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Fran McCaffery: Iowa focused on simply showing up ready to play during ‘a goofy year’ for hoops
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Nothing has been typical in 2020. Why should college basketball be any different?
It is hard to imagine, but we have nearly come full circle in 2020. The COVID pandemic became a reality and hit home for many Americans and many athletes in March of this year. The big decision then was the call by the NCAA to cancel March Madness.
Now, we are quickly approaching the start of a new college basketball season in just a couple of weeks. While it will be an especially wide-open season for the sport, Iowa returns a talented roster, including star center Luke Garza, and should compete for the B1G title all season long.
On Monday, head coach Fran McCaffery addressed the weirdness of 2020 and what to expect out of the Hawkeyes. One thing he is assured of: Iowa will show up ready to play whoever is on deck with whatever players are available.
David Eickholt with the Hawkeye Insider shared McCaffery’s comments:
“I just think it’s foolish to kind of create any kind of guise that we’re going to — we’re not going to be as good, I got this guy hurt, I got that guy hurt, there’s not going to be any crowd, it’s going it be a weird year, the game might get canceled at the last minute,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said on Monday. “You know what, we’re going to show up and play, and we’re going to be ready to play whoever shows up to play against us, and if the game against canceled then we’ll prepare to play the next game. It’s going to be a goofy year. It is. But we have a good basketball team. We have really good players. We have character on this team.”
McCaffery also went on to praise the work ethic of Garza as he prepares for his senior season while dealing with the hype of being a reigning All-American and the reigning B1G Player of the Year. If Iowa is to have a strong season, Garza will once again need to be a dominant force for the Hawkeyes.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.