Fran McCaffery recognizes Rutgers as 'class operation' for shows of support to Patrick McCaffery
Fran McCaffery led his Iowa team to a road win over Rutgers Sunday, giving the program back-to-back wins to snap a 3-game skid. It is a nice response for a Hawkeye program hitting the grind of the B1G slate.
Following the win, McCaffery wanted to recognize and shine a light on the Scarlet Knights program. According to McCaffery, Rutgers showed support for Patrick McCaffery in a number of ways, all the way from AD Pat Hobbs to head coach Steve Pikiell and the players.
“I just want to say, what a class operation Rutgers is,” said Fran McCaffery. “I say that over the years, I’ve become friends with Pat Hobbs and Steve Pikiell both. I coached against Steve when he was playing. Pat came by practice yesterday to offer his well wishes for my Patrick. The Rutgers basketball team filled out a card to wish him luck as he goes through what he’s going through. I don’t know how many programs would do that, but that speaks to whom Pat Hobbs is and who Steve Pikiell is. I just wanted to say that.
“We’re supposed to hate each other I guess, but that’s not the way it is. We’re competitors, we play, but we’re all in this thing together.”
Fran McCaffery opened his presser with words of gratitude for Rutgers athletics. Says AD Patrick Hobbs stopped by practice to wish Patrick McCaffery well and the Rutgers MBB team signed a card for him to wish him luck. Class acts.
This video is worth your time. pic.twitter.com/dXF6kn8Nhy
— Kennington Lloyd Smith III (@SkinnyKenny_) January 8, 2023
That is an awesome gesture from the entire Rutgers program for a fellow competitor. Patrick McCaffery recently announced he is stepping away from basketball for the time being for mental health reasons.