Somewhat of a surprise. I think they were 20-10 and 3rd in the BIG.
I would argue that 2005-06 was also a really good year despite the upset first round loss. The Hawks finished 25-7 that year and runner-up in the BIG and won the BIG tournament. If Iowa had made any kind of run that year then I think we look back differently on that.
Yup agreed. If we win 1-2 games in the NCAA that year, that year is looked on completely different. But since it resulted in a blown lead and missed Ft's and a last second shot, everyone chooses to forget about that season. It was a fun one, i remember going to a few games and it was wild in Carver.
Iowa has been average in basketball. Dr. Tom took us to the NCAA a lot, just always got a tough draw (Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, etc.) in the 2nd round. So we always won our first game and just never could get to the 2nd weekend. He had a stable program and we were always around the 18-21 win mark every year. We would be in the top half of the conference as well.
After Dr. Tom got let go, we hired Steve Alford and he took the program over, but didn't improve it all. His teams were maybe a little better, but they couldn't string together any sort of success. His teams would get blown out in the NCAA's and they were never that great.
Then we hire Todd Lickliter who was the black plague of the program. We averaged 20+ losses in 3 years. The guy took an okay program and made it a dumpster fire. It seriously set it back at least 10 years in terms of recruiting and fan base support. It was the worst hire in the HISTORY of Div 1 basketball. We are talking about watching a team get beat by 40+ on some nights. I mean from the tip, they were outclassed/outhustled and it was just a joke.
In comes Fran and while he has bled new life into a dying program, we just haven't been able to sustain any amount of success. Its Jekyl & Hyde with his teams. We either start slow and finish strong or we start strong and finish slow. I will say this, he has brought the fans back and there is more support. This season was kind of a crazy one because we got so high in the rankings, but everyone was aware that they could fall at anytime and they did HARD. Fran is starting to get more and more of his recruits in there and he has taken some chances at some top talent. He just hasn't been able to land them yet. I think he is starting to turn a corner in the recruiting game and I think he will finally have his "type" of team next year.
Overall we do not have the success of Nova in basketball. They are a good program from a storied conference. They have a great coach who can recruit and get his style of players. If Fran walked into a program like that, I am sure he would of had the same amount of success. But he took over a dumpster fire that he has put out and now is trying re-build it back up. Mind you our seniors came to Iowa, when Iowa was the laughing stock of the Big Ten.
