What does being back mean?

ColumbusHawk

ColumbusHawk

Well-Known Member
To me, being back isn't a middle of the pack Big Ten team that is one and done in the NCAA tournament. We've had that under Tom Davis. Heck, the football team was a mediocre Big Ten football team the last two years.

I want teams that Ralph & Lute had. Serious challengers for the Big Ten title more times than not, Big Ten titles & Final Four appearances. It is sad that the Hawks only have seriously challenged for the title twice since Lute left.

Personally, the two worst days in Iowa basketball were the days Ralph & Lute left.
 
ColumbusHawk said:
To me, being back isn't a middle of the pack Big Ten team that is one and done in the NCAA tournament. We've had that under Tom Davis..
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Pretty sure Davis never went one and done in the tournament. I would love to have the Davis days back. that would be plenty back enough for me.
 
We are on our way back, not quite back yet.

I think back means NCAA tourney appearances, not quite sure I think we can consistently compete for final fours. But a couple sweet sixteens would be nice.
 
wuppup said:
We are on our way back, not quite back yet.

I think back means NCAA tourney appearances, not quite sure I think we can consistently compete for final fours. But a couple sweet sixteens would be nice.
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Pretty much. If we're getting to the NCAA Tournament most years, then I would say we are "back".. Back to where we were in the Davis days.. I think that's what most of us consider to be what Iowa Basketball was, and that's kind of the standard IMO.

Can we do better than what we had under Davis? Probably. But it would take a good coach who can REALLY recruit up a storm. And then, that guy would likely move on to a top-flight job (UK, UNC, Duke, etc) sooner than later.

I don't think this program has ever consistently challenged for Final Four appearances, but it has gotten there on multiple occasions. We can do that again.

And one thing I agree with the OP on, is that it is said that Iowa basketball hasn't seriously challenged for the Big Ten title more than a copule times in the past 3 decades.
 
Tom Davis In 13 seasons at Iowa,

Overall regular season

11 winning records

10 seasons of 20+ wins

7 seasons of 10 or fewer losses


In the Big Ten Conference

9 winning records
2 seasons with .500 records.

10 times finished in the top half of the standings:
. . . . .2nd - 1
. . . . .3rd - 4
. . . . .4th - 2
. . . . .5th - 3


Postseason Play

9 NCAA Tournaments
. . . . . never lost in first round
. . . . . six times lost in second round
. . . . . twice to Sweet 16
. . . . . once to Elite Eight

(two NIT appearances if anyone cares)


Lute Olson in 9 seasons at Iowa

Overall regular season

7 winning seasons

6 seasons of 20+ wins

5 seasons with 10 or fewer losses

Big Ten Conference

5 winning records
2 seasons of .500 ball

7 times finished in the top half of the conference
. . . . . 1st - 1
. . . . . 2nd - 3
. . . . . 4th - 2
. . . . . 5th - 1

Postseason Play

5 NCAA tournaments
. . . . two times lost in first round
. . . . one time lost in 2nd round
. . . . one time lost in Sweet 16
. . . . one time to Final Four


Davis' record at Iowa stands up well to Lute's record at Iowa.


Here's when we're back:

4 of 5 years in the upper half of the Big10 standings

1 of 3 years seriously contending for a Big10 title

3 of 4 years going to the NCAA Tournament

1 of every 3 of those years going to the Sweet 16.


That's what Lute did at Iowa. That's what Davis did at Iowa.
 
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Being back is not getting blown out, either at home or on the road, beating the teams that you are supposed to and some you are not.

Iowa has beaten a couple teams they shouldn't, but have not beat the teams they should and we know about the blowouts.

Baby steps, but the 2012 kids will help significantly close the gap.
 
I would just like to get to the tournament most of the time and have a chance every five years to make a solid run deep into tourney.
 
sportstalent said:
Being back is not getting blown out, either at home or on the road, beating the teams that you are supposed to and some you are not.

Iowa has beaten a couple teams they shouldn't, but have not beat the teams they should and we know about the blowouts.

Baby steps, but the 2012 kids will help significantly close the gap.
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As has been mentioned, we are slowly but surely getting there. I will be pleased with 6 wins in the Big Ten this year. Would be very nice to get one or two more.

We are definitely on the way. Getting to the NCAA on a consistent basis would be getting back as far as I am concerned.

:D
 
engineersam said:
check your facts. best of my recollection Iowa never lost a first round NCAA game under Davis.
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I should have writen win one & done. Davis made it past the second round three times. Only once with his recruits. Davis' last team.

Davis accomplished very little in the Big Ten after his first two seasons when Iowa was 14-4 & 12-6, respectively. Davis only won twelve conference games once thereafter & never seriously challeged for the title.

After his first two seasons, Davis was only four games over five-hundred with a winning percentage of .510. Heck, you take away the third year when Iowa still had Armstrong, Marbel & Horton and Davis was only two games over five-hundred. That is mediocrity. Don't give me a list of twenty win seasons & NCAA appearances to defend Davis. It doesn't hold. It is about conference play.

In contrast, Lute took over a program that had absolutely nothing & still had a better conference winning percentage than Davis. Ralph Miller took over a program that won three conference games the previous year & his conference winning percentage is exactly one-hundred points better than Davis.

It is sad, that unless you are over forty, Iowa fans do not remember a Big Ten title or a Final Four appearance. It is really depressing to realize that it has been over thirty years since Iowa won a Big Ten title or went to the final four. Iowa was still in the midst of its 19-consecutive non-winning football seasons.l
 
Don't take this the wrong way Columbushawk, but fans like you are the reason that Davis was run out of town after a sweet 16 and we are where we are.
 
theboat said:
Don't take this the wrong way Columbushawk, but fans like you are the reason that Davis was run out of town after a sweet 16 and we are where we are.
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Yeah, those awful Tom Davis years, where we went to the NCAA tournament almost every year, won a first round game when we were there, and were a relevant NCAA team. Some so called fans are just idiots. And if the Chris Street tragedy doesn't happen who knows where that team ends up, that was a big momentum shift for the program.
 
ColumbusHawk said:
I should have writen win one & done. Davis made it past the second round three times. Only once with his recruits. Davis' last team.

Davis accomplished very little in the Big Ten after his first two seasons when Iowa was 14-4 & 12-6, respectively. Davis only won twelve conference games once thereafter & never seriously challeged for the title.

After his first two seasons, Davis was only four games over five-hundred with a winning percentage of .510. Heck, you take away the third year when Iowa still had Armstrong, Marbel & Horton and Davis was only two games over five-hundred. That is mediocrity. Don't give me a list of twenty win seasons & NCAA appearances to defend Davis. It doesn't hold. It is about conference play.

In contrast, Lute took over a program that had absolutely nothing & still had a better conference winning percentage than Davis. Ralph Miller took over a program that won three conference games the previous year & his conference winning percentage is exactly one-hundred points better than Davis.

It is sad, that unless you are over forty, Iowa fans do not remember a Big Ten title or a Final Four appearance. It is really depressing to realize that it has been over thirty years since Iowa won a Big Ten title or went to the final four. Iowa was still in the midst of its 19-consecutive non-winning football seasons.l
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I was just about to bring up the different situations for Lute and Mr. Davis. Davis inherited a healthy program, where Lute rebuilt it. And I don't think anyone would seriously contest the notion that Lute was a better coach (Dude's arguably in the top 5 all time). If we hadn't run him off, Lute would have gotten us to probably a couple more Final Fours.
 
bighawkeyedaddy said:
Yeah, those awful Tom Davis years, where we went to the NCAA tournament almost every year, won a first round game when we were there, and were a relevant NCAA team. Some so called fans are just idiots. And if the Chris Street tragedy doesn't happen who knows where that team ends up, that was a big momentum shift for the program.
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And for the record, I love me some Tom Davis. At this point, I'd love to get back to that level. And you've got a point regarding Street's death; I know it's been said that Davis was never really the same after Chris died. Like winning just didn't seem to matter as much as it used to (and considering the circumstances, that's completely understandable).
 
Things change. In the Lute era, Big Ten ball was dominated by IU,Ill,PU and Iowa.
Wis.,Mich,,and OSU were nowhere near the powers they are now.
When Mr. Davis was let go, and Bo Ryan was brought into Wis.and Izzo took over for Jud ,the balance of power shifted away from Iowa. Then Matta was brought in.

Being ''back'' is a new definition in this era. It is like Mich and OSU football fans longing for a decade where they take turns as champs....thats gone.

Being back is being in the mix for a tourny bid most years. Tourny success is more random....as Butler and VCU last year indicates.
 
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