McCaffery’s bench tirade inspires Iowa men to easy win
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa men’s basketball team apparently just needed a spark on Sunday and Fran McCaffery was more than willing to provide it.
Iowa’s seventh-year head coach ripped into his players during a timeout late in the first half and whatever he said seems to have worked as Iowa broke open a game that was closer than it probably should have been and then cruised to a 95-67 victory over Texas Rio Grande Valley at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Senior guard Peter Jok led Iowa in scoring for the third time in four games with 27 points, making 9-of-13 shots from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
Jok as a veteran is used to McCaffery’s emotional outbursts during timeouts. But Sunday’s outburst was a learning experience for the younger players, some of whom had just been removed from the game after struggling.
“I think they responded pretty well,” Jok said of his younger teammates. “I think they knew why coach was upset.
“We knew we were going to win this game. But we’re preparing for who we’re going to face next week and for the rest of the year. So every game is a chance for us to get better, and it’s a learning experience every time we get on the court.”
Jok scored the first six points in the game on back-to-back 3-pointers and the situation never really was in doubt from the point on, although, it was hard to tell when McCaffery erupted during a timeout with 3 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first half and with Iowa leading, 35-28.
The Vaqueros had sliced a 15-point deficit in half and McCaffery wasn’t happy about it. He briefly ripped into his player before stepping away from the huddle, perhaps to calm down.
Assistant coach Sherman Dillard then knelt down in the front of the players apparently to finish whatever McCaffery had started.
It seemed to work as Iowa closed the first half on a 13-5 scoring run and led 46-33 at halftime.
Jok shredded the Vaqueros for 20 points in the first half, most coming on wide open jump shots from the perimeter.
McCaffery used 11 players in the first half, but he wasn’t pleased with the performance of his bench. That is what ultimately caused McCaffery to explode during the timeout. He had inserted his five starters back in the game just before the lemotional timeout.
Iowa committed 10 turnovers in the first half and missed eight of 14 free throws. So there was reason for McCaffery to be angry.
“If you remember, I kind of went not complete mass substitution, but I went three and two quickly and then we had a little lull there and that was disappointing because it was a combination of things,” McCaffery said. “Defense. Ball handling. Rebounding. It didn’t really come together in that one stretch and they make a run back at us.
“I always feel bad, you put some guys in and it doesn’t go well and you feel like you’ve got to yank them and put the other guys back in. But that’s how it works. Those others guys had gotten us a big lead and they needed to go back in.”
McCaffery’s tough love carried into the locker room during halftime.
“We’ll call it speech,” freshman guard Jordan Bohannon said of McCaffery’s message during halftime. “He just gave us a little talk, and I guess we really bought into it and applied it to the court.”
McCaffery’s mood changed after Iowa started the second half on a 15-2 scoring run, capped by two Jok free throws that expanded the lead to 59-35 with 16:13 left to play.
McCaffery spent the rest of the game using different lineups and combinations as he tries to build depth and chemistry on a team that has four new starters.
Senior forward Dales Jones was the only scholarship player who didn’t play in Sunday’s game, and he won’t be playing for a while. McCaffery announced on Sunday that Jones has a broken wrist and will be out for eight to nine weeks.
It is the latest setback for the 6-7 Jones, who missed all but six games last season becauwe of a knee injury.
“I feel awful for him,” McCaffery said.
On a brighter note, redshirt freshman guard Isaiah Moss came off the bench to score 14 points on Sunday, making 5-of-7 field-goal attempts.
Sophomore guard Brady Ellingson also has his moments off the bench, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6-shooting from the field.
“This team is pressing and running and jumping and who can handle the ball,” McCaffery said of Sunday’s opponent. “They were up in the passing lanes and shooting gaps.
“So who can handle the pass and catch and make a play off the dribble? That’s what I was really impressed with Isaiah Moss today, he and Brady both coming off the bench.”
Iowa improved to 3-1 on the young season and now will face a significant step up in competition on Friday against Virginia in the Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Fla.
Virginia likes to slow down the pace on offense and is aggressive on defense.
‘They aren’t the only team that plays like that,” McCaffery said. “There are a lot of teams in our league that really dig half-court and guard you. They are really quick on the perimeter, and obviously, they have a reputation for being a really good defensive team.
“You’ve got to execute. You’ve got to move the ball.”
And if that doesn't happen, McCaffery always could call a timeout to deliver a message.
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