Friday, March 23, 2007
End of the Alford Era
The linked article implies that, after 8 years at Iowa, recent events have soured things between Alford and Iowa fans:
Alford's stock with Iowa fans took a hit after the Hawkeyes, a No. 3 seed in last year's NCAA tournament, blew a 17-point second half lead and lost to little Northwestern State. The slide continued this year. Iowa finished 17-14, and coupled with the Hawkeyes' 18-46 Big Ten road record under Alford and 61-67 overall conference mark, Iowa athletic director Gary Barta made it clear he expected a major improvement next year.
In reality, the Alford era has been divisive and controversial for some time. Alford was brought in to replace the popular Tom Davis, who was forced out by Iowa AD Bob Bowlesby in what some considered an inappropriately crude manner. Alford's career at Iowa started with promise, when, in his second year, a young Hawkeye team ran through the Big Ten tournament without their injured star Luke Recker. They won their first round game in the NCAA against Creighton before losing to Kentucky and Tayshaun Prince (in a game attended by me and TH himself, by the way). Hopes were high for 2001-2002 with everyone coming back and a healthy Luke Recker. But then, after a promising start and a high ranking, the Hawkeyes collapsed in Big 10 play, ending the season with a lack luster loss in the first round of the NIT, and earning the label of the most disappointing team in the country.
It got worse for Alford, as the next couple of years saw a rash of defections from high profile recruits and players alike, and there were two seasons when the Hawks limped through Big Ten play with only seven players on the roster. What may have been the defining moment of the Alford era came when star player Pierre Pierce was charged with sexual assault. He was suspended for a year, but seemed otherwise to get by with a slap on the wrist, which was distasteful to many Iowa fans. He returned to lead the Hawkeyes in scoring, but then committed another assault, which landed him in jail. His infamy has garnered himself his own Wiki page describing the incidents.
The 2005-2006 season was a bright spot in the Alford Era, as Iowans Jeff Horner and Greg Brunner lead the Hawkeyes to an undefeated home season and a Big Ten tournament championship. But Horner and Brunner graduated after the bitter defeat to Northwestern State, two others transfered, and the Hawks faced the prospect of several rebuilding years, reopening old wounds. This season the Hawkeyes overachieved, but failed to make post season, with prospects for next year looking no better with the graduation of the Big 10's leading scorer, Adam Haluska.
Given the legacy as a whole, most Hawkeye fans are not disappointed to see Alford go, and many are elated.
4 Comments:
By 
D.E. Cloutier, at
Fri Mar 23, 10:35:00 AM:
OT: Charlottesvillain, I wanted to hear the gossip from your recent trip to Hong Kong, Singapore, London, etc.
By Charlottesvillain, at
Fri Mar 23, 10:55:00 AM:
It was a very productive trip, and I had something of the VIP treatment in Asia, particularly in Singapore (where I was whisked through immigration bypassing all lines, a superb perk). I'm fat as a tick after a week of feasting on pork buns and other Asian delights, followed by four days of English bitter and steak and ale pie and other pub food.
It was nice to return to find that spring has come to Virginia in my absence. Also, despite the benefits of globalisation it is still close to impossible to find a decent bourbon on the other side of the world. Jim Beam just doesn't cut it for me. Adding insult to injury, coverage of spring training is pushed out of the newspaper by irrelevancies such as the cricket world cup. Its good to be home.
By TigerHawk, at
Fri Mar 23, 10:59:00 AM:
I think DEC was more interested in learning who might be in the market for jet engines, or some shit like that... :)
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Fri Mar 23, 11:24:00 AM:
At times you are almost as amusing as my three ex-wives, TH.
And don't give me any grief about the number of marriages. Three is my limit. I have no plans to marry those two exotic dancers I sometimes bring with me when I travel.
