris Tadjo.
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(Photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)