Welcome to the Tom Davis era of Hawkeye Football

[Billso]

Great, another "be careful what you wish for, remember Tom Davis" type of thread.

Tom Davis' last 5 seasons:

1994-95: NIT (tie 7th in Big Ten)
1995-96: NCAA Second Round (6 seed), tie 4th in Big Ten
1996-97: NCAA Second Round (tie for 2nd place Big Ten Finish - 8 seed?? NCAA Second Round)
1997-98: NIT, tie for 5th Big Ten
1998-99: Sweet 16 (5 seed), Tie 3rd Big Ten

Kirk Ferentz's last 5 years:

2010: 8-5 (unranked), tie 4th in Big Ten
2011: 7-6 (unranked), 4th in Legends Division
2012: 4-8 (unranked), tie for 5th in Legends Division
2013: 8-5 (unranked), tie for 2nd in Legends Division
2014: 7-6 (unranked), 4th in West Division

It's pretty hard to compare football and basketball, and I don't have the final rankings for Iowa's hoops teams, but pretty sure Iowa hoops finished ranked in the 1995-96 and 1998-99 seasons, where KF hasn't had a team finish ranked since 2009. And, that's with college football having roughly a third as many teams as hoops, competing for those Top 25 spots, so technically should be easier to be ranked.

Found a nifty site http://collegepollarchive.com/

1994-95: unranked
1995-96: #21
1996-97: unranked
1997-98: unranked
1998-99: #21

However, Iowa was ranked at some point during ALL five of those seasons, including #10 in 97-98

 

[lightning1]

Arw you guys nuts? Tom Davis's career was not as successful as you guys recall. A couple of facts.
Tom Davis's best 3 year run as Iowa's coach was his first 3 years. The following 10 years were very much as mediocre as KF's.
Tom Davis's first season was a Great 8 appearance, followed by a Sweet 16 and then a 2nd rd. It took him 10 seasons to get back to the Sweet 16.
In fact, Tom Davis led Iowa to 6 NCAA tourney appearances in his last 10 years. With 2 NITs and 2 non-invite seasons.
That is effectively taking over a program loaded with talent and running it into mediocrity.
Sorry. Tom Davis should have been fired after his 4th season at Iowa. Thats where he failed to make a post season tournament. Thats right,
Great 8 (86)
Sweet 16 (87)
2nd rd (88)
No post season. (89)
SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED (90)

 

[deanvogs]

Arw you guys nuts? Tom Davis's career was not as successful as you guys recall. A couple of facts.
Tom Davis's best 3 year run as Iowa's coach was his first 3 years. The following 10 years were very much as mediocre as KF's.
Tom Davis's first season was a Great 8 appearance, followed by a Sweet 16 and then a 2nd rd. It took him 10 seasons to get back to the Sweet 16.
In fact, Tom Davis led Iowa to 6 NCAA tourney appearances in his last 10 years. With 2 NITs and 2 non-invite seasons.
That is effectively taking over a program loaded with talent and running it into mediocrity.
Sorry. Tom Davis should have been fired after his 4th season at Iowa. Thats where he failed to make a post season tournament. Thats right,
Great 8 (86)
Sweet 16 (87)
2nd rd (88)
No post season. (89)
SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED (90)

Wow, that's pretty rough there Lightning. It isn't like Raveling was doing anything at all with the talent he was brining in. At least Mr. Davis was a good coach who got a lot out of his players. You are saying that a guy who missed one post season should have been fired, after doing 100X more than the previous coach did. You also left out that the following year (when you said he should have been fired) he made the NCAA tourney again, and he finished in the top 1/2 of the B1G 5 of his first 6 years.

 

[MiniMoeHawk]

Arw you guys nuts? Tom Davis's career was not as successful as you guys recall. A couple of facts.
Tom Davis's best 3 year run as Iowa's coach was his first 3 years. The following 10 years were very much as mediocre as KF's.
Tom Davis's first season was a Great 8 appearance, followed by a Sweet 16 and then a 2nd rd. It took him 10 seasons to get back to the Sweet 16.
In fact, Tom Davis led Iowa to 6 NCAA tourney appearances in his last 10 years. With 2 NITs and 2 non-invite seasons.
That is effectively taking over a program loaded with talent and running it into mediocrity.
Sorry. Tom Davis should have been fired after his 4th season at Iowa. Thats where he failed to make a post season tournament. Thats right,
Great 8 (86)
Sweet 16 (87)
2nd rd (88)
No post season. (89)
SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED (90)

You must think it is an easy task to make the sweet sixteen. How many times did Alford go to the sweet sixteen?

 

[trj]

Wow, that's pretty rough there Lightning. It isn't like Raveling was doing anything at all with the talent he was brining in. At least Mr. Davis was a good coach who got a lot out of his players. You are saying that a guy who missed one post season should have been fired, after doing 100X more than the previous coach did. You also left out that the following year (when you said he should have been fired) he made the NCAA tourney again, and he finished in the top 1/2 of the B1G 5 of his first 6 years.

Raveling did make the tournament 2 of the 3 years he was here.....just sayin.

 

[lightning1]

Wow, that's pretty rough there Lightning. It isn't like Raveling was doing anything at all with the talent he was brining in. At least Mr. Davis was a good coach who got a lot out of his players. You are saying that a guy who missed one post season should have been fired, after doing 100X more than the previous coach did. You also left out that the following year (when you said he should have been fired) he made the NCAA tourney again, and he finished in the top 1/2 of the B1G 5 of his first 6 years.

This isn't about Raveling's short comings, which there are many. The above post is about Tom Davis and i don't care how anyone tries to spin it, he took over an incredibly talented roster and never came close to replacing that talent in his entire tenure.
And I did not leave out any year. I detailed his first 3 years, his 4th year included the rest (6 NCAA tourneys in 10 seasons)
Sorry. I liked Tom Davis and I thought he was a good coach but he was a horrible recruiter and his win/loss record suffered because of it.

 

[lightning1]

You must think it is an easy task to make the sweet sixteen. How many times did Alford go to the sweet sixteen?

Again. This has nothing to do with Alfraud or any other coach. Tom Davis went from the Great 8 to no post season in his first 4 seasons . that's an express elevator to garbage. Take a look at the 87/88 roster and tell me how he managed to go 24-10, 3rd place in the BIG, and end up losing in the Sweet 16.
Sorry. I don't buy the "golden age" of Iowa basketball under Tom Davis because after his first season or 2. They didnt exist.

 

[lightning1]

Dont evwn get me started on the 86/87 team that he managed to finish 3rd in the Conference with. SMH.
Just look at how many NBA players were on that roster, there were more NBA players on that roster than Iowa has had on every roster sincw then, COMBINED.

 

[deanvogs]

Dont evwn get me started on the 86/87 team that he managed to finish 3rd in the Conference with. SMH.
Just look at how many NBA players were on that roster, there were more NBA players on that roster than Iowa has had on every roster sincw then, COMBINED.

You mean that Iowa finished behind the #1 seed Indiana, and the #3 seed Purdue who both went 15-3 while Iowa went 14-4 and got a #2 seed.

Yeah, that year was such a letdown, they went 30-5, were a #2 seed, and made it to the elite 8.

Sure it sucked they loss the Elite 8 game, as they had it in the bag, and I still remember how crushing that defeat was. Yet don't act like they had some bad B1G season, they finished 1 game out of first place

 

[HawkeyeTech]

Arw you guys nuts? Tom Davis's career was not as successful as you guys recall. A couple of facts.
Tom Davis's best 3 year run as Iowa's coach was his first 3 years. The following 10 years were very much as mediocre as KF's.
Tom Davis's first season was a Great 8 appearance, followed by a Sweet 16 and then a 2nd rd. It took him 10 seasons to get back to the Sweet 16.
In fact, Tom Davis led Iowa to 6 NCAA tourney appearances in his last 10 years. With 2 NITs and 2 non-invite seasons.
That is effectively taking over a program loaded with talent and running it into mediocrity.
Sorry. Tom Davis should have been fired after his 4th season at Iowa. Thats where he failed to make a post season tournament. Thats right,
Great 8 (86)
Sweet 16 (87)
2nd rd (88)
No post season. (89)
SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED (90)

The sheer ignorance of this post leaves me dumb-founded.

 

[deanvogs]

This isn't about Raveling's short comings, which there are many. The above post is about Tom Davis and i don't care how anyone tries to spin it, he took over an incredibly talented roster and never came close to replacing that talent in his entire tenure.
And I did not leave out any year. I detailed his first 3 years, his 4th year included the rest (6 NCAA tourneys in 10 seasons)
Sorry. I liked Tom Davis and I thought he was a good coach but he was a horrible recruiter and his win/loss record suffered because of it.

Fair enough. That was the prevailing wisdom that got him fired. I don't share that view, but it isn't like you were alone on this one.

 

[HawkeyeTech]

Mr. Davis was almost universally liked..........Kirk, not so much

Kirk is pretty much universally liked everywhere but on the internets. If the internets had been in existence for Mr. Davis these message boards would have exploded.

 

[lightning1]

The sheer ignorance of this post leaves me dumb-founded.

All you've got to do is support your comment with facts. I provided plenty to support my opinion. I'm guessing you don't have any to support yours. That's why your post was as short as it was.....ignorant.
Come with it.

 

[lightning1]

You mean that Iowa finished behind the #1 seed Indiana, and the #3 seed Purdue who both went 15-3 while Iowa went 14-4 and got a #2 seed.

Yeah, that year was such a letdown, they went 30-5, were a #2 seed, and made it to the elite 8.

Sure it sucked they loss the Elite 8 game, as they had it in the bag, and I still remember how crushing that defeat was. Yet don't act like they had some bad B1G season, they finished 1 game out of first place

That Iowa team had more talent than both Indiana and Purdue and it wasn't even remotely close.

 

[deanvogs]

That Iowa team had more talent than both Indiana and Purdue and it wasn't even remotely close.

I don't know if this will paste correct, but I'm not sure how you can be soo pizzed about this. I think you are forgetting how dominate the B1G was at this time. Indiana was pre season #3, Purdue #4 and Iowa #10. At no point during the year were any of the 3 teams outside of the top 10.

Here is Iowa's AP poll summary
AP Poll Summary

Pre	12/2	12/9	12/16	12/23	12/30	1/6	1/13	1/20	1/27	2/3	2/10	2/17	2/24	3/3	Final
10	5	4	3	3	3	2	2	1	2	4	4	7	7	6	6

Here is Indiana's

AP Poll Summary

Pre	12/2	12/9	12/16	12/23	12/30	1/6	1/13	1/20	1/27	2/3	2/10	2/17	2/24	3/3	Final
3	3	2	8	8	6	4	4	3	4	2	2	2	3	4	3

Here is Purdue's:


AP Poll Summary

Pre	12/2	12/9	12/16	12/23	12/30	1/6	1/13	1/20	1/27	2/3	2/10	2/17	2/24	3/3	Final
4	4	3	2	2	2	6	6	5	4	7	7	6	6	3	7

Crap, of course it didn't. Either way there was no shame in finishing 1 game behind those two that year.

 

[lightning1]

I don't know if this will paste correct, but I'm not sure how you can be soo pizzed about this. I think you are forgetting how dominate the B1G was at this time. Indiana was pre season #3, Purdue #4 and Iowa #10. At no point during the year were any of the 3 teams outside of the top 10.

Here is Iowa's AP poll summary
AP Poll Summary

Pre	12/2	12/9	12/16	12/23	12/30	1/6	1/13	1/20	1/27	2/3	2/10	2/17	2/24	3/3	Final
10	5	4	3	3	3	2	2	1	2	4	4	7	7	6	6

Here is Indiana's

AP Poll Summary

Pre	12/2	12/9	12/16	12/23	12/30	1/6	1/13	1/20	1/27	2/3	2/10	2/17	2/24	3/3	Final
3	3	2	8	8	6	4	4	3	4	2	2	2	3	4	3

Here is Purdue's:


AP Poll Summary

Pre	12/2	12/9	12/16	12/23	12/30	1/6	1/13	1/20	1/27	2/3	2/10	2/17	2/24	3/3	Final
4	4	3	2	2	2	6	6	5	4	7	7	6	6	3	7

Crap, of course it didn't. Either way there was no shame in finishing 1 game behind those two that year.

I get what you are saying but you can go look at the rosters of both teams. While talented, not many of them went on to have marginal NBA careers. They were good teams with great coaches. We had more talent. IMO and we were ranked #1 for a period of time.
And I wouldnt say i'm mad. I don't care much for revisionist history and i have no problem taking up the argument.

 

[silkhawk]

My real point in my first post wasn't defending either Mr. Davis or KF. It was really to show and compare how longevity affects perceptions. Iowa is notoriously generous with it's coaches and very reluncantly makes changes, in any sport. Good bad or indifferent, that's just the way it is. It's very unusual in the overall landscape of college sports where unless you are a Saban, Boeheim or Coach K., any coach that lasts 5 to 10 years at the same school is pretty good. I personally do think it's time for a change in the football program. The KF era has run it's course and grown stale and incredibly predictable.

 

[oldhawk12]

Mr. Davis was almost universally liked..........Kirk, not so much

KF & TD had a couple of key things in common that overrated their legacies. 1) they both played pathetic non-conference schedules (hd inflated wins) 2) were enormously stubborn in their ways that ultimately alienated the fan base

 

[oldhawk12]

Not fair to Mr. Davis. Like others have said, 6-6, 7-6, 8-5 are more comparable to the NIT. Mr. Davis's teams beat the teams they were suppose to beat most of the time. When Mr. Davis was forced out, his last team was a top 16 team in the NCAA Tourney.

The program at the time of Davis's departure compared to where the football program is now is apples and oranges.

Wrong. They both swept through their non-con schedules by beating cupcakes. Then they went .500 in conference to make the dance/bowl game. In the old days, if you won 20 games, you made the tourney as they didn't really look at who you actually beat. If Mr. Davis coached in today's day 'n age, his RPI would keep him from getting in. He'd be bubbled out each spring as a result. He won so many first round ncaa games because of the better seed (coming from power conference & overrated win total) & because of the short prep time from the opponent for the press.

 

[oldhawk12]

Arw you guys nuts? Tom Davis's career was not as successful as you guys recall. A couple of facts.
Tom Davis's best 3 year run as Iowa's coach was his first 3 years. The following 10 years were very much as mediocre as KF's.
Tom Davis's first season was a Great 8 appearance, followed by a Sweet 16 and then a 2nd rd. It took him 10 seasons to get back to the Sweet 16.
In fact, Tom Davis led Iowa to 6 NCAA tourney appearances in his last 10 years. With 2 NITs and 2 non-invite seasons.
That is effectively taking over a program loaded with talent and running it into mediocrity.
Sorry. Tom Davis should have been fired after his 4th season at Iowa. Thats where he failed to make a post season tournament. Thats right,
Great 8 (86)
Sweet 16 (87)
2nd rd (88)
No post season. (89)
SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED (90)

completely agree. One only needs to look at his first recruiting class to know how it was going to go for him. It was inexcusable to go from the Final 8 talent to what he assembled.