Iowa a state of grace for hoops

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...ate-cyclones-northern-iowa-panthers/22027205/

I completely agree with Niang here:

"I saw a tweet from somebody that said Iowa has 3 million people and California has 38 (million) … and California has zero ranked teams," Iowa State forward Georges Niang said. "I think that's cool for the state of Iowa. It lets people know that the universities in Iowa are serious about their basketball teams."

 

[JG10Hawk]

Pretty cool for the state of Iowa indeed. Kind of surprising no California school is ranked.

 

[1hawkeye1]

Nice I guess, but outside of Iowa nobody cares.

 

[PCHawk]

Nice I guess, but outside of Iowa nobody cares.

California does....care that they don't have any ranked teams.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Thank you Steve Alford!

 

[StatelineHawk]

Nice I guess, but outside of Iowa nobody cares.

Probably true. I still am enjoying it. Just wish the Hawks were 2-0 instead of 0-2 against the other state schools. I can live with the ISU loss but the UNI loss should not have happened.

 

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

Nice I guess, but outside of Iowa nobody cares.

Anyone outside of Iowa that's a college basketball fan and checks the top 25 or watches sportscenter may not care but they notice. Does anyone really care about teams they aren't fans of? Not particularly. Being in the top 25 usually means more exposure, and that's good for the whole state currently.

 

[mopkins]

Nice I guess, but outside of Iowa nobody cares.

Potentially, but its actually a huge feat if you think about it. A state like Minnesota has almost twice the population of Iowa and only has 1 D-1 school. To think that a state like Iowa can have 4 D-1 schools...and that 3 of them are ranked in the top 25 in the country...is actually pretty remarkable.

How many D-1 basketball schools does Texas have? California? Florida? And yet none of those huge states currently have 3 teams in the top-25.

 

[FRANAMANIAC]

It really has nothing to do with population IMO... but it's nice to see

 

[AdamHawk]

It really has nothing to do with population IMO... but it's nice to see

Nothing to do with it? How do you figure?

 

[Cydkar]

It really has nothing to do with population IMO... but it's nice to see

It does to an extent. Cali. and Texas are full of D1 talent.

 

[tm3308]

It really has nothing to do with population IMO... but it's nice to see

Because in-state recruiting bases are meaningless.

 

[kicker22]

Because in-state recruiting bases are meaningless.

Great point, but I wonder what it is that brings recruits here. I'm not just talking about at the D1 level, but we've also got a number of the top Juco programs in the nation. Just find it odd that a state with our population would be a hotbed for college basketball at all levels.

 

[hawkfan340]

Because in-state recruiting bases are meaningless.

Although it's not a dominant determinant of success, I wouldn't say it's meaningless. It's definitely easier to recruit a local kid. Both Iowa and UNI have a bunch of home grown talent on their rosters.

 

[WindsorHawk]

It's definitely easier to recruit a local kid. Both Iowa and UNI have a bunch of home grown talent on their rosters.

I agree with this...especially this year. But Iowa also has some out of state talent with a lot more on the way. And some Iowa talent has gone elsewhere over the years. I think mid majors rely heavily on in state talent. Power conference teams recruit nationally.

 

[allup86]

Great point, but I wonder what it is that brings recruits here. I'm not just talking about at the D1 level, but we've also got a number of the top Juco programs in the nation. Just find it odd that a state with our population would be a hotbed for college basketball at all levels.

It even extends a bit to the NBA. If you go through NBA rosters, you could field a half way decent team with just players who have a connection to the state of Iowa. Heinrich, Collison, Barnes, Korver, McDermott. If nothing else, they'd beat the Knicks.

 

[tm3308]

Nice I guess, but outside of Iowa nobody cares.

Well, this has been making the rounds through national media, so I think people are definitely noticing. Which is a big deal. The more exposure we can get, the better.

 

[JG10Hawk]

Well, this has been making the rounds through national media, so I think people are definitely noticing. Which is a big deal. The more exposure we can get, the better.

Exactly. People outside the state may not pay much attention to it but it's free advertising for the state programs on a national level. Can't beat that kind of cost effectiveness.