Those mid-2000s teams brought joy to Hawkeye faithful carrying on the tradition set before them from the dominating Lute Olsen and Tom Davis eras. There was that “it” factor about Iowa Basketball that gave fans something to look forward to.

As the Steve Alford era went along that excitement began to diminish. One year removed from a NCAA tournament bid as a 3-seed, Iowa found themselves as a team that failed to make a postseason tournament in 2007 and a coach that was on his way out. In hopes to quickly revitalize a program before disaster struck, Hawks brought in Butler University head coach Todd Lickliter. Fresh off his National Coach of the Year honor and building of a mid-major powerhouse, many thought Lickliter could do the same at Iowa. To put it lightly, he did not. To say his three years as Iowa’s head man was miserable would be an understatement. His combined 38-57 record left the Iowa program in shambles and an institution that in no way was appealing to recruits. A once energetic young Hawk fan, excitement for Iowa basketball was now nothing more than a distant memory.

A program that hit rock bottom, the reigns were now handed over to Siena Head Coach Fran McCaffery to try and spark life back into Iowa basketball for the 2010-2011 campaign. His first season was as expected a struggle with only eleven wins, but the next year as Fran was able to bring in his own recruits, the team looked promising. With additions of a 6’9 lengthy forward from Strongsville, Ohio that had a knack for the ball, an up and coming 6’11 freak athlete from England, and a sharp shooter from Cedar Rapids, things started to look up. In these players first year in the program the team managed a winning season and a trip to a postseason tournament for the first time in five years.

Fast forward three years later, and this squad never looked back. From an NIT berth, to an NIT title appearance, to an NCAA tournament appearance and then a win in the tournament in their final year, this senior class improved every year under Fran and has solidified life back into a program that so badly needed it. Amassing eighty-five wins, four postseason tournament appearances for the first time in nearly a decade, and many gritty performances later, Aaron White, Gabriel Olaseni, Josh Oglesby, and Kyle Denning helped build a program from the ground up and should be commemorated for their feat. On behalf of Hawkeye nation, I thank you seniors for giving us fans something to look forward to, something to talk about without rolling our eyes, and most definitely something to be proud about. Aaron, Gabe, Josh, and Kyle thank you for being Hawkeyes and bringing out that little kid excitement in us once again. Who knows, maybe I’ll find myself out in my driveway acting like I’m Aaron White hitting a game winner just like old times.

The post My Tribute to the Hawkeye Seniors appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Saturday was also the last time in Carver for a group of seniors that has won more home games than any class in the history of Iowa basketball.  I consider myself lucky to have been there for most of those games from the first time Aaron White, Gabe Olaseni, Josh Oglesby, and Kyle Denning laced them up in Carver against Chicago State four years ago, to Saturday’s beat down of Northwestern.

More importantly, this group of seniors has symbolized the reincarnation of Iowa basketball.

I was a huge Iowa football fan when I decided to come here.  That’s probably most of the reason I chose to come here for school.  Buying student football tickets was a no-brainer.  Buying student basketball tickets was more like, “I might as well because there’s nothing better to do.”

Iowa basketball was more or less a joke at the beginning of my freshman year.  Carver was a ghost town, they gave free tickets to students for games on ESPN, and Iowa lost to the Campbell Fighting Camels at home.

I decided to give it a chance though, and the first college basketball game I ever attended on any level was this year’s group of seniors’ first college game.

Iowa beat Chicago State 96-53, and some random freshman kid I had never heard of named Aaron White went two for three from downtown and perfect from the free throw line en route to a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double.  I knew very little about Iowa basketball players outside of Melsahn Basabe and Matt Gatens, so I chalked it up as a fluke.

Boy, was I wrong.

Since then, this class has been to the postseason all four years (assuming the selection committee doesn’t lose Iowa’s team sheet) after a five-year hiatus.  They have had a winning season each year after the soul-crushing Lickliter era, and most importantly, they have made Iowa fans care about basketball again.

If Iowa lost at the beginning of my freshman year, I was disappointed but shrugged it off as the norm for Iowa basketball.  By the end of that year, I was checking kenpom.com every day and looking up NIT bracketology.

Now, if Iowa loses a game, I’m an emotional wreck eating ice cream and watching soap operas in my pajamas (not a metaphor).

I am glad those NIT bracketology days are over, and I am excited to say that I get to watch Iowa play on the first weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time in my life over spring break (I was probably in seventh grade English the last time Iowa was playing in the first round, and Miss Williams was not one to distract our class with basketball on TV).

In conclusion, I just want to say thank you to Aaron White, Gabe Olaseni, Josh Oglesby, and Kyle Denning.  You all have turned me, a former wrestler, into a rabid college basketball fan, and you have given me something to look forward to and care about when I am not being let down by the Cubs or taken on an emotional roller coaster by Iowa football.

I am sure I am not alone in those regards.  I am sure I am not the only one who will get goosebumps when that CBS basketball jingle plays before each NCAA tournament game.

Notice I said “each” because I am not ready for this group of seniors to be done.  Let’s go on one last run.

Go Hawks.

The post Thank You, Seniors appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The Iowa Hawkeyes (21-10, 12-6) took care of business in front of a capacity crowd with a 69-52 final tally over visiting Northwestern to extend its Big Ten win streak to six.

The Wildcats (15-16, 6-12) were overwhelmed by a flurry of high-energy plays by the Hawkeyes. Aaron White finished with 25 points, including five alley-oop jams, and eight boards, in his final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena that went just as scripted.

White, alongside fellow seniors Gabriel Olaseni, Josh Oglesby and Kyle Denning hugged at center court after a Fran McCaffery timeout with just under 30 seconds remaining. They were then greeted individually by each underclassman, before embracing their energetic head coach, all before 15,400 fans on their feet in approval.

“It was emotional walking off for the last time, hugging coach – who has meant so much to me,” White said. “It got to me. It was special, amazing. It was truly amazing.”

White scored the first eight points for the Hawkeyes, and has been playing the best basketball of his career at the most ideal time, averaging 24 points, nine rebounds and shooting 55 percent from long range over the past four games. According to McCaffery, despite skyrocketing numbers, nothing has changed about his demeanor.

“Let me say this,” McCaffery stated after denying a shift in White’s mindset. “Maybe the worst game of his career was when we played Northwestern last time. I think that determination, ‘I’m not going to play like that again.’”

Iowa led from opening tip to final horn, starting the game on a 17-7 run. Beyond Northwestern cutting the deficit to just two momentarily deep into the first half, the pressure never seemed to be on. Iowa doubled a six-point halftime lead within three minutes following the break.

Jarrod Uthoff and Adam Woodbury were the other two double-digit scorers for Iowa, finishing with 16 and 13 respectively. Uthoff filled the stat sheet by adding eight rebounds to complement three steals and a pair of blocks, but Iowa’s offensive rebounding as a team stole the show.

The Hawkeyes outrebounded Northwestern 14-1 on the offensive glass, and forced 15 turnovers compared to just six, impressing Northwestern head coach Chris Collins.

“They’re playing as good as anybody in our conference right now, and that’s a credit to the leadership of their coaching staff and also their older players, and the way they’ve led that team,” Collins said, “You can tell they’ve turned it up a notch and they’re ready to make a run.”

The late stretch run by Iowa is the polar opposite of a year ago. The Hawkeyes carry a six game winning streak into the Big Ten Tournament, and still have an opportunity to earn the coveted double bye with a loss by either Purdue or Wisconsin.

Iowa lost seven of its final eight games in 2013-14, including an upset by Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament, and a play-in game exit in the NCAA Tournament. Following consecutive conference losses to Minnesota and Northwestern this season, the Hawks wanted to ensure that didn’t happen again.

“We don’t want what happened last year to happen again,” junior Mike Gesell said. “We really got together and talked to make sure it doesn’t.”

Seniors Oglesby and Olaseni struggled offensively, but it still made for a meaningful night.

“It was a nice touch.” Olaseni said in reference to getting his first career start on senior night. “Coach didn’t have to do that.”

Olaseni’s family, from Britain, were in attendance to see him play his final home game as a Hawkeye, but weren’t there to see his reaction when McCaffery initially gave him the news.

“When I told the guys in practice that I was going to do this,” McCaffery said. “The first thing Gave did was go give Woody a hug. That’s something special about our team.”

The Hawkeyes await the conclusion of the Big Ten regular season to decide their conference postseason fate, but can do no worse than a five seed. When the senior class first arrived, Iowa was far from such fortune. In the three seasons prior to this class playing its first game, the Hawkeyes had won a total of 13 conference games – just one more than this season alone.

“[Oglesby] wanted to be a part of the resurgence. Whitey just wanted a chance to play. He believed in himself. Josh believed in himself,” McCaffery said. “Doesn’t matter what happened before I got here. We’re going to change that. We’re going to have the confidence and belief in ourselves. Gabe is the same way. Now you have guys that say ‘together we can get this thing done.’ I think that’s the greatest feeling as a coach.”

The Hawkeyes, in their final curtain call, certainly have changed the feeling in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Game notes: Iowa honored all four seniors before the game with a framed jersey and standing ovations. Roy Marble Sr., Iowa’s leading scorer who is suffering from stage four cancer, was honored at halftime. His jersey was not retired. With a Purdue or Ohio State loss, Iowa will be the four seed and receive a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. The six game Big Ten win streak is the first for Iowa since the 1986-87 season. Fran McCaffery picked up his first technical foul of the season after a foul was called on Mike Gesell.

The post Hawkeyes Victorious in Emotional Season Finalé appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Head coach Fran McCaffery addressed the media Thursday for the annual Iowa Hoops Media Day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, receiving questions regarding the potential players who could start at shooting guard.

“I would say it’s an open spot,” McCaffery said. “I think you can look at it two ways. Obviously Josh and Pete would be the logical place to start.”

According to McCaffery, both players have established themselves nicely. Last season, Josh Oglesby was named the team’s Most Improved Player and shot 40 percent from 3-point range as a junior. Peter Jok, in his freshman season, saw time sporadically through the year, shooting 40 percent from the field and contributing 10 points in the NCAA tournament game against Tennessee.

The players all seem to view the situation the same way, saying that they don’t care who starts as long as the team performs to the fullest potential. In McCaffery’s system, players are being rotated in and out constantly, so starting does not necessarily translate into playing time.

“It doesn’t matter to us,” said Oglesby. “Pete and I are obviously going to be playing a lot. Whomever has the hot hand is going to be playing that night.”

However, the starting spot is not entirely up to the performances of Jok and Oglesby. With the edition of JUCO point guard Trey Dickerson, there is now conversation circulating around whether junior Mike Gesell will remain in the point guard role or get moved over to the number two spot.

McCaffery stated that at this time, Gesell is the starting point guard, but that could change before the season opener. He also noted that junior point guard Anthony Clemmons is flying under the radar and is in position for a good number of minutes.

“It really is an open opportunity for any one of those guys,” McCaffery concluded.

The players are content with the unknown. The most important facet for them is that they are ready to play and win games.

“Whoever he (McCaffery) chooses to start, we’ll just go with it,” Jok said. “It doesn’t really matter as long as we go out there and do our best.”

The post McCaffery Content With Unknown at 2 Guard appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Brigham Young vs. Baylor, 6 p.m. CT, ESPN2: Brigham Young had a solidly ho-hum year in their basketball league, the West Coast Conference.  The Cougars got swept by the conference’s best teams, Saint Mary’s College and Gonzaga.  They did, however, go 10-6 in league play and earned a 3-seed in the NIT likely because of what BYU did last year with Jimmer Fredette leading them to the Sweet 16.  He’s gone now, but it turned out to be a good thing letting BYU in the NIT.  They went into Hattiesburg, Mississippi–home of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles–and thoroughly beat one of the NIT’s #1 seeds, 79-62.  The Cougars are led by guard Tyler Haws, only a sophomore but one of the nation’s top scorers at 21.6 ppg.  He had 25 points in their demolition at Southern Miss.  Looks like they’ve found a glimmer of Jimmer.  Now the Cougars play Baylor in New York, a team that beat them earlier this season in Waco, Texas by double digits.

That Baylor team is led by guard Pierre Jackson, also one of the nation’s top scorers (19.7 ppg) and assists leaders (6.9 apg).  He’s only 5’10”, but can dunk over power forwards and shoot from anywhere on the floor.  He’s one of the quickest players in the country and last year was a major contributor to the Bears’ NCAA Tournament run to the Elite 8, where they lost to eventual national champion Kentucky.  This year, the Bears struggled in Big 12 conference play–at one point losing 8 of 11 games–before beating then-No.4 Kansas, 81-58.

Outside of the Kansas win, the Bears didn’t have enough quality non-conference victories (Baylor did win at Kentucky) or conference wins (beat conference bottom dwellers like Texas Tech, Texas, and TCU while losing to everyone else) to get an NCAA Tournament birth.  Still, this team is dangerous and will give Brigham Young all it can handle defensively.  The Bears rank in the top 45 nationally in points per game, assists per game, and rebounds per game.  In its first NIT game, Baylor scored 112 points against Long Beach State University.

Iowa vs. Maryland, 8 p.m. CT, ESPN2: If you’ve been following Iowa this year, you have witnessed a young team that got red-hot a little too late, but has shown that it can duel with anyone in the Big Ten.  Someone has to lose the duel, unfortunately, and Iowa did many times by a handful of points–especially early and midway through the conference schedule.  Indiana at home.  Michigan State at home.  Wisconsin on the road.  There are more, but you get the picture.  Iowa got left out the NCAA Tournament because it didn’t have enough quality wins, despite going .500 in one of the nation’s deepest conferences.

Iowa has already grabbed the reins of momentum for next year in winning three NIT games (Indiana State, Stony Brook, at Virginia, all by double digits).  The 3-seeded Hawkeyes now find themselves in New York taking on 2-seeded Maryland in the semifinal.  The man that led the gallup to New York City is the versatile point guard/off-guard Devyn Marble, who is averaging 25 points per game during the Hawks’ run through the NIT.  Sophomore forward Aaron White is the team’s most intimidating dunker and specializes in drawing fouls with his long body.  He is also the team-leader in rebounds at almost 6 per game.  Mike Gesell had been the point guard for most of the year, but has been nagged by a foot injury as of late.  Whether he will play some minutes at shooting guard (or possibly at point guard because of Marble’s versatility) against Maryland is yet to be seen.  Inside men Adam Woodbury and Abodunrin Gabriel Olaseni bring a heavy rebounding influence and can score in small doses.  Outside shooters Eric May, Zach McCabe, and Josh Oglesby are erratic at times, but were effective against Virginia in hitting three-pointers (8 of 17).  May is one of the team’s best defenders.  Iowa is tenth in the nation in rebounds per game (39).  Iowa led the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense and three-point defense.

Maryland is in a rebuilding stage that has mirrored Iowa’s resurgence under Fran McCaffery.  After Gary Williams retired after 22 years at Maryland following the 2010-11 season, former Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon was hired as Maryland head basketball coach.  Turgeon got to the NCAA Tournament every year of the four years he was with the Aggies.  Last season, Turgeon’s team went 17-15 and 6-10 in the ACC with no post-season birth.  This year, the Terrapins are 25-12 after going 8-10 in the ACC.  They will join the Big Ten next year along with Rutgers.

Maryland’s best wins this season came over Duke.  The team beat the Blue Devils at home and in the ACC Tournament.  Their NIT path also mirrors Iowa, having won two home games against overmatched opponents before traveling to a #1-seed in Alabama and winning, 58-57.

Iowa and Maryland are also very much alike in their statistics.  Maryland is top-100 nationally in points per game (71.2), third nationally in rebounds per game (40.8), and 44th in assists per game (14.9).  The Terps also make 46% of their shots.  Dez Wells is a Xavier transfer and the team’s top scorer at 13.2 points per game.  He shoots 53% from the field.  Sophomore center Alex Len (7’1”, 255 lbs.) is the team’s second leading scorer (11.8 ppg).  The Ukrainian is also the team’s top rebounder (7.8 rpg).  Four of Maryland’s top five players (in terms of minutes played and points per game) shoot better than 40% from the field.

The post NIT semifinal primer appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Then the improbable happened.

With Iowa up 48-46 and less than five minutes remaining, sophomore Josh Oglesby — marred in one of the worst shooting slumps in Big Ten history — hit a 3-pointer to extend the Hakweyes’ lead. And then another.

The Hawkeyes (19-11, 8-9 Big Ten) would hold off Illinois’ remaining effort after those two vital possessions by Oglesby, and defeated the Illini (21-10, 8-9), 63-55.

“The coaches told me to stay with my shot and keep shooting, so that’s what I did,” Oglesby said. “It feels good. Everyone on this team appreciates each other.”

Devyn Marble led Iowa in scoring with 21 points, further quieting the discussion about his struggles this season. He shot 5-for-12 from the field, including 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, and has recorded double-digit scoring games the last seven contests.

The junior scored seven of Iowa’s final nine points, a very pivotal run by the Southfield, Mich., native. He took control.

“Especially late, I feel more obligated to create for myself than others,” Marble said. “Josh took a lot of pressure off of me making those shots … it was important to withstand that run.”

The Iowa defense matched up well against the Illini’s bevy of shooters, including notable seniors Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson.

Sophomore Gabe Olaseni blocked six Illini shots, and the Hawkeyes recorded 12 total, which ties the school record for a single game. Illinois head coach John Groce was impressed by Olaseni’s effort, but wasn’t pleased with his team’s response.

“My dad taught me one time, ‘if you hit a wall and it hurts, don’t run into it again,” Groce said. “When you drive, you might want to pass … we tried to adjust, but I didn’t think we adapted at all.”

This is a crucial victory for the Hawkeyes, a team that — someway, somehow — is still in NCAA tournament conversation.

CBS Sports Network’s Doug Gottlieb said over the weekend he has coach Fran McCaffery’s squad in the tourney if they finish 9-9 in conference play and won a game in the Big Ten tournament. Additionally, BPredict wrote this week Iowa is among 19 teams on the bubble.

If Iowa wins on Saturday against Nebraska giving them 20 wins overall and nine in conference, paired with Tuesday night’s win and two-plus victories in the B1G tourney, you probably can’t rule out the Hawkeyes in the Big Dance.

But that’s a tough task.

A win against the Illini keeps the bubble hopes alive, though. Even if it’s just a sliver of hope.

The post Iowa hoops defeats Illinois, sliver of tourney hope remains appeared first on KRUI Radio.

A hair over three weeks ago in Bloomington, Indiana, the Hoosiers of IU dropped an NBA score on the defenseless Hawkeyes, 103-89.  Center Cody Zeller plunked seven dunks over the course of the night on his way to a career-high 26 points, many of those dunks looking uncontested as he, his teammates, and a loud IU audience overwhelmed Iowa.

Fast forward to last Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in front of more than thirteen thousand Iowa fans, and Hawk senior guard Matt Gatens captured Zeller’s power of seven: the Iowa City native hit 7-of-10 3-point field goals to hose the Hoosiers for 30 points and tally a personal best for points scored in a game.

Indiana head coach Tom Crean certainly took note of Gatens’ performance.  He held nothing back in praising the Hawkeye senior in post-game interviews.

“He’s not only one of the better shooters or guards in this league, he is one of the better ones in the country,” Crean said. “That is a four-year guy who has been doing it at a high level.”

Zeller and Victor Oladipo scored 15 points a piece to lead the Hoosiers.  The loss dropped Indiana to 8-7 in the Big Ten and 20-7 overall.  Iowa improved to a game over .500 (14-13) overall and 6-8 in league play.  Hawkeyes Melsahn Basabe and Josh Oglesby offered surprising contributions on the night, with Basabe coming off the bench to score 13 points and Oglesby–who is playing for injured point guard Bryce Cartwright–tossing in 11 on two 3-pointers and then some.

Second change points and offensive rebounds in the first half enabled the Hawkeyes to take an 11-point lead into halftime, 37-26.

Steals by players like Gatens (3 steals) and R.D. Marble (4 steals) and 5 blocked shots by Melsahn Basabe (including a few on Cody Zeller that kept the center from slamming away) contributed to a 52-33 lead midway through the second half before the Hoosiers cut the lead to 52-42 during a Hawkeye scoring drought that lasted nearly five minutes.

Then, Matt Gatens personally took the Hoosiers down with six straight 3-pointers to put the game out of reach.

The Hawkeyes shot almost 43% on the night.  McCaffery, who’s demeanor has ranged from quietly content to an furiously boiling kettle face, had this to say about his team,  “It’s an example of what we’re capable of,” McCaffery said. “I think we have to look at that and say ‘Alright, that’s how good we can be.’ ”

Iowa’s next game is Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. against #15 Wisconsin at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  UI students have free admission to the game with a student I.D. card.  The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.  Iowa will attempt to sweep the Badgers for the first time in a long time.

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