Pat Harty

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – With exception to the miserable weather, this winter has been something to cherish for Fran McCaffery and his family.

His 21st-ranked Iowa men’s basketball team is in the midst of an impressive resurgence and is just two games out of first place in the Big Ten standings heading into Saturday’s matchup at Rutgers.

His oldest son, Connor McCaffery, is playing a key role for the Hawkeyes as a reserve point guard with a pass-first mentality.

And his middle-aged son, Patrick McCaffery, became the all-time leading scorer for Iowa City West High School on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-8 senior forward scored 29 points during a 73-59 victory over Dubuque Wahlert and moved past former Hawkeye Glen Worley into first place on West High’s all-time scoring list with 1,452 points.

The McCaffery family now has two of West High’s three all-time leading scorers with Connor currently ranked third on the list.

What Patrick has accomplished would be impressive under any circumstance, but his rise to the top of West High’s scoring list has taken an unusual amount of courage, strength and perseverance.

It has taken the love and support of his parents and the help from doctors and nurses to stay on what has been a difficult course at times.

It is easy to forget with the way Patrick now dominates his competition and flies above the rim that just five years ago he was matched against the toughest opponent he probably will ever face.

Patrick had malignant tumor removed from his thyroid five years ago.

It was a frightening experience for a family that has been devastated by cancer, including Fran McCaffery losing both of his parents to colon cancer.

Fran McCaffery and his wife Margaret have dedicated much of their time to raising money to fight cancer, and the experience with Patrick has only strengthened their resolve and commitment.

“You think about it, his journey was a little different,” Fran McCaffery said Thursday when asked about Patrick’s breaking the scoring record. “I think you're proud any time your child does anything special like that. But under his circumstances, it was just a lot different.

“Looking back, it seems like it was yesterday.”

Patrick broke a record that Worley had held for nearly two decades.

Worley, a former Iowa forward, now lives in southern California where he coaches basketball, but he has stayed in contact with Patrick throughout his climb up the scoring list.

“It was an exciting night for us, but more importantly for him, and I think Glen Worley has been great,” Fran McCaffery said. “They've been in contact with each other, and going back and forth, and that's great to see another Hawk. We're thrilled for him.”

Patrick McCaffery will be a nice addition to his father’s team as a versatile combo forward with a scorer’s mentality.

Patrick only weighs about 180 pounds, so there is a definite need for him to get stronger in order to withstand the pounding that occurs in the rugged Big Ten.

His struggle to gain weight could be traced to his medical situation, but it hasn’t stopped Patrick from developing into one of the top high school players this state has ever produced.

Fran McCaffery was asked Thursday if he thinks Patrick could make an immediate impact for the Hawkeyes.

“He clearly has the ability to do that,” Fran McCaffery said. “The only difficulty he'll have is how strong can he get? Will he be physically ready? His game is clearly ready, but we'll see where he is physically.”

To say that the McCaffery family is close would be an understatement.

Fran McCaffery has attended a majority of Patrick’s games over the past four years despite the demands of being the Iowa head coach. Fran and Margaret almost always sit across the court from the West High bench during games.

Fran watches the games as both a father and a head coach.

“I think parent first always,” Fran McCaffery said.

It was the parent in Fran McCaffery that helped Patrick deal with the effects of cancer. Patrick was just a kid when he was diagnosed and he needed his parents for comfort, for courage and for inspiration.

Patrick also had the support of his three siblings, which also includes his younger sister Marit and younger brother Jack, and the support of the West High community.

Patrick now stands as a symbol for hope and shows that there is life after a cancer diagnosis.

He didn’t just survive cancer, but has thrived since beating the disease.

Patrick has benefitted from top-notch medical treatment, but he also deserves credit for standing up to a disease that is clever and relentless.

And if Patrick’s ordeal wasn’t enough, he also watched cancer take the life of his close friend, Austin “Flash” Schroeder, in 2015.

Patrick knows that he is very fortunate to be where he is today. His climb to the top of the scoring list took as much courage as it did skill.