McCaffery awards Nicholas Baer with a scholarship
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Nicholas Baer has dedicated much of his life to improving as a basketball player.
His determination paid huge dividends on Thursday when Iowa coach Fran McCaffery announced that the 6-foot-7 Baer would be put on scholarship.
"I am so thankful that coach McCaffery gave me the opportunity to walk-on; he gave me a jersey, gave me a chance to prove myself,” Baer said in a statement. “It has always been a goal of mine to achieve a scholarship and I’m thankful that I have achieved that goal, but more so I’m thankful for all of my teammates who have pushed me to make me a better player and the support I’ve received from Hawkeye fans.”
Baer’s chance of getting a scholarship sooner rather than later improved considerably after freshman forward Brandon Hutton and freshman guard Andrew Fleming both decided they would transfer from Iowa after the spring semester.
That gave McCaffery two additional scholarships, and Baer certainly helped his cause by performing well this past season as a reshirt freshman. The Bettendorf native competed in all 33 games this past season, averaging 4.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. He also ranked second on the team in blocked shots with 19.
"When we invited Nicholas to walk-on two years ago, I had a strong suspicion that this day would come,” said McCaffery. “I didn’t give him a scholarship, he earned one and that’s the greatest compliment that you can give to him. He just wanted a chance and felt like he would take it from there and he did.
“He really worked hard his redshirt year to figure out what he needed to do to be successful at this level. Nicholas was a terrific player for us in a lot of different ways this past season. He impacts the game with his energy, basketball instincts, shooting, rebounding, defense, and he doesn’t make mistakes. He’s everything you want on the floor, especially with the way we play. I’m excited about having him in our program for the next three years.”
Baer scored in double figures in five games, including netting 15 points in Iowa’s NCAA Tournament loss to eventual national champion Villanova in the second round.
Baer also excells in the classroom, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors last month.