Will Steve leave? Ear hears nothing, but the eye won't lie
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- No. 20 Iowa was in town Saturday to play No. 8 Illinois. Large game. Big Ten title implications. More than 16,000 fans were inside Assembly Hall. Lots more were watching on television. Maybe, when those people looked toward the visiting bench, they saw Iowa coach Steve Alford. Or maybe they saw future Indiana coach Steve Alford.
|
|
| Despite the speculation about their coach's future, Greg Brunner and the Hawkeyes still have the talent to reach the Sweet 16. (AP) |
I saw Roy Williams fuming after the 2003 NCAA title game, stuck in the purgatory between Kansas and North Carolina. I saw Roy Williams saying, "I could give a (bowel movement) about North Carolina right now." The key words being right now. Seven days later, Williams was the new UNC coach.
Alford stands over the same sinkhole. He's the coach of Iowa, but not necessarily for long. Indiana will replace Mike Davis, and Alford would be the most sensible hire. He's an alumnus, a state legend in high school and college, a winning coach at three schools.
Since Davis announced his resignation Feb. 15, Alford has been the assumed successor. It's a good seat to have, assuming the cushions aren't stuffed with cleavers. So far, though, Iowa's momentum has been cut cleanly. The Hawkeyes have lost both games since, an inexplicable 74-61 loss at Minnesota followed by this 71-59 dud at Illinois.
Perhaps the double-vision extends to the Iowa locker room. The Hawkeyes are human. Maybe they see more than the Iowa coach. Maybe they, too, see the Indiana coach.
Me? I see the Ohio State coach. I see Thad Matta two summers ago, after OSU fired Jim O'Brien. Matta, at Xavier, told the Cincinnati Enquireron June 30, 2004, "I'm not a candidate" for the Ohio State job. Eight days later, he was the Ohio State coach.
Now this is Alford's line to walk. Hopefully he will walk it more adroitly than Matta, who tripped and felt badly for it. When he first met the OSU media, Matta apologized for having been so misleading. In his defense, it's possible that on June 30, 2004, he didn't consider himself a candidate at Ohio State. It's a certainty that June 30 was days before the startup of the summer recruiting scene. Until he knew for sure he was going to Ohio State, Matta couldn't let Xavier recruiting targets link him to any school but Xavier.
Right now, everyone is linking Alford to Indiana. Which is too bad. Despite the thorough loss to Illinois, continuing a road trend that doesn't bode well for the NCAA Tournament, Iowa is enjoying one of the best seasons in program history. Alford should be seen as the architect of Iowa basketball. Instead, he's seen as the future of Indiana basketball.
But not by me. I see the past of Nevada basketball. I see Nevada's Trent Johnson turning down Utah after the 2004 NCAA Tournament, signing a five-year extension and proclaiming himself above the annual job-hopping of his profession.
"The easiest thing to do in coaching is when you have an element of success, to take off (for) the highest paycheck," Johnson told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "That's never been the agenda for me. My agenda has always been what's best for the kids."
Two months later he did what was best for Trent Johnson, hopping to Stanford. Soon it could be Alford's turn to jump. He is from Indiana. His mentor is Bob Knight. He was even taunted Saturday by the crowd, which called him "Baby Bobby."
Illinois fans don't see the Iowa coach. They see the Indiana coach. Me? I see the Montana coach. Pat Kennedy, who would be Larry Brown if he could coach just a little bit, told a Montana newspaper on May 2, 2004, that "there's nothing going on" at Towson, despite rumors to the contrary. On May 10, 2004, he was Towson's new coach.
