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Fansided

Iowa basketball: MVP, surprises, and disappointments through nine games

By Andrew Wade

EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 03: Thomas Kithier #15 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball over Ryan Kriener #15 of the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first half at Breslin Center on December 3, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 03: Thomas Kithier #15 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball over Ryan Kriener #15 of the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first half at Breslin Center on December 3, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 16: Connor McCaffery #30 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts in the second half against the Connecticut Huskies during the championship game of the 2K Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 16: Connor McCaffery #30 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts in the second half against the Connecticut Huskies during the championship game of the 2K Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

Biggest surprise: Connor McCaffery

Connor McCaffery is quickly becoming one of my favorite players to watch game in and game out. Meanwhile, he is quickly creating enemies on basically every opposing team due to his competitive and vocal nature on the court. Against Iowa State he was the center of multiple skirmishes (granted, he didn’t actually start them, but the point still stands).

He has been an outstanding addition to the team, and he is a large reason why the Iowa basketball team is 7-2. The redshirt freshman has burst onto the scene after limping through his first year in college basketball that was eventually shut down after nagging injuries and illnesses.

This season, however, he is averaging a team-high 3.6 assists per game while also contributing 8.1 points per game on 43% shooting. His offensive plus/minus is third best on the team with a 5.1 rating, and his win shares is also third best on the team at 0.9. For reference, win shares is the number of wins contributed by a player due his offense and defense.

What’s more impressive is that he is doing all of this while coming off the bench and playing 21.4 minutes per game (5th most on the team).

After the Iowa State game, head coach and Connor’s father Fran McCaffery had glowing praise for his son.

"He was tremendous. He was plus 12 at halftime, plus 15 for the game when he was on the floor. He knows where to put the ball, knows when to go, when not to go. Coming down the stretch, he attacked. We didn’t settle. We were in the bonus and eventually in the double bonus, a lot of it thanks to him, but he’ll throw it inside to Tyler Cook, he’ll load up our shooters. I couldn’t be more proud of him."

These words were specific to the Iowa State game, but they were evident of a trend we have seen since the start of the season. With Bohannon expected to primarily play point, McCaffery’s emergence as a centerpiece of the team is why he is the biggest surprise so far.