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.
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