With two short weeks of Holiday Basketball remaining before the Big Ten season kicks up, two teams from States separated by the Mississippi River are flowing in distinctly opposite directions.
After bringing down #17 Marquette in Milwaukee last week, the most impressive performance in the Big Ten if not college basketball this weekend took place in Madison where Bo Ryan’s Badgers applied the Wisconsin swing offense like a tourniquet to previously unbeaten and #2 Pitt. Although he still can’t jump more than four inches off the ground, Brian Butch must have been motivated by either a Bo Ryan boot in his arse or the challenge of playing Pitt’s Aaron Gray, because for the first time I can recall, he actually looked like the McDonald’s All-American from Appleton, Wisconsin he was rumored to be.
Alando Tucker’s game is inspired. Like Devin Harris and Mike Wilkinson before him, the development of Tucker during his time in Madison is a testament to Ryan’s ability to find under-recruited players that blend within his system and, eventually, make them champions. Badger underclassmen Joe Krabbenhoft, Marcus Landry, Jason Bohannon, Trevan Hughes all fit the Bo Ryan pattern of success. As we approach the start of the Big Ten season, enjoy Tucker’s last go around, it may be reminicent of Scott Skiles’ dominant 1986 season for the Spartans, without the drug arrests.
And then there’s Steve Alford. There’s no excuse for Iowa playing as poorly as it is right now. Alford owes a truckload of thanks to graduated Hawkeyes Greg Brunner and Jeff Horner for his, um, interesting contract extension. There must be more than one person in Iowa’s Athletic Department wondering if the contract bestowed upon Alford by former Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby shortly before he bolted to Stanford has a window of rescission. I don’t live anywhere near Iowa City, but I can smell the stink on that sweetheart deal and right about now most of Hawkeye Nation does as well. It strikes one as unseemly when an administrator commits a University to an unnecessary long term contract with one hand while he’s packing boxes with the other.
With losses to Alabama, Arizona State, Virginia Tech and an embarrassing blowout at the hands of Villanova, Iowa desperately needed a clean sweep of in-state rivals Northern Iowa, Iowa State and Drake. Unfortunately a sweep was not in the cards as the Hawkeyes lost for the first time in three decades to Northern Iowa in a game where they looked completely lethargic. After pulling out a win against a weak Iowa State team, Alford’s Hawkeyes reverted to form and got blown out by ex-Iowa coach Dr. Tom Davis and Drake for the first time in 28 years. Somewhere under a clay tile roof in Palo Alto, Bowlsby is chuckling.
With 11 games under his belt, the season thus far has exposed Alford’s inability to coach without the Brunner/Horner class around to bail him out. This year’s version of the Hawkeyes has been completely dependent on the streakiness of former Iowa State transfer Adam Haluska. And while Iowa doesn’t get enough production from its sophomores or juniors, the team certainly has sufficient talent to beat Northern Iowa and Drake.
The responsibility for the mounting losses belongs to Alford. Not only did Alford extract too little from last year’s senior-laden team, since the Brunner/Horner class, Alford hasn’t developed young players, which are the foundation to building a successful program. After setting up camp in Iowa for the better part of eight years, apart from freshmen Tyler Smith and Haluska, Iowa’s roster is loaded with marginal role players and underachievers. For Iowa to remain in the top tier of the Big Ten, Alford needs to do better. As for the remainder of this season, it’s not too late. However, without consistent big nights from Haluska, it’s becoming apparent that Alford will be unable to turn the ship around before the Big Ten season takes Iowa under. Long winters await the faithful in Carver Hawkeye.
