Iowa Basketball: The Turning Point

This season of Iowa basketball has been the most interesting one in years. In the beginning, there was the loss to Campbell. In the end, there was the sweep of Wisconsin. In between, a lot of ups and downs. But this season correlates nicely with the 2001 Iowa football season. A season that, by the numbers, was average, but which marked a change in the program that would ultimately lead to greatness.  A turning point. Now, I don’t mean greatness as in a national championship caliber team (although there have been one or two football teams on that level), I mean program relevance, a perennial conference contender, and a team you don’t want to see in the NCAA Tournament. Most Iowa fans would agree, that is the goal right now. And we are on our way.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think the 2012-13 basketball team will perform like the 2002 football team. That would be asking far too much. But I do think that 10 years from now, we will be able to look back and see clearly that this season is where it all changed. Where the program began is resurrection.

In 2001, I was a freshman at the University of Iowa. I distinctly remember being in the stands during the 32-26 loss to 8^th ranked Michigan. The reason it stands out in my mind is that I was absolutely pissed when the game was over. It was one we should have had. The Wolverines were who we thought they were, and we let them off the hook. Going into the game, there was no reason to think that Iowa would have a chance. But a 10-7 halftime lead (Michigan scored on a blocked punt), and a 20-7 lead in the 3^rd had made it clear that the game was ours to lose. Which we promptly did. The point is, there were many games during this basketball season that felt this way. Games that we’ve lost, and have expected to lose, for years now; but this year it felt different. We could beat these teams. Not every night, and not all of them, but we could play with almost anyone and it felt like we could win almost any game. This is the feeling of a team on the brink of breaking through.

Another correlation is the young talent. This is less obvious in football, where freshman and sophomores often don’t see much playing time. But flashes of brilliance from the likes of Brad Banks and Dallas Clark hinted at a level of talent that shone through in the ‘02 season.  Looking at the roster of the 2001 football team, you see names like Banks, Clark, Russell, Gallery, Roth, Hodge, Greenway, Sanders, and Keading. Names that would help build the program that we see now. The young players on Iowa’s basketball team will be remembered in much the same way. Players that will have to step up to fill in the void left by seniors like Matt Gatens, the way the football players filled the void left by guys like Ladell Betts, Kahlil Hill, and Aaron Kampman.

2001 was Kirk Ferentz’ 2^nd season at Iowa. 2011-12 is Fran McCafferey’s 2^nd season at Iowa. Just saying.

I don’t think Iowa will finish in the top 10 next year, the way the ’02 football team did. I don’t think we’ll necessarily see a handful of guys off the team make a huge impact at the next level, the way those football players did. But I do think that in 2021, when some are calling for Fran’s head because he can’t get past the Sweet 16, we will be able to look back on this season and say that it was the turning point. It was when we realized we had the coach we needed, had a system that would work in this league, and could finally get our hopes up after far too many meaningless seasons. It might not be obvious today, but make no mistake, Iowa basketball is back.