Iowa Hawkeyes
From Hoopedia
The University of Iowa, also commonly called Iowa or U of I, is a major national research university located on a 1,900-acre campus in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on the banks of the Iowa River in East Central Iowa.
The Iowa Hawkeyes is the team name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the University of Iowa. Iowa offers 24 sports, 11 for men and 13 for women. The school's colors are black and gold, and the school is a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represents the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, as a member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. They currently play in 15,500-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with the school's women's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams. The team is currently coached by Todd Lickliter.
Throughout history, the Hawkeyes have enjoyed the successes of eight Big Ten regular-season conference championships, the last coming in 1979. More recently, Iowa has won the Big Ten tournament twice, in 2001 and 2006. Iowa has also played in the Final Four on three occasions, playing in the championship game against San Francisco in 1956 while reaching the semifinals in 1955 and 1980.
The team was widely successful in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s under head coaches Lute Olson and Tom Davis. Under Olson, the Hawkeyes won their last Big Ten regular season championship and went to their last Final Four to date. Under Davis, the Hawkeyes won a team-record 30 games during the 1986-87 season. The closest any other Iowa team has come to eclipsing that mark came in the 2005-06 season, when Steve Alford led the Hawkeyes to a 25-9 record.
Prior to playing in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which opened in 1983, the Hawkeyes played in the Iowa Fieldhouse, which is still used today by the school's swimming and gymnastics teams. Recently, the Hawkeyes accumulated a school-record 21 consecutive wins at home before losing to in-state rival Northern Iowa.
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History
Early Years
Iowa contributed significantly in the early development of basketball. The first college basketball game with five players to a side was played before 400 spectators at the Iowa Armory, when the Iowa Hawkeyes hosted the University of Chicago on January 18, 1896. Chicago squeaked by with a 13-12 win. Iowa physical education professor Henry F. Callenberg refereed the game and is credited with downsizing the game from seven or nine to a side. Amos Alonzo Stagg coached the Chicago team.
The roots of Iowa basketball lie in 1902, when Ed Rule coached the Hawkeyes to a 10-2 record in their very first season of basketball. Rule coached the Hawkeyes in four non-consecutive seasons from 1902-08, leading Iowa to a 37-15 record under his watch. Even today, Rule's winning percentage stands as the best among head coaches in Iowa basketball history.
Following Rule's tenure, Iowa was coached by names such as John Griffith, Walter Stewart, Floyd Thomas, Maury Kent, Edwin Bannick, and James Ashmore. Yet in that stretch of time, the best Iowa had finished in the Big Ten was 5th on three separate occasions. But all that changed when Sam Barry was hired as the Iowa's tenth head coach. In Barry's first season, 1923, Iowa went 13-2 overall and won a Big Ten championship for the first time in school history. And the winning did not stop there: Before Barry's departure in 1929, the Hawkeyes also tied for the Big Ten championship in 1926, along with Indiana, Michigan, and Purdue.
Depression Years
Following Barry in the line of Hawkeye coaches was Rollie Williams, who would coach Iowa on two occasions, from 1930-42 and in 1951. Perhaps the most interesting event during Williams' tenure, however, occurred in 1929, when Iowa was suspended from participation in the Big Ten for violating conference rules. After a Big Ten investigation uncovered an illegal slush fund and possible recruiting violations, Iowa relented to the Big Ten's demands and was eventually reinstated into the conference on February 1, 1930. 14 players, including four on the basketball squad, were declared ineligible as a result of the Big Ten's findings.
The Fabulous Five
Just as the United States emerged from the Great Depression, so did Iowa's basketball fortunes. Following a rocky 7-10 season in 1943, Pops Harrison led the Hawkeyes to their third overall Big Ten title (and first unshared title) in 1945. In the following decade, from 1946-56, the Hawkeyes had but one non-winning season in 1949, Harrison's last full season as head coach.
Following short tenures by both Bucky O'Conner in 1950 and Rollie Williams in 1951, O'Conner once again became Iowa's coach and would hold that position until his death on April 22, 1958. Under O'Conner, Iowa would see unparalleled success in what some consider the most successful era in Iowa history.
In 1953, Iowa finished second in the Big Ten behind the efforts of a starting lineup fully-composed of sophomores. As juniors, the "Fabulous Five" won the Big Ten outright and eventually finished fourth in the nation. In 1956, as seniors, they again won the Big Ten outright and finished second in the nation only to Bill Russell and the undefeated San Francisco Dons.
Despite losing in the championship game, for the first and only time in school history, the Hawkeyes recorded consecutive Big Ten championships. Sharm Scheuerman, Bill Seaberg, Carl Cain, Bill Schoof, and Bill Logan, all members of the "Fabulous Five", had their jerseys retired in 1980.
Ralph Miller era
Lute Olson era
George Raveling era
Tom Davis era
Recent years
Awards
The following list is incomplete. The complete list can be found at the Hawkeyes' website.
Big Ten MVP
Most Valuable Players
Year Name
1946 Herb Wilkinson
1947 Murray Wier
1948 Murray Wier
1949 Charlie Mason
1950 Frank Calsbeek
1951 Frank Calsbeek
1952 Charles Darling
1953 Herb Thompson
1954 Carl Cain
1955 Bill Seaberg
1956 Carl Cain
1957 Dave Gunther
1958 Dave Gunther
1959 Dave Gunther
1960 Don Nelson
1961 Don Nelson
1962 Don Nelson
1963 Jerry Messick
1964 Jimmy Rodgers
1965 Jimmy Rodgers
1966 Dennis Pauling
1967 Gerry Jones
1968 Sam Williams
1969 John Johnson
1970 John Johnson
1971 Fred Brown
1972 Kevin Kunnert, Rick Williams
1973 Kevin Kunnert
1974 Candy LaPrince
1975 Dan Frost
1976 Scott Thompson
1977 Bruce King
1978 Ronnie Lester
1979 Ronnie Lester
1980 Ronnie Lester
1981 Vince Brookins
1982 Kevin Boyle
1983 Bob Hansen
1984 Steve Carfino
1985 Greg Stokes, Michael Payne
1986 Andre Banks
1987 Kevin Gamble, Roy Marble
1988 B.J. Armstrong, Bill Jones, Roy Marble
1989 B.J. Armstrong, Ed Horton, Roy Marble
1990 Les Jepsen
1991 Acie Earl, James Moses
1992 Acie Earl
1993 Acie Earl
1994 James Winters
1995 Jess Settles, Andre Woolridge
1996 Jess Settles, Andre Woolridge, Russ Millard
1997 Andre Woolridge
1998 Ryan Bowen
1999 Jess Settles, Kent McCausland, Dean Oliver
2000 Dean Oliver, Jake Jaacks
2001 Dean Oliver, Reggie Evans
2002 Reggie Evans, Luke Recker
Big Ten Tournament MVP
Big Ten Freshman of the Year
Big Ten 6th Man of the Year
- Doug Thomas - 2006
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
- Acie Earl - 1992
- Erek Hansen - 2006
Season results
Coaches
Players
| Iowa's retired basketball jerseys | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Year |
| 10 | B.J. Armstrong | 1992 |
| 12 | Ronnie Lester | 1980 |
| 21 | Carl Cain | 1980 |
| 22 | Bill Seaberg | 1980 |
| 31 | Bill Logan | 1980 |
| 33 | Bill Schoof | 1980 |
| 40 | Chris Street | 1993 |
| 41 | Greg Stokes | 1985 |
| 46 | Sharm Scheuerman | 1980 |
