Caitlin Clark's BF Connor McCaffery hypes up brother Patrick McCaffery as Iowa star reaches 1000 career points: "Proud of the boy"

Iowa forward Patrick McCaffery reached 1,000 career points after registering five points and two rebounds during the Hawkeyes' 90-81 win against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Wednesday.

His brother, Connor McCaffery, the boyfriend of Iowa ace and record breaker Caitlin Clark, congratulated him on his milestone on Instagram with the caption:

"Proud of the boy," Connor McCaffery wrote.

Screenshot of McCaffery's story

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Patrick McCaffery challenged to take up leadership role

At 23, Patrick McCaffery is one of the veterans of the Iowa Hawkeyes group after his brother Connor McCaffery and most of last season's squad left.

After taking a leave of absence to address his mental health struggles earlier in the year, he's back to help the Hawkeyes' late-season push for wins. His father, coach Fran McCaffery explained during Iowa media days that he expected Patrick to take up a leadership role in the team.

“I expect him to be not only a consistent performer, but a leader,” Fran McCaffery said.

“Because we’ve had great leaders the last couple years, like Luka (Garza) and Jordan (Bohannon), Connor (McCaffery), Kris (Murray), Keegan (Murray). Those guys were always really good leaders. Now, those guys are all gone, so who’s it going to be?”

Patrick McCaffery explained how he planned to take up the leadership role within the team.

“I’m not going to be, like, the guy who is breaking down every huddle,” Patrick said. “That’s not really who I am. I talk a lot in the scrimmages — if some guys do something, good or bad, I’ll speak on it. You’ve got to set a standard.

“Whether or not I was older, or younger, I always would feel pressure on myself to play at a high level,” he said. “No matter my role on the team, it doesn’t change the expectation for myself. I’m very hard on myself. I expect to have a very good year, and that’s the standard I’ve set.”

Patrick McCaffery explained how he hopes to evolve and improve his game as the season progresses.

“We won’t have anybody in that dominating role, like Kris (last season) or Keegan before that,” Patrick said.

“I expect my points to go up, and they should go up. I want to be a knock-down (shooter). I’ve been working a lot of stuff in the mid-range, a lot of stuff from three.”

Patrick McCaffery appears ready for the leadership mantle that has been thrust on him as a veteran of the Iowa Hawkeyes.