Iowa basketball: Kirk Speraw set to replace Fran McCaffery during suspension

Iowa basketball head coach Fran McCaffery received a 2-game suspension after yelling at an official. Here’s what we know about his replacement Kirk Speraw.

When the men’s Iowa basketball team takes the floor tomorrow night against Rutgers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, they will be without their head coach Fran McCaffery. After Fran McCaffery yelled a few inappropriate things at an official after the loss to Ohio State, Gary Barta had no other option but to suspend the 9th year head coach.

So for two games, the Iowa basketball team will be without McCaffery as they try to finish their Big Ten schedule strong. This situation, however, isn’t entirely new to the Hawks. McCaffery was suspended after getting ejected in a basketball game versus Wisconsin back in 2014 as well. In his place was Assistant Coach Kirk Speraw.

While there is a reason why Fran is the head coach and Speraw is not, Iowa basketball fans shouldn’t be alarmed about what this team will do in the next two games. Speraw has been working under McCaffery ever since McCaffery joined the Iowa basketball program nine years ago. Moreover, in his Hawkeyes bio, it even states that Speraw helps with every single component and function of the Iowa basketball team.

"Assists in all aspects of the program including recruiting, opponent scouting, practices, player development and game preparation."

Speraw also brings a wealth of head coaching experience to the job. Prior to joining the Hawkeyes coaching staff, the former Iowa native and former Iowa basketball player himself was the head coach for 17 seasons at the University of Central Florida. He took the Knights to four NCAA Tournament appearances and managed to leave the program as the schools all-time winningest head coach in men’s basketball history.

Needless to say, but this guy is about as solid of a replacement for Fran McCaffery that the Iowa basketball team could have.

While nothing is official, Speraw is likely to begin his stint as head coach during Fran’s suspension tomorrow night when the Iowa basketball team takes on Rutgers before leading the team against Wisconsin on Thursday, March 7th.

Oh, and one more thing. The one game that Speraw filled in for Fran, he won. In fact, the Hawks destroyed Northwestern 93-67.

With a lot of things happening off the court, we very well could see the Hawkeyes play some inspired basketball these next two games in support of their head coach.