BirdsOfPrey
Well-Known Member
In early February, the Hawkeyes were 17-6 and having a great season heading into a big game vs. Michigan. Iowa blew out Michigan and chased them out of town. The Hawks played a dominating complete game on offense and defense!! Midway thru the game, Adam Woodbury makes a play and starts shooshing the crowd/TV audience. Woodbury's 7 feet tall and the starting center on the nationally ranked Iowa Hawkeye basketball team. He came to Iowa with lofty credentials & is having a solid sophomore season. Iowa fans are excited by his play and expecting him to have great junior/senior years. It's apparent to most fans that at 7 feet tall, he barely has to jump to dunk. He's dunked the ball in high school/AAU/practice etc. In the midst of the Hawks best game of the year, his focus is on responding to one idiot who posted that Woodbury could not dunk on a message board? One idiot's opinion that isn't representative of 1% of the Hawkeye fanbase or knowledgable basketball fans anywhere. Shouldn't Woodbury be high fiving teammates, thanking the guy that made the great pass to him or pumping up the crowd? This was when I sensed the team still had a lot of growing to do. Two weeks later, team captain McCabe lashes out at fans on twiiter after a tough loss to Wisconson. A few idiots who again are not representative of 99% of the Hawkeyes fanbase, post something stupid and spark a reaction from McCabe. Why respond to drunken idiots who lack intelligience & importance? Team captain McCabe's way of dealing with poor officiating showed a week later when he hip checked an opponent out of frustration. The cancellation of the Indiana game, having to play eight games over the final two weeks of the season, an untimely injury/illness to Basabi, the difficulties that come with playing opponents a second time, and a healthy dose of inconsistent officiating all created an abnormal amount of adversity for this team. These Hawks lacked the mental toughness and focus to overcome these adversities. The team captains lacked the ability to right the ship.
The rebuilding process is multi phase. First you assemble enough talent to win and be successful. Then the team learns how to deal with the additional pressures and expectations that come with winning. The team learns how to win on the road as well as at home. Only then can leaders emerge from within the team every year to provide the intangibles for additional success. Leaders who haven't experienced or accepted losing. Team captains who have dealt with and overcome adversity that the rest of the team can look to for guidance. Despite a disappointing end to the season, the Hawks grew this year. This was a young team. They won a few high pressure games, beat & competed well with highly ranked teams, won a handful of tough road games and qualified for the NCAA tournament. The Hawks could have beaten every team they played this year, they were never overmatched. All the younger guys improved tremendously. The rebuilding process continues and the Hawks will be an improved team next year. Fans need to be patient and support the Hawks as they rebuild a winning legacy.
The rebuilding process is multi phase. First you assemble enough talent to win and be successful. Then the team learns how to deal with the additional pressures and expectations that come with winning. The team learns how to win on the road as well as at home. Only then can leaders emerge from within the team every year to provide the intangibles for additional success. Leaders who haven't experienced or accepted losing. Team captains who have dealt with and overcome adversity that the rest of the team can look to for guidance. Despite a disappointing end to the season, the Hawks grew this year. This was a young team. They won a few high pressure games, beat & competed well with highly ranked teams, won a handful of tough road games and qualified for the NCAA tournament. The Hawks could have beaten every team they played this year, they were never overmatched. All the younger guys improved tremendously. The rebuilding process continues and the Hawks will be an improved team next year. Fans need to be patient and support the Hawks as they rebuild a winning legacy.
