Iowa Men’s Basketball Coach Receives First Technical While Trying To Shake Team Out Of Slump: 11-28-2011

IOWA CITY, IA. — Late in the first half of Wednesday’s loss to Campbell, Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery kicked the scorer’s table in frustration.

He slammed a clipboard during a second-half timeout. When freshman Josh Oglesby passed on an open look at a 3-pointer and later threw a behind-the-back pass out of bounds, McCaffery took him out of the game.

“Shoot the ball, McCaffery told him, loud enough for more than Oglesby to hear. Late in the game, McCaffery got his first technical foul of the season. So it’s natural to assume that the coach gave his team an animated postgame lashing after a 77-61 loss to the Big South Conference opponent.

During a 45-minute player-and-coach briefing that forced cancellation of his postgame radio show, McCaffery tried to use tact instead of paint-peeling fury.

You have to be careful when you have young guys that are struggling, said McCaffery, whose team returns to action today in a noon game against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. You just start screaming at them, and kicking stuff, and blaming them for everything … well, how are they ever going to get any confidence now? I don’t think any team will ever respect their coach if they blame them completely and solely, and that’s not the case. We are all at fault.”

Iowa has suffered one-sided defeats in its last two games. The Hawkeyes went into a first-half funk against Campbell, falling behind by as many as 16 points before a defense-inspired 9-0 spurt at the end of the half cut the deficit to seven.

But poor shooting — Iowa shot just 29.4 percent in the second half — and indifferent defense led to the most one-sided nonconference loss in Carver-Hawkeye Arena history. McCaffery’s postgame message centered on toughness and competitiveness.

“I think when it’s all said and done, you have to come and compete, McCaffery said. And that’s not hustle. Hustle is to be expected. Competing is thinking the game plan through and fighting through a mistake, fighting through a missed shot.”

Equally important is getting forward Melsahn Basabe and point guard Bryce Cartwright out of their funks. Both haven’t played at the level they did last season.

“We are not getting it out of (Cartwright) and Melsahn right now, and it’s my responsibility, it’s our responsibility, to get the best out of players and get them to play up to their capability.”

Iowa Men’s Basketball Coach Receives First Technical While Trying To Shake Team Out Of Slump

Rick Brown, DesMoinesRegister.com

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111125/SPORTS/311250045/-1/gallery_array/Coach-trying-shake-Iowa-out-slump

IOWA CITY, IA. — Late in the first half of Wednesday’s loss to Campbell, Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery kicked the scorer’s table in frustration.

He slammed a clipboard during a second-half timeout. When freshman Josh Oglesby passed on an open look at a 3-pointer and later threw a behind-the-back pass out of bounds, McCaffery took him out of the game.

“Shoot the ball, McCaffery told him, loud enough for more than Oglesby to hear. Late in the game, McCaffery got his first technical foul of the season. So it’s natural to assume that the coach gave his team an animated postgame lashing after a 77-61 loss to the Big South Conference opponent.

During a 45-minute player-and-coach briefing that forced cancellation of his postgame radio show, McCaffery tried to use tact instead of paint-peeling fury.

You have to be careful when you have young guys that are struggling, said McCaffery, whose team returns to action today in a noon game against Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. You just start screaming at them, and kicking stuff, and blaming them for everything … well, how are they ever going to get any confidence now? I don’t think any team will ever respect their coach if they blame them completely and solely, and that’s not the case. We are all at fault.”

Iowa has suffered one-sided defeats in its last two games. The Hawkeyes went into a first-half funk against Campbell, falling behind by as many as 16 points before a defense-inspired 9-0 spurt at the end of the half cut the deficit to seven.

But poor shooting — Iowa shot just 29.4 percent in the second half — and indifferent defense led to the most one-sided nonconference loss in Carver-Hawkeye Arena history. McCaffery’s postgame message centered on toughness and competitiveness.

“I think when it’s all said and done, you have to come and compete, McCaffery said. And that’s not hustle. Hustle is to be expected. Competing is thinking the game plan through and fighting through a mistake, fighting through a missed shot.”

Equally important is getting forward Melsahn Basabe and point guard Bryce Cartwright out of their funks. Both haven’t played at the level they did last season.

“We are not getting it out of (Cartwright) and Melsahn right now, and it’s my responsibility, it’s our responsibility, to get the best out of players and get them to play up to their capability.”