The Alford Stuff

[hawkeyeguy85]

I ran the last 10 years of Davis era numbers when I was a part of the lynch mob...I think TD was 87-85 in Big Ten play without Marble/Amrstrong/Horton on his teams.

And I was young and dumb then. Now, just old and slightly less dumb

85-73 conf record final 9 seasons.

The 4-14 from 89-90 skews things a little bit with the reload year. 89-87 final ten seasons.

Kinda scary to think about that getting run off now.

 

[JonDMiller]

Bowlsby thought Alfraud was All That. A lot of people did. I wasn't displeased with the hire, but I was wary about it and I hated how it went down with Davis.

I drank the Kool Aid. Heck, I distributed it.

 

[bcl20]

I drank the Kool Aid. Heck, I distributed it.

I was 13 and thought it was awesome because everyone told me it was.

 

[ssckelley]

Okay I will field this 1. Nick was not coming to Iowa...Davis staying would not have mattered. Nick did not like the substitution pattern and Williams is very convincing. I do not make statements of fact very often but this is how it was. There is no source better than mine...guaranteed.

I could have swore I read an article on Collison where he discussed his decision to go to Kansas instead of coming to Iowa involving Davis not having his contract renewed.

 

[FCAS]

Alford just signed a 10 year deal.. If it was a 3 or 4 year extention that Alford signed I might believe this USC rumor. But a 10 year deal, there is nothing to see here IMO.

I'd guess that this 10-year deal has some opt-outs for Alford and/or a buy-out clause that would not be too big of a hurdle for USC.

 

[JonDMiller]

I have read through this entire thread. There are some things I had forgotten or hadn't thought of in a long time...OK4P pretty much went home run derby in this one...and others chimed in and kept the ball rolling...with Thunder delivering some rabbit punches along the way.

Lot of substance in this one.

I was a next level guy. I was a Mr. Davis had done all he can, the program is stagnant guy. Like another person pointed out, I was too young to realize that there were certainly realities as it relates to Iowa and the Hawks were performing near their realistic high point as far as annual results were concerned....mean annual that is.

I feel similarly about the football program, although another 4-8 type season changes that opinion.

 

[JonDMiller]

I could have swore I read an article on Collison where he discussed his decision to go to Kansas instead of coming to Iowa involving Davis not having his contract renewed.

Yes, the lame duck status was a big deal. Collison grew up with Hawkeye stuff all over his walls. Not Hinrich.

 

[spudhawk]

I drank the Kool Aid. Heck, I distributed it.

I was a freshman at SMSU when they made the run and had several classes with basketball players. They loved Alford, spoke glowingly about him and absolutely peaked at the right time. Something happened to Alford when he left there and I don't know what it was. His actions and reputation at Iowa are strikingly different from his time at SMSU. I don't know if he felt he "made it" when he arrived at Iowa or what spurred his change in attitude, but the hire at the time was viewed as a home run. All I know is that my friends that attended Iowa hated him almost immediately and wanted him gone by year three while I stubbornly supported him until the Northwestern State debacle. I feel bad for New Mexico's players and fans, but last night was great and I won't apologize for reveling in his failure.

 

[Billso]

Yes and no, but mostly no. While Knight got away with being an ***, because he won... that was his mode of operation: tough, military drill sergeant approach. He had no tolerance for cheaters (that's spelled L-O-U-H-E-N-S-O-N) He was just a hard azz...or just an azz to many. But most still respected him.

Alford is a very different brand of arrogance. Aloof, above it all, I'm better than you...stuff. Knight was just an "I'm the boss and don't forget it"...kind of hard azz.

Knight, despite his off-putting demeanor is well-known for going out of his way to help people, being loyal to a fault to his players, etc. Alford's story in Iowa City couldn't have been much more different...it was all about "what can you do for ME"...cause I'm special. And while I know that some of the rumor stuff, was just that. There's plenty of well-supported stories of his behavior to make the case.

Or shouid I just keep it simple?: Pierre Pierce. Nothing like invoking"Jesus" to intimidate a rape victim.

Knight was also funny as hell.

My great regret is he missed our organized "Plaid Blazer Knight" at CHA, due to his suspension for chair-throwing. He would have loved it.

 

[storminspank]

 

[1977Hawkeye]

and the Big Ten in his era was at its low point over the last 30 years. The three years of the Fran era, the league is so, so, so much better, as close to its 80's heyday since the heyday

Correct. I remember two years where Alford's teams went 9-7 in conference play. I think both tied us for 4th in the league IIRC. One of those years, Iowa went to the NIT (2004). The other time, there was no post-season at all (2007). What's that tell you about the league when Alford was coaching?

And I also strongly believe that, without the Big Ten Tournament, Alford would have had just ONE NCAA appearance as our coach. There was a time not long ago when the committee DID look at the last 10 games. In 2001, that stat would not have been kind to Iowa without the BTT. And 2005, I think that team was on the outside, looking in, until it got to the BTT semis and lost on a half-court prayer against Wisconsin.

 

[Scooter]

Last night it was almost as much fun watching him lose as it is watching Iowa win.

 

[storminspank]

Harvard makes New Mexico break bad - SBNation.com

 

[Seth53]

Yes and no, but mostly no. While Knight got away with being an ***, because he won... that was his mode of operation: tough, military drill sergeant approach. He had no tolerance for cheaters (that's spelled L-O-U-H-E-N-S-O-N) He was just a hard azz...or just an azz to many. But most still respected him.

Alford is a very different brand of arrogance. Aloof, above it all, I'm better than you...stuff. Knight was just an "I'm the boss and don't forget it"...kind of hard azz.

Knight, despite his off-putting demeanor is well-known for going out of his way to help people, being loyal to a fault to his players, etc. Alford's story in Iowa City couldn't have been much more different...it was all about "what can you do for ME"...cause I'm special. And while I know that some of the rumor stuff, was just that. There's plenty of well-supported stories of his behavior to make the case.

Or shouid I just keep it simple?: Pierre Pierce. Nothing like invoking"Jesus" to intimidate a rape victim.

While Alf and BK exhibited their flawed behavior(s) in different ways, IMO, their true common bond, which was the "root of their evil" was E-G-O.

Better than most. Entitlement mentality.
BK wasn't spoiled but he certainly was arrogant.
Alf is both spoiled and arrogant.

Pehaps a generational thing.

Sorry, but I don't cut BK any slack, and, he's Alf's mentor. Sam apparently didn't instill any redeeming humanistic values into his son. Sad.

 

[storminspank]

NM's Rivals BB writer calls it quits:

Loboland.com - Longtime sportswriter says farewell

 

[hoffahawk]

A buddy of mine just heard on Jay Mohr's radio show that Alford is rumored for the USC job.

Him being linked to the USC job is why he (his agent) got him the 10 year contract.

 

[ssckelley]

NM's Rivals BB writer calls it quits:

Loboland.com - Longtime sportswriter says farewell

Oh my gawd! I give this rant a 10, I cannot see how any JonMiller/RobHowe type guys could ever top this one. This is better than Rob flipping out on Spank via twitter, better than Jon flipping out on TA in the OT section. Losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament happens, they are called upsets and cinderella. New Mexico pretty much has everyone coming back next year, just to push it all away and say (heck with it all) seems a tad over reacting.

Jon, if the football team lays another egg this fall we gotta get a good rant out of you (could happen). Not a burn-the-website-up but a good ole I've-had-it-they-suck kinda thing.

 

[Seth53]

Actually, I do know why Alf's arrogant....

My ex is from Knightstown IN. 15 miles or so from New Castle. I've been through there a few hundred times. I lived near there from 83 - 86.

The New Castle Arena, motel in his name, the entire town basically, is a shrine to him. And pretty much since the 8th grade.

He's been stroked from a tender age, and happens to believe it.

Add to that, his HS history, his IU and Olympic history and it's no wonder he's in danger of drowning when it rains.

I happen to think he only used Iowa as a stepping stone to IU, then was forced to flee in exile to New Mexico....a million miles away from "Home of Steve Alford" signs which adorn every highway into New Castle, IN.

 

[Knight78]

I think most fans were okay with the Alford hire. However many fans have selective memories. He was coming off a Sweet 16 appearance at SWMS, blowing out Tennessee & Wisconsin on the way there. Had Iowa not already had a handshake deal in place that January they would have been in a bidding war for Alford that March.

I still think it was the right move by BB. Iowa's program was not going to progress under Davis anymore. He had topped out what he was capable of. BB took a gamble on Alford and lost. It happens to programs bigger and better than Iowa.

Davis did a solid job at Iowa but far too many make him out to be far more than he was. If you need any evidence of how good of a coach he really was, look at how many schools went after him after he left Iowa?

You don't think his age (60 at the time he was let go) had anything to do with it? Really? How many other 60 year old coaches have been let go from high-profile D1 schools and gone on to other high-profile D1 coaching jobs? That, my friend, is a short list.

 

[atomicblue224]

It was satisfying watching the Lobos lose last night. I didn't enjoy it, I wasn't hoping their team lost, I feel bad for their players, but I was certainly rooting for Harvard to win.

At some point in this guys career, the polish on the turd is going to wear off.

Who goes out and signs a contract extension right BEFORE they play their opening round NCAA game? Can any of you think of that ever happening before? Most coaches want to focus on the game at-hand and have absolutely no distractions leading up the NCAA tournament. Not wonderboy!

And please quit re-writing his time at Iowa. steve alford was going to get fired from his job here at Iowa but he jumped ship before it could happen. Tyler Smith was leaving the program. We didn't make the NCAA tournament. We had more player defections from Iowa during his tenure than ever before in the history of Iowa basketball. He was already given the ultimatum in the year prior. He was done.

Then he lands at NM. A team that on paper looked like they were a mid-tier program in a mid-major league. In reality they had a kid on their roster who was a former McDonalds AA who sat out the year prior due to transfer rules (JR Giddens). The kid ended up being an NBA 1st or 2nd round draft pick and alford walked assbackwards into that situation. Think about that for a second. A former McDonalds AA who was a starter at Kansas for 2 years before transferring is now running the show at a mid-major conference. The kid has his way the competition. Then alford goes out and pays a Houston based AAU coach to bring his star players to NM. He puts the AAU coach on his staff for 1 or 2 seasons. Now you have a mid-tier, mid-major team that has the talent of a mid-tier, major conference team. Of course they are going to win the league and make the NCAAs.

Noodle$ has more to do with his $ucce$$ than alford does. Noodle$ will likely never be a head ba$ketball coach becau$e of $ome of the thing$ he doe$.

Screw alford.

I'm sorry i forgot what did the noodles do?