The Lost Generation

What happened to Iowa basketball? This question comes up every so often when discussing Iowa sports with my relatives or friends. The answer to that question depends largely upon the age of the asker. For those of us around 40 (give or take 5 years), or older, we remember THE decade of Iowa basketball, from 1979-1989. For the younger Iowa fan, who has never really experienced Iowa as relevant on the national basketball stage, all they know is that once upon a time Iowa made the NCAA tournament more often than not (from 1990-1999), then dropped to an afterthought in subsequent years. Three NCAA tournament appearances after 1999 (and a whopping one win) do that to you. For perspective, the list of teams with more NCAA wins in that time include VCU, Western Kentucky, Utah State, Tulsa and Murray State.

The Decade of Relevance

It wasn't always this way. Beginning in the 1978-79 season, Iowa made the NCAA tournament 10 out of the next 11 seasons. March Madness was real. Real in the sense that you looked at the brackets and could see Iowa having a legitimate shot at winning in the first two rounds. Not left to hoping that maybe Jason Maxiell won't come to play and Iowa will have a shot or that somehow Tyshaun Prince would get in foul trouble.

Not only did Iowa make the tournament, they sometimes advanced - far. Final Four in 1980. Sweet 16 in 1983, Elite Eight in 1987, Sweet 16 in 1988. Lots of disappointments too, but the pain of the losses was tempered by the belief that the next year would bring more winning. It didn't matter that Iowa had 3 different coaches in this time period. Lute Olson won a conference title, went to the Final Four and left for Arizona. Enter George Raveling. He stayed only 3 years, but made the tournament twice and left with the roster loaded with talent. And of course Tom Davis, with the magical 1987, Sweet 16 in 1988 and second round in 1989. The '87 squad had three guys who played a 10+ years in the NBA (B.J. Armstrong, Brad Lohaus, Kevin Gamble), and others who appeared for at least spot duty in the league (Roy Marble, Ed Horton, Bill Jones) and others who played professionally elsewhere.

The Decade of Pretty Good

1990-99 saw a slip, with NCAA appearances in 1991-93, 96-97 and 99. All second-round losses in the NCAA tournament, with the exception of 1999, the last year of the Davis era. No need to go over the idiocy of how that situation was handled and it's impact on Iowa basketball in the ensuing decade. Being an Iowa fan during this decade wasn't as much fun as the decade prior, but no one knew that the coming decade would see Iowa basketball banished to the basketball wasteland. The tragic death of Chris Street likely cost Iowa one if not two NCAA appearances. Davis had rebuilt Iowa into a legitimate Top 20 team with a huge front line with athleticism (Acie Earl at center, James Winters a 6-5 jumping jack, freshman Kenyon Murray, along with good scoring guard Val Barnes and a fast PG in Kevin Smith). Iowa would go on to make the tourney in 1993, but without Street had little legitimate chance to advance past the second round. The next year, a front line of Street, Winters and a freshman Jess Settles (with a good back) would have been among the Big 10's best. As it was, Iowa struggled, then cratered once Winters went down early in the Big 10 season with a season-ending knee injury.

No Connection


Thirty years have passed since Iowa's last Final Four appearance. Even more sobering, Iowa has been a Sweet 16 participant just once in the last 21 years. One time. And even that Sweet 16 season (1999) couldn't be fully enjoyed with the Davis resignation/retirement/firing/fiasco hanging over the season.

It's not surprising in the least that attendance at Iowa games has slipped. An entire generation of Iowa fans has known nothing but mediocre basketball. The older fans still view Iowa as a top-notch program, ignoring some of the changing realities for college basketball. Younger fans yawn, with offers of free pizza and free tickets needed to get students to the game. Attending the December 2010 Iowa-Illinois game in Iowa City was embarrassing. Between one-third and one-half of the fans at the game were in Illini orange. The Ilini fans around us were pleasant and lacked obnoxiousness, although it's easy to do so when your team is winning easily.

Where to From Here?

The future for Iowa basketball can't yet be considered bright, but perhaps the worst days are over. The new practice facility is done. It's good the team can practice when it's most convenient for the coaches and team, without competing for gym time with the volleyball team, the women's basketball team and the random tradeshow in the arena. Fran McCaffery and his staff seem to have made genuine connections with the players currently on the team. The best players from the 2010-11 team didn't bolt as in the three years under Lickliter. A small win that hopefully will lead to more wins on the court. There were small speed bumps over the summer like the abrupt departure of Anthony Hubbard just a few weeks after he was introduced at a press conference. There was also news of the best kind for a program like Iowa with the commitments of Adam Woodbury and Mike Gessel to play at Iowa starting in the fall of 2012.

Iowa will appear on ESPN just once in B1G play, and once as part of the B1G/ACC Challenge. Otherwise it's the BTN for conference games, and no TV for many of the non-conference games. Such is life when your program has been banished to the hinterland in the minds of those that make such programming decisions.

My son is now 10, soon to be 11 during the basketball season. The year he was born, Iowa led the conference at 6-2, fell back when Recker and Hogan got injured, rallied to win the conference tournament and proceeded to actually win a NCAA tournament game - the last time Iowa won a NCAA tournament game. I try to interest him in Iowa basketball games. He gives it an effort, but can't stay with the entire game. Why should he? Kids don't like watching a team they have no emotional connection with. Listening to his Dad talk about how Iowa used to be good doesn't make watching the Lickliter years any more compelling. If Fran can create a few magic moments over the next few years another generation of fans can be brought in.

Welcome Home

Met my brother, his wife and their friends at the Eastern Iowa Airport Thursday night. They were returning from a week in Mexico and needed a ride back to Iowa City. They arrived safely and soundly, and it was good to have them back in country.

While we were waiting for them to appear from the passenger area to Baggage Claim, a youngish (looked to be early 20s) man in Army fatigues came down the escalator and toward where we were standing, where he was welcomed home by either a brother or friend. Heartfelt, long hug between the two of them, with a few accompanying tears, as can only come when the reuniting is sweet. They were quickly out the door and off to wherever that soldier called home. You can tell when people who are good friends/family see each other after having been apart for some time. There is no lingering in the airport, only quickly moving on to home and living life. Welcome home, soldier, and thanks to you wherever you were serving our country.

And good job, American Airlines, for putting returning servicemen in first class on their flights home. American took some recent heat for its baggage policy for military members.

Disney Experience: Part I

In March, we were fortunate enough to be able to go to Disney World (the one in Florida for you non-Disney people). It had been at least 25 years since I had been to Disney, and going as an adult is definitely different, and in some ways more rewarding than as a kid.

Every company selling anything today sells an "experience." It's why we pay $2 for our cup of coffee or $15 for pizza with a dancing mouse with our kids. Disney World is an experience in the literal and figurative sense, and has been from the time Walt Disney created it in 1971.
We spent a day each in Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The prominent rides at each venue are terrific. From Test Track (where you ride in a car that gets up to 60 mph) to standby Space Mountain to Soarin' (where you have the sensation of flying across the California coast and countryside), these rides make the wait to get on them well worth it. But you can read about any of these and many others in any Disney guidebook.
At Disney, it's the details that matter. Every bus driver was friendly and courteous. Same for the hotel staff. Same for the people serving food at lunch. Same for the guy running the "It's a Small World" ride. Same for the people working at the 3-D Muppets Show. Over the few days on Disney property, we interacted with hundreds of Disney employees. All of them made you think that you were the most important person they were going to help that day.

Disney's employees don't just pay attention to the people who visit. They take care of the darn place. Everywhere you look it's clean. The bus - clean. The rooms - clean. The parks - clean. It's as if everything opened last week and you're one of the first people to see it. Oh, except Except Magic Kingdom is 40 years old.

When we visited Magic Kingdom, Ellie bought a Minnie Mouse at the gift shop. She left it on the chair in the hotel room while we went to Epcot the next day. We returned home from Epcot to find Minnie perched on Ellie's pillow. One small action by the woman cleaning our room will be remembered by a small girl (and her entire family) for the rest of our lives, along with the fantastic rides and interesting shows.

The rest of the world strives to create an "experience." Disney just does it every day.