I'm not much of a poster on this forum, but Tom's most recent podcast had me thinking. Much like Tom said, in my opinion, it seems like Iowa should blow-up the retired basketball numbers and start fresh.
While it would create controversy, just unretire all numbers (except maybe #40) and start fresh. Perhaps the best option is to make a number retirement be for a specific amount of time, like 30-50 years. Makes it feel special and probably means the number is retired for much of that player's lifetime. If the player is still with us when the number goes back into circulation, have them participate in a ceremony to recognize the transition and maybe allow them to help decide who gets to use it next. Once a number is un-retired, the Iowa player could move over to the "retired jersey" category in the rafters.
Since retiring a number seems it won't happen that often, Iowa can then turn the focus to retired jerseys. This allows them to hang jerseys or banners featuring retired players in the rafters. If you do that, you can honor Roy Marble, Dev Marble, Aaron White, Jess Settles, Ed Horton, Jordan Bohannon and so many other Iowa greats. Make it a big deal each year to announce who the new retired jerseys are and do something special at big games to recognize those players.
Create a criteria for "retired jerseys" and leave retired numbers for very special situations like Garza this year. Just my thoughts.
While it would create controversy, just unretire all numbers (except maybe #40) and start fresh. Perhaps the best option is to make a number retirement be for a specific amount of time, like 30-50 years. Makes it feel special and probably means the number is retired for much of that player's lifetime. If the player is still with us when the number goes back into circulation, have them participate in a ceremony to recognize the transition and maybe allow them to help decide who gets to use it next. Once a number is un-retired, the Iowa player could move over to the "retired jersey" category in the rafters.
Since retiring a number seems it won't happen that often, Iowa can then turn the focus to retired jerseys. This allows them to hang jerseys or banners featuring retired players in the rafters. If you do that, you can honor Roy Marble, Dev Marble, Aaron White, Jess Settles, Ed Horton, Jordan Bohannon and so many other Iowa greats. Make it a big deal each year to announce who the new retired jerseys are and do something special at big games to recognize those players.
Create a criteria for "retired jerseys" and leave retired numbers for very special situations like Garza this year. Just my thoughts.
