I spent the first 18 years of my life in the middle of Hawkeye Country, and still have a lot of friends and family there. When Steve "Snake in the grass" Alford left for New Mexico this week, and the first name rumored for the job was Dana Altman, my phone started ringing off the hook.
Was the tone of those calls one of "Man, I hope we can lure Altman away from Creighton!"? Not so much. More of a "I hope we don't settle for Altman." One old friend even told me he thought Altman was, quote, "Tom Davis Reincarnate. A quiet guy who's good for 20 wins a year, a first round NCAA Tourney win, and graduates unremarkable players. Iowa shouldn't have to settle for that."
As an Iowa native, this pains me to say. It really does. I'm struggling with it, as a matter of fact, and that's why it comes after the jump.
Altman is the best candidate for the job, but Iowa doesn't deserve Dana Altman. I told my dad this tonight on the phone, and he was none too pleased. For years, as he spurned offers from Tennessee, Miami, Georgia, Iowa State, Illinois, etc., the one job I've always worried about coming open was Iowa. He recruits the state already, his personality and values are a great fit, and he's a better coach than Tom Davis, George Raveling or Steve Alford.
However, the reason I say that Iowa doesn't deserve him is that there seems to be a prevailing theory that Iowa is a top caliber basketball program in hibernation, that the right coach can suddenly vault them "back" to winning Big Ten championships, Final Four berths, etc. They think they can lure someone like Bruce Pearl, Tom Crean, Lon Kruger, Mark Few, or Tony Bennett, and they think Dana Altman is a boring, blase choice that can't get them there. If they really think that, then they won't be happy with whatever the next coach accomplishes -- and Altman had that situation at K-State.
Its a bigger job in a bigger conference, without a doubt. But is it a better job? The answer to that is a question of priorities.
The only thing you can't reasonably do at Creighton is compete for a National Championship, so if that's your priority, then perhaps Iowa is your place. Whether you think Iowa can do that either is a matter of opinion. Personally, I think Iowa is a school where once every four years, you may have a team that can compete at a Sweet 16/Elite 8 level, and a break or two can get you to the Final Four. The other three years, you can win 20-plus games and finish in the top 5 in the conference. That's the ceiling. Iowa is not Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, or Kansas. They're not even Ohio State, Indiana, Wisconsin, or Michigan. No matter how much they want to believe that they can be, they're not.
Is that ceiling still higher than Creighton? Yeah. But the gap is narrowing all the time, and I don't think the ability to win big is where Iowa's real advantage is anymore. Creighton had a team that competed at a Sweet 16/Elite 8 level in 2002, and a bad matchup kept them from getting that far (just like Iowa last year against Northwestern State).
No, Iowa's advantage is that you're the coach of a school with hundreds of thousands of fans state-and-nationwide, that you have a statewide radio network, a weekly television show, more alumni and an ability to schedule better teams. You don't have to convince idiots like Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas and Billy Packer that you're a good team, because you play in (ooh! ooh!) The Big Ten. 20 wins pretty much guarantees you an at-large berth into the NCAA Tourney. That's their real advantage.
But that said, this year 24 of Creighton's 29 regular season games were on television. Six of those were on the ESPN family of networks. That stacks up pretty favorably with Iowa, or any of their Big Ten counterparts, for that matter. They don't need a statewide radio network because their games are broadcast on a 100,000 square-mile superstation that reaches six states. Altman's team plays to 15,000+ on a nightly basis, which is comparable to Iowa in their best years. He is paid almost $1 million a year, which frankly is more than Iowa paid Snake in the Grass.
Altman has recruited four Rivals Top 150 players to Creighton for next year, had 1 this past year, and placed former players Kyle Korver and Rodney Buford into the NBA, while numerous others are playing professionally overseas. That's better than Iowa has done over the same stretch.
Iowa has a storied history. They have 22 NCAA Tournament berths. They were in the Sweet 16 as recently as 1999, the Elite 8 as recently as 1987 and the Final Four in 1980. Before Snake In The Grass took the job, they had a 21-year streak of 18 winning seasons, 17 seasons of 20 wins, and 16 NCAA Tournament berths. That's a damn good run.
Creighton, too, has a storied history. They have 16 NCAA Tournament berths. They won the National Championship in 1918 (I know, I know -- it was before the modern era of the NCAA Tournament, but still). They've won 20 games 10 years in a row, have 7 NCAA berths in that span, and have had a winning season 12 years in a row. That's also a damn good run.
If Altman decides to make the jump, it will not be because Iowa pays him more. He already makes more than Iowa paid their previous coach. If Altman decides to make the jump, it will not be because Iowa has a huge advantage in recruiting or facilities. The Qwest Center is bigger and nicer than Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Creighton has a dedicated practice facility while Iowa does not, and Altman has placed more players into the NBA over the last decade than Iowa. No, if Altman decides to make the jump, it will be because he feels he needs a new challenge, is tired of fighting the good fight at a major-mid-major, and sees Iowa as a sleeping giant with the ability to win big.
Honestly, I am a little concerned that he may be thinking about that last point. I still think the odds of Altman bolting are around 40/60 -- not the slam dunk that moron Andy Katz claims ("If offered the Iowa job, Dana Altman is waiting to accept it"). Frankly, I won't be surprised by anything.
I think he'll listen to Iowa if they call. My gut tells me Iowa wants a bigger splash, particularly after Minnesota hired Tubby Smith, and has DA down their list a little further -- and a coach further up their list will take the job before they talk to Altman.
You bet.
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