I don't get love affair with Alford and Neal

[hawkIhoops]

So Alford and Neal go to UNM and win one NCAA game against Montana and one NIT game against UTEP, yet all the ESPN guys do is salivate over what a great job they have done of rebuilding the program. Neal gets mentioned for the Georgia Tech job and others while being lauded for how much respect his coaching colleagues in the NBA and college ranks have for him. Alford's name is mentioned like he is some iconic coaching figure that casts a shadow a mile long.

Neal is a lifer assistant who will be clinging to Alford for eternity. If these guys are such great coaches, why can't they do something in the postseason? Crimminy, they can get anyone into school there, play in a pathetic conference that will be even worse with BYU leaving and schedule every directional Colorado and Utah school in the non conference.

No doubt I loathe both of these guys, but all Iowa bias aside, what have they done to be held in such regard by the national media? I am sure Alford will demand a raise for making it to the 2nd round of the NIT and have his name dropped as a candidate for "bigger" jobs to ensure he can leverage the situation. He has some really nice players, but still can't get it done.

 

[blkngoldUofI]

Well if your NM and your happy about winning all these games and having to settle for the NIT then your fine with being average. Both SA and NM are mid major talents, what else do they have to do down there? Noodles on the other hand had a big hand in the recruiting at Iowa when he rolled into town. He has NBA coaching experience and is truely the brains of the operation. I for one think that the second that Noodles leaves SA that SA will fold quickly. I don't see it as Noodles riding the coat tails of SA, I see it as SA paying Noodles good coin to stay by his side for the fear of not having him by his side. I find it funny that they travel to Alabama lastnight only to be handled pretty easily, don't let the final score fool you, they were down by 15 or more when they started throwing prayers up. Hope on day SA grows some balls and comes back and plays with the big boys just to prove how bad of a "coach" he is.

 

[TChawk]

And still people can't let it go ....

 

[blkngoldUofI]

And still people can't let it go ....

what is it? and what is it that we can't let go? If your talking about the former HC then ya, I won't ever forget what he did to Iowa BB and you shouldn't either. If Illini fans can hold a grudge agianst Pearl for 25 years then I sure as hell can hold a grudge against the former HC who ruined our BB program. If you don't want to read the thread don't click on it.

 

[TChawk]

what is it? and what is it that we can't let go? If your talking about the former HC then ya, I won't ever forget what he did to Iowa BB and you shouldn't either. If Illini fans can hold a grudge agianst Pearl for 25 years then I sure as hell can hold a grudge against the former HC who ruined our BB program. If you don't want to read the thread don't click on it.

SA wasn't the one who ruined iowa BB but some people can't get that through their thick skulls, just because they didn't like him even if they never met him. The one who ruined Iowa basketball is Lick.

 

[hawkIhoops]

SA wasn't the one who ruined iowa BB but some people can't get that through their thick skulls, just because they didn't like him even if they never met him. The one who ruined Iowa basketball is Lick.

1) Read my post and remind where I said "Steve Alford ruined Iowa basketball". I didn't say it. I said I don't the media man crush and I personally don't care for Alford or Neal.

2) Lickliter did not ruin Iowa basketball. The folks that hired Licklite and apparently didn't think personality, recruiting experience or strength of staff mattered had a huge hand in the decline of Iowa hoops. They entrusted someone not qualified to run the program, period. Most savvy fans knew the dude was in over his head midway through year 2.

Oh, I did meet Alford. In fact I was on the same flight as him from Springfield, MO to CR via St. Louis shortly after being named coach and I said "welcome to Iowa Coach Alford, happy to have you " and he gave me a head nod. Were you his hair stylist or something?

 

[hawkIhoops]

And still people can't let it go ....

Here is an idea. Why don't the "let it go" posters "let it go" and stop making these stupid comments. So anything not relevant to you is simply people not being able to let things go? Got it.

FWIW, did I reference anything about Iowa and Alford in my post? I just don't get the media's infatuation with a guy who has grossly underperformed as a head coach. Period.

 

[JugadorHawk]

Actually, it was a collective effort that includes: coaches, apathy among fans, empty promises from administration that dates back to 1999.

Let's face it, Alford and Lickliter struggles but we as fans quit on our program. Indiana fans fill Assembly Hall through the worst; you have to admire that. And with all the difficulty Steve and Todd had with recruiting, they both begged from day one for the university to build a practice facility. Our program fell way behind in that regard and we are suffering because of it today. So please don't point fingers because all three phases are to blame for this mess.

 

[icwesthawkeye]

SA wasn't the one who ruined iowa BB but some people can't get that through their thick skulls, just because they didn't like him even if they never met him. The one who ruined Iowa basketball is Lick.

Wrong, Alford did ruin Iowa basketball. He couldn't recruit, save 1 year. He can't coach as the OP suggests. He should have kept his dad on the staff to help him but he didn't because he took some undo heat for having him. He left the program with no big men and ran away like a little girl when he saw the handwriting on the wall. Lick buried the program but Alford was well on his way to putting us in the ground and I lay a lot of Iowa's downward spiral on him.

ESPN loves Alford because of his name and his "look". That's fine but I am very happy he is gone and we have moved on.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Wrong, Alford did ruin Iowa basketball. He couldn't recruit, save 1 year. He can't coach as the OP suggests. He should have kept his dad on the staff to help him but he didn't because he took some undo heat for having him. He left the program with no big men and ran away like a little girl when he saw the handwriting on the wall. Lick buried the program but Alford was well on his way to putting us in the ground and I lay a lot of Iowa's downward spiral on him.

ESPN loves Alford because of his name and his "look". That's fine but I am very happy he is gone and we have moved on.

Really? He had a top ten recruiting class his second season here, he recruited a team that was good enough to win 25 games his second to last team. He brought in the most talented freshman in 20 years in his last season. He could recruit fine.

Was Alford probably not completely ready for the job when he got here? Yes. Was he a much better coach and recruiter by the time he left? Yes.

Alford's problem was that he lost most of the fanbase over Pierre Pierce. I understand people wanting to get rid of him, but he had become a very good coach by the time he left.

 

[sioux34]

I understand people wanting to get rid of him, but he had become a very good coach by the time he left.

Alf had become a better coach, but a very good coach is quite a stretch. If he had become a very good coach, he would not have felt the pressure that pushed him out the door.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

Alf had become a better coach, but a very good coach is quite a stretch. If he had become a very good coach, he would not have felt the pressure that pushed him out the door.

I disagree, why would any coach want to stay in a toxic enviroment like that? The loss to Northwestern St ended any chance he had of getting most of the fan base back on his side. His last season at Iowa was his best coaching job here.

 

[bkim24]

Alford drove off half the fans and left little talent.

Lickliter came and drove off the other fans and left little talent.

You cant ruin a program in 3 years, but their 11 years sure did

 

[JHHawk]

Really? He had a top ten recruiting class his second season here, he recruited a team that was good enough to win 25 games his second to last team. He brought in the most talented freshman in 20 years in his last season. He could recruit fine.

Was Alford probably not completely ready for the job when he got here? Yes. Was he a much better coach and recruiter by the time he left? Yes.

Alford's problem was that he lost most of the fanbase over Pierre Pierce. I understand people wanting to get rid of him, but he had become a very good coach by the time he left.

Thank you. SA brought in 11 top 100 players in his stint at Iowa.
He made mistakes,and was probably not ready for the job or the scruitiny that coaching at Iowa brings,but he improved,and along with Neal,was getting there on the court,and in recruiting,but the PP deal doomed him after the NWSt loss. If they had run to the Elite 8 in 2006, I think he would have survived and Iowa bb is on track,but that loss plus the PP legacy haunted him.

Now, at NM, he has taken a moribund program,and had them in 2nd,1st,1st in their conference in his first three years. This year they fell off to 4th,I think,but their fans are very happy with that kind of record.

Last nite, Dan Dakich,his teammate on the 1984-1987 IU teams,was doing the color. I happen to like Dakich a lot on his analysis. He is clearly a friend of SA and was generous in his comments about NM.
But, looking at NM and Bama, I was impressed with the talent out there.
NM lost Dairese Gary to a torn ACL vs BYU in their tourny,which crushed NM,as Gary is probably NM's top 3 pg alltime. Sadly,he should have been at Iowa,but moved on with SA. So NM started a very young team of 2 jrs,1 soph ,2 frosh, and got spanked. But,they have a lot of nice looking talent.
Bama looked very impressive,of course they won their record 18th straight home game this year,going clean 18-0 for the season at home. Like Iowa went 17-0 in 2006 for the first spotless home record in the program history. So, NM losing is no shock. Bama has nice talent,and I am shocked that Iowa beat them down in the Jam...but sounds like they have had some young guys(Green) really come on during the conference season,as they won the SEC West. Bama could definitely won some games in the NCAA tourny and probably deserved to be in over Georgia.

I can only hope that Iowa can get talent like either of these teams on their roster soon...right now,we are still suffering from the lick hangover.

 

[hawkIhoops]

I don't buy the fan apathy excuse for either coach. Alford and Lickliter were similar in the level of detachment they had from the average fan. Both were "smarter" than us dumb basketball fans who do silly things like buy gear, tickets, concessions, etc. I don't recall a single call in show or post game interview where either of these guys took any of the blame.

As a fan, I was stoaked for both hires, drove up from KC to see games, watched as many as I could on TV, etc., but by Alford's last year and Lick's second year, I was indifferent. No doubt IU fans deserve props for the dedication to the program, but look at their football crowds compared to ours. At Indiana b-ball is religion . At Iowa, football is. There are a ton of hoops fans waiting at the gate to come back to the fold, there just hasn't been much to believe in until McCaffrey arrived.

 

[sioux34]

I disagree, why would any coach want to stay in a toxic enviroment like that? The loss to Northwestern St ended any chance he had of getting most of the fan base back on his side. His last season at Iowa was his best coaching job here.

If the environment was toxic, who should be blamed for it? I say Alf created that environment for himself.

 

[burky247]

FWIW, did I reference anything about Iowa and Alford in my post? I just don't get the media's infatuation with a guy who has grossly underperformed as a head coach. Period.

Has he underperformed as NM's coach though? I don't think so. Considering where NM was when they hired Alford, I think he's done a pretty good job. He's recruiting well and he's taking them to postseason tournaments, as well as finishing strong in conference. There is more to being a good coach then simply winning a bunch of games in an NCAA tournament.

As for his time at Iowa, when your AD makes a comment that a coach is brought in to "reach the next level", I think that hire is destined for failure. Alford probably performed about where we should have expected considering his lack of experience.

I also find it comical that so many people are quick to give Neal all the credit and Alford none when something positive happens for them. A true sign of an obsession.

 

[chicagohawkeye86]

Wrong, Alford did ruin Iowa basketball. He couldn't recruit, save 1 year. He can't coach as the OP suggests. He should have kept his dad on the staff to help him but he didn't because he took some undo heat for having him. He left the program with no big men and ran away like a little girl when he saw the handwriting on the wall. Lick buried the program but Alford was well on his way to putting us in the ground and I lay a lot of Iowa's downward spiral on him.

ESPN loves Alford because of his name and his "look". That's fine but I am very happy he is gone and we have moved on.

Couldn't coach? I guess the perfect home record never happened?

 

[sioux34]

I also find it comical that so many people are quick to give Neal all the credit and Alford none when something positive happens for them. A true sign of an obsession.

I guess we will see if this is correct when and if Noodles leaves for another job.

 

[burky247]

I guess we will see if this is correct when and if Noodles leaves for another job.

Absolutely we will. Again, I'm not saying Neal isn't a good coach. I just think his value is overestimated on this site to try and justify any success that Alford has.

I'm not trying to imply that I'm a huge Alford fan either by any means. But one thing he did realize was the importance of having quality assistants on staff(and I think he would probably find a quality asst if Neal did leave). If he had realized that early at Iowa rather than relying on nepotism, who knows....maybe things would have turned out differently. But that is probably a stretch as well.