Oct. 16, 2006
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IOWA CITY — Expectations for Iowa men’s basketball are individually high, collectively low.
Let me explain.
The Hawkeyes, who opened practice last week, have seven new players on their roster. One of them is Tyler Smith, who two years ago was one of the most heralded high school players in country.
His hometown is Pulaski, Tenn., and he decided to play college ball at the University of Tennessee. But when the Volunteers changed coaches, he opted out and attended Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia. From there he signed a national letter of intent with the University of Iowa, where he is now a freshman.
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Smith, a 6-7, 210 pound forward, has the highest national profile of any recruit ever landed by Coach Steve Alford, now in his eighth year at Iowa. He is expected to become a dominant player for the Hawkeyes.
Will he be that good? Time will tell, but at the moment Smith’s coaches and teammates are not downplaying his ability. Alford says Smith has the potential to be better than Luke Recker, who starred for the Hawkeyes a few years ago. Alford says Smith is taller and more athletic than Recker. “Sometimes,” says Iowa’s head coach, Smith is “downright scary.” |
Smith, a 6-7, 210 pound forward, has the highest national profile of any recruit ever landed by Coach Steve Alford, now in his eighth year at Iowa. He is expected to become a dominant player for the Hawkeyes.
Will he be that good? Time will tell, but at the moment Smith’s coaches and teammates are not downplaying his ability.
Alford says Smith has the potential to be better than Luke Recker, who starred for the Hawkeyes a few years ago. Alford says Smith is taller and more athletic than Recker.
“Sometimes,” says Iowa’s head coach, Smith is “downright scary.”
Smith’s abilities have not gone unnoticed by his teammates. One is Cyrus Tate, a rugged 6-8, 240 pound junior college transfer who has plenty of skills himself.
“Tyler can do some amazing things,” says Tate. “He can jump, he can get to the rim, and he can finish. I’m not going to lie to you, he’s pretty good.”
So good that Alford believes Smith can become an offensive force in his freshman year. “I think there will be times when he’ll have to,” says the coach. “Especially early in the season,” when the Hawkeyes are shaking down their lineup.
High expectations for Smith, however, do not carry over to the Iowa team. You can look hard, but you won’t find a pre-season publication that expects the Hawkeyes to finish in the Big Ten’s upper echelon.
That’s no doubt because the team will be without four-year starters Jeff Horner and Greg Brunner, who established school records in assists and rebounds. Also gone are Erek Hansen, the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year, and Doug Thomas, the league’s sixth man of the year.
Those four played critical roles in a 25-9 record, a second place Big Ten finish, and a conference tournament championship last season. They accounted for 56 percent of Iowa’s scoring and 57 percent of its rebounding.
They were also instrumental in a defense that held opponents to 38 percent shooting, and a rugged defense was a huge factor in Iowa’s success.
Even with his heavy personnel losses, Alford isn’t ready to simply declare this a rebuilding year. He thinks his club has a chance to crack the Big Ten’s first division.
“We’ve got a lot of new players and a lot of moving parts we’ll be piecing together in the coming weeks,” he says. “I like our potential, attitude and athleticism.”
Two returning starters Alford will rely on heavily are guards Adam Haluska and Mike Henderson, the only seniors on his roster. Haluska earned all-Big Ten honors while averaging almost 14 points a game. Henderson is perhaps Iowa’s best defender on the perimeter.
Tony Freeman, a sophomore guard, is the only other returning player with significant playing time.
The Hawkeyes will be experienced and solid in the back court, but have many uncertainties about their inside game. Junior centers Seth Gorney, 7-0, and Kurt Looby, 6-10, will have to step up. Top newcomers besides Smith and Tate are 6-9, 240-pound David Palmer and 6-6 Justin Johnson.
Alford recognizes that the loss of so many key players creates low expectations, but says, “Expectations in our locker room are high, I can tell you that.”
The first time he’ll put his new team on public display will be Oct. 28 at the annual Black and Gold Blowout. An exhibition with Buena Vista is slated for Nov. 10.
The long season begins for real on Nov. 13 when the new-look Hawkeyes will try to make The Citadel their 19th straight victim at Carver Hawkeye Arena.
Editor’s Note — George Wine was sports information director for men’s athletics at the UI for 25 years. He writes a weekly column for hawkeyesports.com.