This may sound like a Direct TV commercial, ("When you ..., you ...; when ..., you ...) but in reality, I am actually encouraged where we stand right now with Hawkeye basketball. I note the following:
- Although it has happened to us at a different part of the season, we stand in no different a place right now than Wisconsin and Ohio State did earlier in the season, except that none of our recent losses would be what most would consider "shockers". Separated, no one would look twice at a team losing at home to Wisconsin, or at Minnesota, or at Indiana. And at our best, I'm convinced we are a better team than either the Badgers or Buckeyes;
- Obviously, no one likes three-game losing streaks. And I learned from the Steve Alford era at Iowa to absolutely HATE the month of February, because the bad play always happened then. Thankfully it is March now. And usually, at the end of a streak like this, the team completely re-focuses and plays its best ball, sometimes for the rest of the season (see the 2008 football team, which also lost three straight, and at one time stood 5-4). It is a GREAT time to re-focus, right before the tournaments. I think you are about to see the fruits of that;
- I know fans are frustrated (I am certainly one of them), to the point where some are even throwing out a term (that I think we need to be REALLY careful with) called "Real Hawkeye Fans". Personally, I will take folks throwing frustration barbs at a good team in the midst of a funk over the general state of apathy that reached its peak in the Lickliter era. I believe most all of them really do want to "cheer until they hear the final gun and the game being won". I personally think everyone will like what they are about to see in the next few weeks. By the way, if that happens, I think you will find that NO ONE will be cheering harder and louder than some of those fans whose loyalty is being questioned. We all need to be patient - with the team and with each other;
- The "next level" is filled with legendary, elite teams filled with 8-star athletes, some of whom are guaranteed to only spend 1-2 years at their institutions before moving onto the pros. It seems that, when you are a good team, getting to that next level, especially in Iowa, takes a lot of patience and learning most of our lessons the hard way. Proof? See Lute Olsen's first years at Iowa, then his first couple of years in the NCAA tournament. Tons of heartbreak - tons of learning. But the fact we are getting SO close should be encouraging. And with just a few key plays, we may yet break through, even this season;
