You guys remember Steve Alford?

[1977Hawkeye]

lol

Bruce Pearl. How many Chicago Recruits did we get before that? After that?
then Bob B
then Alford (or Pierce, pretty much interchangable)
then Lick
Roy Boy.

Bruce Pearl? Ok, I get the point about Chicago recruiting, but today's recruits weren't even alive when the Deon Thomas thing went down. I have to wonder how many of them are even aware that even happened or know who Deon Thomas is, much less give a rip about coaches who are no longer even at the UofI. Unless there are some people in Chicago who are running around whispering in all of these recruits ears telling them not to go to Iowa.. But that was over 20 years ago.. I find it hard to believe that's not much of a factor today, if at all. Unless someone knows for a fact (not your opinion) that there is still severe bias against Iowa because of this.

And no WAY did Alford do more harm than Lick did to this program. Just NO WAY. Alford had winning seasons each and every year he coached Iowa, except for his first. Yeah, the Alford tenure was disappointing and his personality rubbed some people the wrong way, and he didn't do anything help Iowa's image, but common. Lick had the worst record of ANY coach in Iowa history, and set records for losses at least twice. Maybe all 3 years.

Pierce sure didn't help Alford's image any, and Alf definitely handled that poorly. But let's be honest.. When people (at least on these boards) wanted Alford gone back in 2006, 2007, etc. It wasn't Pierre Pierce that people were griping about. It was the LOSING that people were sick of.

I think I'd put Bob Bowlsby and Lick at the top of this list. They are probably 1a and 1b. With Alford being 3rd.

One other question: If Lick has a large amount of blame for where we are now, where does Barta fit in? The man who hired the worst coach in Iowa history (at least by record)?

 

[sioux34]

So Lick caused the attendance to drop under Alf's watch?

 

[notafan]

I agree - Tom Davis was really the one who got a raw deal in all of this.

I was ok with Barta nudging Alford out the door. Even happy about it.

Lick HAD to go. After 3 years it was obvious the program was in flames.

But I'd give certain parts of my anatomy to have what we had when Mr. Davis was here - 9 of 13 years in the NCAA Tournament and never a first round loss. Not so bad, was it?

We'll see how things turn out with McCaffery. I'm willing to give him at least 4-5 years to get things going.

Ostrich.......this post is spot on! ALL the Hawk fans I talked to back then would say "I'm tired of ONLY winning first round games, we need to go to the next level and get rid of Davis". Not so much, in hindsight.

 

[burky247]

Who did more harm to Iowa basketball, Bob Bowlsby or Roy Williams? Think before you answer.

While I see where you are going with this, I would argue that Pierre Pierce did more to harm Iowa basketball than either of those two. And it's not even close.

 

[pmchawk]

And no WAY did Alford do more harm than Lick did to this program. Just NO WAY. Alford had winning seasons each and every year he coached Iowa, except for his first. Yeah, the Alford tenure was disappointing and his personality rubbed some people the wrong way, and he didn't do anything help Iowa's image, but common. Lick had the worst record of ANY coach in Iowa history, and set records for losses at least twice. Maybe all 3 years.

Pierce sure didn't help Alford's image any, and Alf definitely handled that poorly. But let's be honest.. When people (at least on these boards) wanted Alford gone back in 2006, 2007, etc. It wasn't Pierre Pierce that people were griping about. It was the LOSING that people were sick of.

Sometimes you have to step back and look at the whole picture. Stop looking at the Tree and look at the forest. Lickliter isn't the reason the program has been in shambles. He definitely didn't help Iowa's image, and it knocked it down a peg or 2 in the eyes of outsiders and insiders. Alford however is the SOLE reason the fan base is divided. If the fan base is intact it fills Carver Hawkeye Arena, and makes winning at CHA a bigger challenge for opponents. Alford HURT the program FAR MORE then Lick did. Wounds caused by Lick will heal with time, Alfords actions ripped at the soul of Hawkeye nation and may never heal. It isn't even a question. It is a fact Alford has caused the most damage.

 

[pmchawk]

Ostrich.......this post is spot on! ALL the Hawk fans I talked to back then would say "I'm tired of ONLY winning first round games, we need to go to the next level and get rid of Davis". Not so much, in hindsight.

I still don't understand why people felt this way, I didn't want him gone. I loved Mr. Davis's style, exciting, and always had a chance to win. Rebounding, Press, and Free Throws. To me, those 3 words describe Iowa basketball under Mr. Davis.

 

[notafan]

I still don't understand why people felt this way, I didn't want him gone. I loved Mr. Davis's style, exciting, and always had a chance to win. Rebounding, Press, and Free Throws. To me, those 3 words describe Iowa basketball under Mr. Davis.

That and also the talent gap I see between now and even way back in the Raveling era (the few years he was here), is HUGE. Iowa teams back then were TWICE as talented as any of the teams I've seen in a long time in IC.

 

[pmchawk]

That and also the talent gap I see between now and even way back in the Raveling era (the few years he was here), is HUGE. Iowa teams back then were TWICE as talented as any of the teams I've seen in a long time in IC.

to me that should mean he needs to shake up his staff. bring in a hot shot recruiter. not clear house because it is dysfunctional.

 

[sportstalent]

Sometimes you have to step back and look at the whole picture. Stop looking at the Tree and look at the forest. Lickliter isn't the reason the program has been in shambles. He definitely didn't help Iowa's image, and it knocked it down a peg or 2 in the eyes of outsiders and insiders. Alford however is the SOLE reason the fan base is divided. If the fan base is intact it fills Carver Hawkeye Arena, and makes winning at CHA a bigger challenge for opponents. Alford HURT the program FAR MORE then Lick did. Wounds caused by Lick will heal with time, Alfords actions ripped at the soul of Hawkeye nation and may never heal. It isn't even a question. It is a fact Alford has caused the most damage.

Just to add a little more fuel to pmc's rant here. If the Iowa program was as good as people want to believe when Alford left, the Lickliter era shouldn't have been so bad. Granted, the probably still would have been fired after last season even if some of the players hadn't left.

Lickliter was the wrong hire to try and pick up the pieces, he is the anti-Fran, had Iowa hired a guy similar to Fran when Alford left, we wouldn't be arguing about who did the most damage to Iowa basketball. It is and has been Alford, followed closely by Barta for hiring Lickliter, who had never built a program like one that was in the state of Iowa.

 

[tweeterhawk]

The diet of ostriches mainly consists of plant matter, though it also eats invertebrates. It lives in nomadic groups which contain between five and fifty birds.

 

[ssckelley]

I do not get all this Alford love, first of all he is NEVER coming back so this entire thread is pointless. But secondly when he left he crapped all over it, he took the top recruit with him to New Mexico and the best player transfered to Tennessee. Lick had a mountain to climb when he got here and he made the mistake of trying to force a brand of basketball that simply does not work in the Big Ten. Passing blame, pointing fingers what does that accomplish? Nothing we can do will change the past, I am interested in knowing what it is going to take to fix this and move forward.

It is funny how you guys let a Northwestern troll come over here to stir up stuff and you turn it into a 4 page thread. Alford is gone, Lick is gone, Mr. Davis is gone none of them are coming back, let's move forward.

 

[sportstalent]

I do not get all this Alford love, first of all he is NEVER coming back so this entire thread is pointless. But secondly when he left he crapped all over it, he took the top recruit with him to New Mexico and the best player transfered to Tennessee. Lick had a mountain to climb when he got here and he made the mistake of trying to force a brand of basketball that simply does not work in the Big Ten. Passing blame, pointing fingers what does that accomplish? Nothing we can do will change the past, I am interested in knowing what it is going to take to fix this and move forward.

It is funny how you guys let a Northwestern troll come over here to stir up stuff and you turn it into a 4 page thread. Alford is gone, Lick is gone, Mr. Davis is gone none of them are coming back, let's move forward.

It shows the frustration of this fanbase...

 

[sportstalent]

I do not get all this Alford love, first of all he is NEVER coming back so this entire thread is pointless. But secondly when he left he crapped all over it, he took the top recruit with him to New Mexico and the best player transfered to Tennessee. Lick had a mountain to climb when he got here and he made the mistake of trying to force a brand of basketball that simply does not work in the Big Ten. Passing blame, pointing fingers what does that accomplish? Nothing we can do will change the past, I am interested in knowing what it is going to take to fix this and move forward.

It is funny how you guys let a Northwestern troll come over here to stir up stuff and you turn it into a 4 page thread. Alford is gone, Lick is gone, Mr. Davis is gone none of them are coming back, let's move forward.

A lot of people want to, but until Iowa wins again they won't.

 

[gohawkz]

One time when I was a kid I threw a baseball and took down a rabbit. This was unusual because I wasn't a very accurate thrower. My dog had always chased rabbits but had never caught one. When he caught this one....boy was he happy!

 

[hawkIhoops]

1) Mr. Davis got lazy and stopped recruiting. Lookingbill, Skinner...do those names ring a bell?

2) Alford was a complete egomaniac who saved his bacon by winning two big ten tournaments. Dairese Gary-never qualified. Beas Hamga-dropped off the face of the earth. Tyler Smith-thug who sought the 0 academics of TN. Program was in decline and he was loathed by the fanbase.

3) Lickliter-The fact that it took him almost 2 years to land an assistant coaching gig at Miami of Ohio says it all.

For those that haven't been able to put 2 and 2 together yet, McCaffrey is trying to rebuild the program the right way. In order to do this he needs to turn the roster over and get his guys aka athletes in here. There is nothing McCaffrey, or Dean Smith for that matter, can do with this team this season. Woodbury, Ingram, Meyer, Clemons, Gessell are all upgrades from what we have currently.

 

[DesMoinesHawki]

Boy Wonder had about five more seasons than he should have ... He moved onto a lesser conference against lesser teams ...

 

[jwmann2]

Anyone think he will take over at IU one day? Tough to say now...He was a great player in college, a legend. So was Tommy Amaker. It doesn't always translate.

 

[Tmoney12]

Anyone think he will take over at IU one day? Tough to say now...He was a great player in college, a legend. So was Tommy Amaker. It doesn't always translate.

TA has Harvard in the top 25.... wheres Alfrauds team ranked?

 

[JHHawk]

TA has Harvard in the top 25.... wheres Alfrauds team ranked?

New Mexico has certainly been better since SA arrived. Finished 2nd in their league the first year after being 7th the prior year,then won the league the following year or two,I believe.

He is going to win a ton of games in his coaching career,as he had won more at age 40 than practically anyone,and he continues to win 20+ every year.

I have long ago stopped even debating SA...Iowa fans are crazy divided on him. They don't care about on the court,only off the court hatred of him. Anyone that would argue that he was worst for Iowa bb than Lick is nuts,but go ahead.

 

[hawkIhoops]

One of OK4P's weakest attempts

Disappointing, we all expect more

I have not read a single post from the tool that isn't some sad attempt at stirring the pot in order to get attention. I feel sorry for people that have so little on their plate they sit around all day and night thinking up completely moronic posts, just to read the responses. Apparently this makes him feel.......useful?