Fran McCaffery
The college basketball season tips off this week. The Iowa Hawkeyes host Northwood of Florida in an exhibition game on Sunday afternoon. Mike Gesell, Anthony Clemmons and junior college transfer Trey Dickerson have all been working at point guard.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says, “All of their games are a little bit different as well, so I can go a lot of different ways,” McCaffery says. He says Gesell has so far established himself as the starter at the position.
McCaffery says as a newcomer Dickerson is working to become a leader and he is picking up what they want him to do and now he has to take over and get everyone else where they should be. “And that often times is a much more difficult process than you would think,” according the McCaffery.
McCaffery says the veteran players have been as good as he hoped, saying Aaron White especially has done what you want out of a senior captain, and that has carried over to everyone else.
McCaffery says if there has been a surprise it has been the play of six-eight freshman Dom Uhl from Germany. He says Uhl can put the ball on the floor and make a play, or get the ball to someone else. McCaffery says Uhl is thin and needs to get stronger to be able to maintain the pace required at this level of play.
Northwood is an NAIA program and led by former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino and McCaffery says Massimino had a terriffic record in the Big East during the league’s glory days and he always did it in the right way.
UNI hosts Upper Iowa on Thursday night in exhibition play. Iowa State hosts Viterbo of Wisconsin on November seventh and Drake plays Coe on November eighth.