hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
The Aggies trailed New Mexico by 17 with 9:26 left in the first half, but Castillo hit a jumper from the top of the key with 5.3 seconds left that sent the game into overtime tied 73-73.
Blast from the past
- Thread starter hawkeye12345
- Start date
I note that the Lobos won the game 84-78.
That puts NMexico at 6-1 this year,and 82-26 under SA.
Iowa since SA left? 42-62.
At Iowa, winning records is a blast from the SA past. He has won 40 more games in the 3+ years at NM than his successors at Iowa have won....I miss the past and winning.
That puts NMexico at 6-1 this year,and 82-26 under SA.
Iowa since SA left? 42-62.
At Iowa, winning records is a blast from the SA past. He has won 40 more games in the 3+ years at NM than his successors at Iowa have won....I miss the past and winning.
Wow, you have a short memory.
So, how many NCAA tournament games has he won at N.M.?
What sort of competition does N.M. play?
I couldn't be more happy than to see Alford sent to purgatory for what he did to the Iowa program and couldn't be more excited about our current coach.
Iowa is still rebuilding from the mess he started.
loesshillshawk
Well-Known Member
I dislike Mr. Alford as much as anyone...however, it wasn't all Steve's fault. The University has to share in that blame too.
Short memory? Not really. Been following Hawkeye bb since Ralph Miller.
I do remember 7 consecutive winning seasons from 2001-2007.
I remember zero winning seasons from 08 to now.
NM has won one NCAA tourny game since SA took over 3 years ago. Iowa has not won a single BTT game since he left....but won 13 while he was here.
Competition? Teams like Dayton,Creighton, Southern Ill,Cal,Texas Tech,BYU,San Diego St. Utah....you know,teams that would kill Iowa.
I like our current coach very much so far, while I did not like our last coach. But SA won games at Iowa, and had Iowa at 4th place or better in the Big Ten in 3 of his last 4 seasons. Iowa has not been better than 10th since he left. I liked being in the upper half,no matter who the coach was.
hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
If you don't know what this image is about, you may want to figure it out.
hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
This subject has been beaten to death over the years and it still amazes me that some fans still think that alford had little to nothing to do with the destruction of Iowa basketball.
Iowa paid him millions of dollars to learn on the job. He learned I will give him that but not how to coach. He learned how to recruit. He learned that if you hire the right a$$i$tant$ the players will come. He also learned that recruiting to a mid-major was a whole lot easier than recruiting to a major conference.
I will also admit that alford was almost setup to fail. After years, decades even, of top shelf basketball under Lute, George and Dr. T he was coming in after a lame duck season with facilities that were getting too old to be used as a selling point. He made an instant splash but relied too heavily on a few key players. He never built a 'team' while at Iowa. If said players went down with injuries or committed crimes then the team was screwed. He rarely had a team that would play more than 7 players and it showed down the stretch with numerous late game collapses. He also couldn't (and still can't) coach his way out of a wet paper sack.
He walked in to a nice situation at NM. One of the critical pieces that most people overlook is that they had a McD AA (JR Giddens) on their team that didn't play the year prior due to injury. He also took DG and I think one more but can't remember for sure. Those two players alone could carry a team at the mid-major level against inferior competition. He then hired an asst. out of Houston that brought Phillip McDonald and another two players with him. The asst. was paid for his services for I think 1 or 2 yrs and is no longer on the team. Nice move, dirty as hell but I will give him credit for doing it. He has since hired a former Nike rep. as an asst. Another nice move.
Since that 2008 recruiting year (McDonald they have done very little on the recruiting front and it shows. The typical alford team at Iowa would get out rebounded in almost every game. Same thing is happening at NM. At Iowa our assists were below average, same thing happening at NM. Our FT shooting was brutal, same thing at NM. As a team they are shooting 65% from the FT line.
Iowa paid him millions of dollars to learn on the job. He learned I will give him that but not how to coach. He learned how to recruit. He learned that if you hire the right a$$i$tant$ the players will come. He also learned that recruiting to a mid-major was a whole lot easier than recruiting to a major conference.
I will also admit that alford was almost setup to fail. After years, decades even, of top shelf basketball under Lute, George and Dr. T he was coming in after a lame duck season with facilities that were getting too old to be used as a selling point. He made an instant splash but relied too heavily on a few key players. He never built a 'team' while at Iowa. If said players went down with injuries or committed crimes then the team was screwed. He rarely had a team that would play more than 7 players and it showed down the stretch with numerous late game collapses. He also couldn't (and still can't) coach his way out of a wet paper sack.
He walked in to a nice situation at NM. One of the critical pieces that most people overlook is that they had a McD AA (JR Giddens) on their team that didn't play the year prior due to injury. He also took DG and I think one more but can't remember for sure. Those two players alone could carry a team at the mid-major level against inferior competition. He then hired an asst. out of Houston that brought Phillip McDonald and another two players with him. The asst. was paid for his services for I think 1 or 2 yrs and is no longer on the team. Nice move, dirty as hell but I will give him credit for doing it. He has since hired a former Nike rep. as an asst. Another nice move.
Since that 2008 recruiting year (McDonald they have done very little on the recruiting front and it shows. The typical alford team at Iowa would get out rebounded in almost every game. Same thing is happening at NM. At Iowa our assists were below average, same thing happening at NM. Our FT shooting was brutal, same thing at NM. As a team they are shooting 65% from the FT line.
burky247
Well-Known Member
Should have just stopped right there.
Actually I enjoyed the analysis. It's probably more fair than my comment and spot on.
I might add one interesting tidbit -- Asst. Coach Dillard was a Nike rep as well, so I guess McCaffery learned something too. Hope it pans out for recruiting as it did for Alford.
Wow, can't believe the mediocrity and egotism that Alford portrayed is so easily forgotten. He couldn't win in the tournament - well, unless it was the Big Ten tournament -- just like he can't at N.M.
(His team from last year was probably more talented than any team he had had Iowa, at least on par with the Reggie Evans team, and he still got bounced in the second round. Had the best team in the conference and still blew it in his conference tournament).
I still reiterate, he goes down in history as one of the biggest coaching disappointments Iowa has ever had and I was one who was excited by his hire.
hawkeyescott
Well-Known Member
So freakin go cheer for North Mexico and when Iowa starts winning again feel free to jump back on the bandwagon.
talkinhawks
Well-Known Member
I'd much rather be playing those teams than Mich ST, Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Northwestern, Xavier, Iowa St, etc. Get a clue.
Alford was able to get a tourney win last year because they duped the NCAA tourney selection committee into giving them a high seed and they drew Montana in the first rd. Luckily, Washington stomped them in the 2nd rd so Alford's ego was held in check a little bit.
His conference record in the Big Ten was atrocious at best. He was able to get a couple of teams to make a run in the conference tourney while at Iowa but that was his only real achievement.
His best teams were because Iowa had some good in-state talent in Horner, Brunner and Haluska. The first two were Hawkeyes no matter who the coach was and I think the same could be said for Haluska (he would have xferred to play with the other two)
hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
In alfords 8 seasons at Iowa, we had a conference losing record 5 times.
In the previous 25 seasons (Lute, Raveling and Mr. Davis) we had a conference losing record a combined 5 times. Total. Zip. End of Story.
But it continues:
In alfords 8 seasons we made the NCAA's three times (37.5%) and won one game. ONE. In the previous 25 seasons we made the NCAA's 16 times (64%) and won 20 games. TWENTY.
In the previous 25 seasons (Lute, Raveling and Mr. Davis) we had a conference losing record a combined 5 times. Total. Zip. End of Story.
But it continues:
In alfords 8 seasons we made the NCAA's three times (37.5%) and won one game. ONE. In the previous 25 seasons we made the NCAA's 16 times (64%) and won 20 games. TWENTY.
sioux34
Well-Known Member
but, but, but what about Alf's string of seven consecutive winning seasons? An achievement unequaled by any other Iowa coach. I just had to beat one of my posting buddies to the punch with that one. As we all know, having a winning season after dining at the all you can eat cupcake bar is the true mark of a great coach. Lucky for Alf, the cupcake bar is now open for business all season long in his new conference.
Doh, I forgot which board I was on. He posts on TOS.
As we all know, having a winning season after dining at the all you can eat cupcake bar is the true mark of a great coach. Lucky for Alf, the cupcake bar is now open for business all season long in his new conference.Doh, I forgot which board I was on. He posts on TOS.
burky247
Well-Known Member
I'm just not sure why you guys are still crying about Alford. Alford was twice the coach Lick was. I guess it shows just how much some people truly hated Alford(it influences their opinion of his coaching abilities).
I was never a big Alford fan. But man alive, Lickliter tried to convince us that his son should have been playing more minutes for Iowa last season. And he didn't even try to find walk-ons that were capable. We were just told this was the best Iowa had to offer. Didn't take Fran long to disprove that theory.
I guess my point is that the Alford era looked like the golden years compared to what Lick did to this program.
I was never a big Alford fan. But man alive, Lickliter tried to convince us that his son should have been playing more minutes for Iowa last season. And he didn't even try to find walk-ons that were capable. We were just told this was the best Iowa had to offer. Didn't take Fran long to disprove that theory.
I guess my point is that the Alford era looked like the golden years compared to what Lick did to this program.
HawkeyeMike23
Banned
Alford had to go as he had fractured the fan base beyond repair and a lot of those fans were never coming back, and I understand why they didn't want to support him. However, by the end of his time here, he was well on his way to becoming an excellent coach. He did a tremendous coaching job his last two years here, especially his last season. He had also really stepped up his recruiting. I wish he could have stayed here, but understand why plenty of fans are glad he left.
hawkeye12345
Well-Known Member
burky, not once did I mention Lick but I will now. alford & bowlsby started this train wreck. They drove it to the cliff. Lick just threw a piece of coal in the fire and made sure that the train didn't stop until it crashed into the ravine. Why Barta hired Lick is beyond my comprehension. Why he gave him a 7 yr contract is dumbfounding. What could Lick have possibly said in the interview that would have blown Barta away?
burky247
Well-Known Member
Good post. I am definitely not trying to justify the Alford era. His recruiting gambles really decimated this program. Had he hired quality assistants upon his arrival, rather than yes men and relatives, who knows what could have happened.
I agree I can't imagine how Lick sold Barta on the interview. After listening to him talk for three years, I don't know how he got Barta excited. He probably promised Barta Sweet 16's. Unfortunately, Barta thought he meant in the tournament. Lick was referring to wins/season.
