“You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live,” reads the tattoo on Connor McCaffery’s arm. The former Iowa Hawkeyes guard, who is dating another former Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark, got this line inked on his arm in 2018. It was in honor of his brother Patrick, who had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer at age 14. Although he’s now cancer-free, Patrick McCaffery had a childhood friend whom he lost to the same disease.

In 2014, the younger McCaffery brother underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his thyroid. On the same day, Austin Schroeder discovered a lump on his own body that ultimately turned out to be a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In Sep 22’s episode of Butler Basketball Guru, McCaffery talks about this childhood friend with whom he shared a love of sports.

“Austin Schroeder was a good friend of mine growing up, who ultimately passed to cancer when we were 14,” the Butler player said on the podcast. Reportedly, he had always been a basketball fan while Schroeder nicknamed the ‘Flash,’ played multiple sports, including baseball. Then McCaffery revealed, “And we both wore the No. 22 – he was a year older than me so we weren’t on the same team. We both wore the number 22, and we both had cancer at the same time, so that was always kind of a special bond.”

When he came to play at Iowa, he hit a small roadblock – the number 22 was retired. But McCaffery wanted to pay homage to his friend, whose ‘Flash’ lightning bolt he has tattooed on his heart. “I wrote a letter to Bill Seaberg who had it retired, and he let me unretire it, so I was able to wear it because of my special connection to Austin,” McCaffery further said.

But leaving Iowa for the Butler Bulldogs, McCaffery revealed how having the number 22 was an important part of the conversation. “Luckily it was not retired here and was available so I was very thrilled. It was part of the recruiting process as well, I had to make sure that I was able to get the number 22,” he revealed.

The two boys, growing up in Iowa, had been present at the unveiling of #Herky, one of the 83 Herky on Parade statues on May 5, 2014. The Iowa City Press-Citizen had reported that that statue had been covered in a number of popular hashtags, including #TeamPat and #TeamFLASH, created in honor of Patrick and Austin, respectively.

“It means a lot because I can’t really talk to anybody else the same age as I am that’s going through the stuff that I’ve had to go through,” Patrick had said at the time. Meanwhile, Austin told the Iowa City Press-Citizen, “I love Patrick as a friend, he’s awesome.”

They had been both 14 years old. By age 15, Patrick McCaffery overcame his cancer, but Austin Schroeder didn’t. “I love and miss Austin very much,” McCaffery concluded on the Bulldogs podcast. It was a unique thing to be going through; something so different and yet similar at the same time and such a young age. But while Patrick escaped the tumor, he didn’t come out of that experience unscathed.

“You can tell he’s not himself at times,” says Connor McCaffery of brother Patrick

These two McCaffery brothers went to University at the same time, playing under their father Fran as head coach. But lingering physical issues from his thyroid as well as the anxiety that he developed after going through a traumatic experience at such a young age hampered Patrick’s play sometimes.

In November 2019, he missed a few games due to “residual health issues,” as his father described them. Brother Connor McCaffery, at that time a third-year sophomore guard for the Iowa Hawkeyes, gave some more insights. “You can tell he’s not himself at times. We’re kind of taking things slowly, just trying to be there for him. We try to stay positive with him, trying to get him to a point where he’s feeling good.”

Nothing troublesome had returned, the family assured. But a battle with cancer, even if one has had a tumor surgically removed, does not leave a body without its toll. Going from fewer minutes to being completely on the bench, the next year brought back anxiety issues. To deal with those, Patrick McCaffery removed himself from the team and it took about a month.

Now with the Butler Bulldogs, Connor McCaffery is by his side to support him again, this time as an assistant coach. As Patrick McCaffery steps out onto the court each day, he does so with a jersey number that honors his late friend with a heartfelt gesture. Says Austin’s father Craig: “I know Austin will be smiling down and be there at every single game with Patrick and rooting him on.”

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.