Iowa men’s basketball head coach Fran McCaffery revealed some of this season’s tactics and his future scheduling plan in an interview with ESPN.com’s Andy Katz on Monday.

A day after receiving his first oral commitment for the class of 2013 in Sudan native Peter Jok, the interview was published on ESPN’s website under the title “Iowa is a sleeper in the Big Ten.” Along with an assessment of last year’s progress — McCaffery said Iowa needs to improve foremost on defense — the third-year head coach told Katz that Iowa’s nonconference future is determined. The Hawkeyes are planning to play in the Great Alaska Shootout in 2013 and are likely to play in New York City in a currently unnamed tournament with Syracuse, Texas, and California. The Black and Gold will play in the Cancún Challenge this season with sides from Western Kentucky, Wichita State, and DePaul.

McCaffery also told Katz that he’s already determined a tentative starting lineup for this season that includes “two freshmen, a sophomore, and two juniors.” While the only certainty in this vague statement is that Iowa will have a young and relatively inexperienced squad starting games, the quote bodes well for freshmen and top-recruits Mike Gesell, a point guard, and Adam Woodbury, a 6-11 center.

Also revealed by McCaffery — known as “White Magic” during his college playing career at Penn — was a likely increased role for sophomore Englishman Gabe Olaseni.

McCaffery told Katz that Olaseni “has a chance to be special” and “does everything that you want a player to do.”

Iowa will open its 2012 season with an exhibition against Quincy University (Illinois) on Nov. 4. The team’s media day is scheduled for Oct. 11.

by Ian Martin