Patrick McCaffery's time at Portsmouth Invitational cut short, but valuable for pro career

Indianapolis Star

25-04-2025

Butler forward Patrick McCaffery 's time at the 71st annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament was cut short due to a concussion, but the sharpshooter hopes he did enough on and off the court to catch the eyes of pro scouts.
McCaffery played for Mike Duman, Inc. and competed in the first two games of the tournament last week at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. The Portsmouth Invitational is a pre-NBA combine tournament started in 1953 where international and NBA scouts can evaluate some of the top seniors in college basketball.
McCaffery scored 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting, going 1 for 3 from 3, with six rebounds and one assist in his first game. In his second game the following day, McCaffery took a hard foul on a drive to the basket and hit his head on the court, suffering a concussion. He finished with three points (1 for 5 on 3s), four rebounds and one assist in 13 minutes.
"My overall experience was definitely great," McCaffery said. "It was a really cool event, a really cool field. ... A field they were saying was one of the best in that tournament in the last several years. Got to meet with NBA teams, that was a cool experience. ... (Teams) could learn more about me and I could learn more about them.'
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McCaffery said he had formal meetings with three to four NBA teams and informal meetings with several others.
McCaffery and fellow Butler forward Jahmyl Telfort competed in a field of 64 players split into eight teams. McCaffery's team played Telfort's team on the final day of the tournament. McCaffery didn't play, but Telfort helped lead his team to a 106-85 win. Telfort finished with 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
McCaffery played 158 games during his six-year career. There isn't much he hasn't done on a basketball court, but the son of longtime Iowa coach and first-year Penn coach Fran McCaffery, relishes every opportunity to show his skills.
"I just wanted to show that I'm a good basketball player and that I can play with all sorts of players in any kind of system and contribute to winning basketball," McCaffery said. "Unfortunately, my time got cut short, but I do think I was able to show certain things and put forth a good showing for myself."
McCaffery is in Chicago preparing for the NBA Draft. He works out daily at Hope Academy with his agent, former Notre Dame guard, Kyle McAlarney and a group of NBA hopefuls including former UConn forward Alex Karaban and former Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Playing at Butler, Indianapolis became a second home of sorts for the Iowa City native. His older brother Connor is entering his second season as an assistant coach under Thad Matta, and his younger brother, Jack, is an incoming freshman forward. McCaffery said he had a chance to grow as a person and learn more about life outside of Iowa.
"Butler was the first time I went by myself and did my own thing," he said. "That was really important for my life moving forward. ... Figuring out new dynamics, having fun and building new relationships. I think I really accomplished that. To be independent, play in a new conference, play against new teams, play in a new style, in a new system, it was great for me, and I learned a lot about myself and what's good for me. Overall, I just really enjoyed my time at Butler."