Fran McCaffery has done it again.
The Iowa men’s basketball coach secured his second top-100 recruit in the class of 2012 on Wednesday, when center Adam Woodbury committed to the Hawkeyes in an evening press conference.
Woodbury, a native of Sioux City, chose the Black and Gold over North Carolina. He also received offers from Stanford, Ohio State, and Wisconsin, and Kansas and Duke were said to be interested in the 7-footer as well.
"Coach McCaffery was the guy for me," Woodbury said in his press conference, broadcast from the gym of Sioux City’s East High. "My parents want to be able to come to every game, but they were willing to send me anywhere. Distance wasn’t really a factor, but being able to come only about five hours away … definitely played a little bit into the process."
Woodbury is listed as a four-star recruit (Rivals and Scout), and he is the No. 41 prospect in the 2012 ESPNU 100. Listed between 6-11 and 7-1, the center is considered the second-best player in the state of Iowa behind point guard Marcus Paige. The latter, Woodbury’s former AAU teammate, committed to the Tar Heels in January.
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams has a history of snagging top Iowa recruits, including Paige, Harrison Barnes, and Raef LaFrentz (when Williams was at Kansas). He visited Woodbury in Sioux City on Monday, three days after McCaffery visited the center’s home.
"I really had to think about everything; [Williams] is a great coach and had a great visit with me," Woodbury said. "I was impressed with the stuff he brought to the table and the stuff he was telling me."
But according to Scout.com, Woodbury never scheduled an official visit to Chapel Hill, N.C. He also never canceled the visit to Iowa City he has slated for this coming weekend.
Woodbury has been on McCaffery’s radar since the second-year coach was first hired in March 2010.
"I want to say the second, maybe third day coach McCaffery had the job, he was calling about Adam," Woodbury’s high-school coach, Ras Vanderloo, said in a radio interview prior to the announcement. "Out of all the coaches that have been here [scouting], Fran McCaffery has worked the hardest."
The center will join AAU teammate and fellow top-100 recruit Mike Gesell on the Hawkeyes next winter. Gesell, ranked by ESPNU as the best player to come out of Nebraska in 2012, committed to the Hawkeyes in August and was present at Woodbury’s press conference.
"I’m really good friends with Adam — we’ve played a lot together, and it would be fun to play with him at the next level," he said in a radio interview before Woodbury’s announcement. "At the same time, we’re always talking to each other and letting each other know it’s our own decision. I didn’t want to add any pressure to him."
McCaffery has also received 2012 commitments from three-star recruits Kyle Meyer and Patrick Ingram. He has one scholarship left to give to a class ESPN.com ranked the 21st-best in the country last month.
