Nice story from HawkCentral.
Some excerpts:
Connor only played 8 minutes in last Thursday's loss to Clown U, the second-lowest total of his 110-game career. The only time he played fewer minutes was when he sprained an ankle 3 minutes into a game at Rutgers last season.
“Maybe some lagging effects from (the hip surgeries) have taken a toll on my back,” Connor said Tuesday. “I’m all right. It’s not ideal.”
He’s been working with trainer Brad Floy on treatment. He’s not practicing much, if at all.
“It’s been a different kind of season for me so far. The thing that I’ve really tried to do is be a leader, be a voice for the younger guys, to try to pick us up at times when we’re down,” McCaffery said. “Speak up. Never been afraid to speak up. Try to help out guys like Filip (Rebraca), like Kris and Keegan (Murray), guys that we’re going to need in terms of their confidence, (trying) to build them up at all times.”
It’s easy from the outside to focus on McCaffery’s poor shooting numbers (11 points in 10 games) and forget what he means to this team … and what he might be going through as his playing time declines. A program fixture that averaged 30 minutes a game as a redshirt sophomore is playing half that or less now.
“It’s kind of hard seeing him battle through this,” said graduate transfer Rebraca, who befriended McCaffery as two of the team’s elder statesmen. “But he supports us, and we support him. I just look forward to him getting healthy finally.”
Coming off the bench was something that Connor (who can play all five positions on the court) suggested to his father, long before the back pain surfaced.
“All I really want to do is win. … I could play zero minutes, it really wouldn’t matter to me,” McCaffery said. “I’ll still try to affect our team and be somebody (teammates) can come to with questions.”
Normally, fall and winter are a crucial time for baseball players to get swings in the batting cages. McCaffery is currently doing zero baseball work. "He pretty much did everything he could to make it work," Rick Heller said. "He just hasn’t caught a break."
McCaffery will see what opportunities transpire — perhaps even in coaching — this spring before completely ruling out a return for a sixth year of athletics eligibility that is available to him due to COVID-19.
The Full Story:
Some excerpts:
Connor only played 8 minutes in last Thursday's loss to Clown U, the second-lowest total of his 110-game career. The only time he played fewer minutes was when he sprained an ankle 3 minutes into a game at Rutgers last season.
“Maybe some lagging effects from (the hip surgeries) have taken a toll on my back,” Connor said Tuesday. “I’m all right. It’s not ideal.”
He’s been working with trainer Brad Floy on treatment. He’s not practicing much, if at all.
“It’s been a different kind of season for me so far. The thing that I’ve really tried to do is be a leader, be a voice for the younger guys, to try to pick us up at times when we’re down,” McCaffery said. “Speak up. Never been afraid to speak up. Try to help out guys like Filip (Rebraca), like Kris and Keegan (Murray), guys that we’re going to need in terms of their confidence, (trying) to build them up at all times.”
It’s easy from the outside to focus on McCaffery’s poor shooting numbers (11 points in 10 games) and forget what he means to this team … and what he might be going through as his playing time declines. A program fixture that averaged 30 minutes a game as a redshirt sophomore is playing half that or less now.
“It’s kind of hard seeing him battle through this,” said graduate transfer Rebraca, who befriended McCaffery as two of the team’s elder statesmen. “But he supports us, and we support him. I just look forward to him getting healthy finally.”
Coming off the bench was something that Connor (who can play all five positions on the court) suggested to his father, long before the back pain surfaced.
“All I really want to do is win. … I could play zero minutes, it really wouldn’t matter to me,” McCaffery said. “I’ll still try to affect our team and be somebody (teammates) can come to with questions.”
Normally, fall and winter are a crucial time for baseball players to get swings in the batting cages. McCaffery is currently doing zero baseball work. "He pretty much did everything he could to make it work," Rick Heller said. "He just hasn’t caught a break."
McCaffery will see what opportunities transpire — perhaps even in coaching — this spring before completely ruling out a return for a sixth year of athletics eligibility that is available to him due to COVID-19.
The Full Story:
Leistikow: Connor McCaffery's two-sport Iowa journey didn't go as planned. He's stayed positive anyway
There's a famous movie line from Tom Hanks that frames McCaffery's story: "If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."
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