2008 Woodie Awards
Pilcher's Mound: The road to recovery begins for Hawkeyes
Erich Pilcher
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Sports
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"Don't let the door hit your butt on the way out."- unknown
One year ago I wrote that Steve Alford needed to leave Iowa. One year ago I said no one wanted him. Well, I was wrong. The esteemed University of New Mexico, that has employed coaching legends such as... well, no one, has hired Alford. But the question remains: Is Iowa a better program now than when Alford took over?
The answer is no. In the 1999 NCAA tournament the Hawkeyes fought tooth and nail with eventual national champion University of Connecticut in a thrilling battle.
It was after that when the basketball hell began. Dr. Tom Davis left and Alford, who led Southwest Missouri State to the NCAA tournament only to be throttled in the second round by eventual NCAA tournament second place team Duke.
Alford was hired and his era started with a win over defending national champion Connecticut in New York City but quickly went downhill. Year after mediocre year Alford relied on late season runs in the Big Ten tournament to get his season record above .500.
Most of the time these post-season runs were met with no resistance from middle of the pack Big Ten teams and Alford always had a losing Big Ten record going into these tournaments. So needless to say some of these runs were job saving.
There seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel in 2006 when Alford led the Hawkeyes to a 25-8 regular season record and a Big Ten tournament title. Everything looked peachy until the NCAA tournament. The Hawkeyes were matched up against Northwest State. Iowa built a sizable 17-point lead on two separate occasions. However, Northwestern State and their powerful team of average players proved too much for the Alford-led Hawkeyes and they lost on a last second shot.
The point is this- Iowa has become a basketball cesspool. Throughout the years there have been sub-par team grade point averages, misbehaving and Pierre Pierce. The fact is the U of I basketball team is worse now than it was back in 1999.
So allow me to rephrase myself from last year. Somebody wants Alford. But while rejoicing the end of the Alford reign of stupidity and utter lack of competitiveness, keep this in mind, Iowa is worse now than they were when Alford took over. When I think of Iowa basketball, I think of a weakened body that has just recovered from the flu. However, unlike the human body, the Iowa Basketball body will take years to recover from the Alford virus.
One year ago I wrote that Steve Alford needed to leave Iowa. One year ago I said no one wanted him. Well, I was wrong. The esteemed University of New Mexico, that has employed coaching legends such as... well, no one, has hired Alford. But the question remains: Is Iowa a better program now than when Alford took over?
The answer is no. In the 1999 NCAA tournament the Hawkeyes fought tooth and nail with eventual national champion University of Connecticut in a thrilling battle.
It was after that when the basketball hell began. Dr. Tom Davis left and Alford, who led Southwest Missouri State to the NCAA tournament only to be throttled in the second round by eventual NCAA tournament second place team Duke.
Alford was hired and his era started with a win over defending national champion Connecticut in New York City but quickly went downhill. Year after mediocre year Alford relied on late season runs in the Big Ten tournament to get his season record above .500.
Most of the time these post-season runs were met with no resistance from middle of the pack Big Ten teams and Alford always had a losing Big Ten record going into these tournaments. So needless to say some of these runs were job saving.
There seemed to be light at the end of the tunnel in 2006 when Alford led the Hawkeyes to a 25-8 regular season record and a Big Ten tournament title. Everything looked peachy until the NCAA tournament. The Hawkeyes were matched up against Northwest State. Iowa built a sizable 17-point lead on two separate occasions. However, Northwestern State and their powerful team of average players proved too much for the Alford-led Hawkeyes and they lost on a last second shot.
The point is this- Iowa has become a basketball cesspool. Throughout the years there have been sub-par team grade point averages, misbehaving and Pierre Pierce. The fact is the U of I basketball team is worse now than it was back in 1999.
So allow me to rephrase myself from last year. Somebody wants Alford. But while rejoicing the end of the Alford reign of stupidity and utter lack of competitiveness, keep this in mind, Iowa is worse now than they were when Alford took over. When I think of Iowa basketball, I think of a weakened body that has just recovered from the flu. However, unlike the human body, the Iowa Basketball body will take years to recover from the Alford virus.
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