Fran McCaffery has maintained he wanted a former Hawkeye on his coaching staff. On April 23, the new men’s basketball coach hired assistant Kirk Speraw, a Sioux City native and player under Lute Olson from 1978-79.

Speraw comes to Iowa City with 21 years of head-coach experience. His last stop was a 17-year stint at Central Florida, where he compiled the most wins in program history (279). He also coached at Florida, Pensacola Junior College, Florida Southern, and Denver, and he was a graduate assistant in 1979-80 at Iowa.

“I’m excited and honored for the opportunity to return to the University of Iowa and reconnect with friends and fans of the Hawkeye basketball program,” said Speraw in a release.

McCaffery said, “When I was at the Final Four, Lute Olson recommended [Speraw] very highly, as has everyone else I have spoken to about him.”

Speraw is the second member of McCaffery’s staff; Andrew Francis was hired on April 8. One more assistant position remains open, along with a graduate-assistant spot.

In an April 13 interview with The Daily Iowan, McCaffery said he wouldn’t rule out having two former Hawkeyes on his staff.

“There are a lot of former Hawkeyes who want to be on staff,” McCaffery said. “[Some] are just looking to get on the bench and work their way in and work their way up, which I respect because that’s what I did. I worked three or four years for virtually nothing just to learn the business. I think that’s how you get good at it.”

— by Scott Miller