Ironically the Good Doctor (Dr. Tom Davis) has more talent than you would think after recruiting maven Olson/Raveling was one and done and took a train for the Coast.  Of course arguably the most talented Hawk of them all is on the sidelines after taking a hit for the point shaving scandal which he had nothing to do with except being around the wrong guy.  New York legend Connie Hawkins was a dominant player on the Iowa freshman team (before they were eligible for varsity sports) and then the shit hit the fan.  He has been waiting for the courts to act and in the meantime has not played a game outside of Rucker.  His return for his senior year (yes they counted the two years he did not play) would highly benefit this team’s chances of getting back to their days of competing with the elite in this conference.  Nobody in Iowa City is holding their breath however and Davis will make due with a roster full of good but not great talent in the Hawks aim to win the Big 10 once again. 

The Hawkeyes have for years relied on junior college transfers to try and compete with the next level talent of this conference.  For instance, Senior John Johnson came to Iowa City from Northwest Community College in Powell Wyoming last year and immediately made his presence known.  Johnson actually led the team in scoring at almost 18 a game and was the perfect fit for the fast paced style.  A true small forward who can pull up from fifteen or finish the break JJ looks like a greyhound coming down the court.  Johnson can also post up and seems to have every shot in the bag around the hoop.  He is also a terrific passer and is the kind of glue player every team needs as there is absolutely nothing he cannot do on the basketball court.  And whatever role he has here or whatever teams he plays for Johnson will do whatever it takes to win.  Johnson did play out of position at times last year as Sam Williams, another JC kid from up the road in Burlington, played a bunch of three last year and had a terrific first season in Iowa City.  He is trying to transition to the two as Davis has made it clear he wants Johnson is his natural position as he is one of the best true small forwards in the country.  Yet, even another JC transfer this time from Coffeyville Kansas, battle for minutes in the backcourt last season.  Chris Perval is a 6’2 185 athletic kid who had some big games last year off the bench.  He can score and dish and has the athleticism to hang with bigger guys.  He has a good shot of getting some serious minutes if some of the new kids Davis has brought in does not pass him up on the totem pole.  Speaking of that, Davis has also brought in another sharpshooting JC from Burlington as Dr. Tom understands the value of the long ball and is recruiting with that in mind. 

Now for the four year guys who have achieved some success but also lived through some bitter cold months.  Foremost of these is All-American candidate Chuck Darling.  The 6’8 225 pound post from Denver via Helena Montana has been a dominant presence for the Hawkeyes since he arrived three years ago.  A solid scorer who loves the hook shot (and is adept from either hand) Darling is best banging on the interior.  He is the master of positioning and even though he is a bit smaller than some of the centers in this league he might be the dominant big man in this league.  Or at least he gets the most respect.  Darling is a beast on the boards and split time last year between center and a position he is better suited for, the power forward.  During this last summer he showed how good he can be as he dominated some of the best the game has in International competition including the great Bill Russell in the trials.  His 21 point 13 board game against Russell got him on the team and that pair then teamed up to dominate in the World games winning by an average of 30 points including 34 over the Russians in the finals.  Darling has a great future in this game if he decides to go to the next level (he loves Geology and is working for a future in that field) but for now has one more year to attempt to elevate the Hawkeyes to the elite once again of the Big 10! 

 Senior forward Don Nelson does not exactly look like a basketball player but he plays the game from the shoulders up.  And this blonde bomber has some large shoulders and an even bigger head.  A good shooter (he has great range for a big guy who does not take a bad shot) who works hard and hits clutch shots, Nelson is perfect as a guy who could come in hit some shots, play defense and grab rebounds for the Hawkeyes.  His intelligence and leadership and especially his competitiveness are huge components for any team but more important for a program trying to get up off the ground. Being able to guard both forward positions doesn’t hurt as Davis needed that kind of flexibility and Nelson is bendy.  ‘Nellie’ has a big behind and broad shoulders and eats up space down low.  He looks like your basic Farmer Ted from Iowa though ironically he is from the hated rival state of Illinois which obviously this college located on the Eastern part of Iowa has to recruit and they do!  Nelson plays the game with smarts and instincts that most do not have.  He loves the game and is a thinking man’s player using every advantage he can (he came up with the idea to switch Johnson to the point forward or at least takes credit for it) and knows every trick in the book.  His best skill may be his brain but do not count out his toughness as he will flat knock you down if you are not looking.   Fellow seniors Herb Wilkinson and Dave Gunther are also in the mix for playing time after solid careers.  Wilkinson transferred from Utah and goes 6’4 and can flat jump to the moon. He has limited handles and range but his athleticism will keep him in the game.  Gunther is 6’7 but only 190 from tiny Lemars Iowa and has been playing primarily the post.  He has done well but last year showed he might not be up to snuff physically with the brutes in this league.  Davis has a crew of much longer and bigger guys ready to take over here as he likes his big guys up front on his zone defense.  These guys will have a hard time hanging with a new coach but you never know and Nellie is not going anywhere even if Hawkins somehow was deemed eligible. 

The reason that Darling could transfer back and forth between the two post positions is the coming of age of the only seven footer on the roster.  Junior Kevin Kunnert goes 230 and is from Dubuque and is one of those corn fed kids they call a project.  He is working on a low post game but for now is a defender and board guy who does eat up space and is not afraid to mix it up.  David will give him every opportunity to start and play as size is king in this league (well every league) and you got to match up with the Bellamy’s and JBC’s of this league with somebody.  Senior Bill Logan will push for minutes but his days of being a starter are long over in Iowa City.  Logan is undersized for a post player and lost his starting job and a bunch of minutes to Kunnert last season.. Logan is the only fabulous five member still on the roster as fellow FFer Carl Cain has been ruled out for the year with a herniated disc after a trip to Europe in the summer.  The Hawkeyes will miss his athleticism though he was losing minutes due to his lack of size underneath and 6’3 190 he is not really a wing.  The other three (Bill Seaberg, Bill Schoof and Sharm Scheuerman are long gone as far as playing though all have stay connected to the program.  As a matter of fact Scheuerman has become an assistant coach and might be in charge of the JV team this season.  As far as Logan goes 6’7 and 220 and can hang down low as he is ultra-active in the paint so much so some say he looks like he has knives coming out of his arms.  He is just not big enough to guard the centers of the Big Ten no matter how hard he tries but he will have a role on this team as the Fab 5 will not be forgotten!   Noble Jorgenson was supposed to be rotating in with the rest of them this year but he got frustrated with his role and decided to go pro.  The 6’9 228 pounder from Pittsburgh will be missed as he plays like a Steel City guy and was arguably the toughest guy on the team in the paint.  Fellow senior George Peebles has a shot at getting minutes and is a terror on the boards.  The 6’7 190 pounder from Ecorse Michigan is more physical then he looks and gives Davis even more options than he probably needs down low.  The best option for serious minutes at the post is junior Bruce ‘Sky’ King.  King is a 6’8 225 pound stud who dominated the last two years of JV.  For some reason he has not been called up but this Dayton Ohio native can flat play.  As his name attests he can get up in the air and has a marvelous jump shot out to about 15 feet.  He is solid on the boards and though not a rim protector he will bang.  Davis has got to give this kid who has become the walking poster boy in Iowa City for 70’s fashion.     

 Seniors Sam Williams and Murray Wier are the incumbents at the wings but there will be much competition.  Wier is small but can really score and not too long ago was one of the top offensive players in the Midwest.  That was then when you could get away with playing 5’9 two guards (yes he is really 5’9 and a svelte 155 pounds).  The feisty ginger is known for making shots from just about anywhere on the court with flying dervishes that are overhanded, underhanded and a hook shot that he is not afraid to fire up from 30 up to feet with either hand.  The ‘rampaging redhead’ from Muscatine is arguably the biggest draw the old Iowa Fieldhouse ever had with fans filling up the 13,000 seat structure to get to watch their guy go.  And boy could he go.  But times have changed and the Fieldhouse has been replaced by the modern Carver-Hawkeye Arena (ironically named for Roy Carver who also came from Muscatine) with it’s 15,000+ capacity and shooting guards who are under 6’0 foot tall do not play no matter how dynamic they are.  But though everybody knows it’s coming when Davis does replace Wier there will be blowback as you do not haphazardly replaced the most popular player in your program’s history.  The player that has been backing up Wier for the last two years after he lost his job to Williams has another funky nickname.  Dick ‘the Diagonal Dagger’ Ives is also in the mix.  He has that nickname because he led Diagonal High to it’s first state title is also an undersized wing.  A little bigger at 6’1 but just even trimmer at 156 Ives can get to the hoop with great quickness but like Wier his time has come as last year he averaged a little over 10 minutes a game.  The duo of vets will be lucky to split ten minutes apiece by the end of this year as Davis has brought in a plethora of athletic wings and none of them are under 6’5. 

Williams, on the other hand, has a good chance at keeping his starting role as he was brilliant last year.  Williams is not huge at 6’3 180 but is athletic as heck and can get inside to score and is as good of a rebounding wing as there is in the conference.  He is a heck of a success story coming from Detroit (the Hawkeyes have to recruit all over the Midwest especially in Illinois ironically as there is just not enough High School talent in the Land of the Scarecrow) and working in a freezer as a meat packer before deciding to go to Burlington JC just up the road.  He was recruited here and may be the best offensive player on the team. Nobody snakes to the basket like Williams (he learned a bit from Ives and Wier who have to snake to get inside) and he can finish amongst the trees.  He is not a great long-range shooter and that could hurt but most importantly he has to get better defensively especially with Davis bringing in a full court press.  If he adjusts to that and just gets a little better on the perimeter shooting and dribbling he will be the starter at one wing for the entire year.  

Junior Ronnie Lester maybe the most important player if the Hawkeyes are going to turn it around.  Lester was not heavily recruited out of Chicago except for by Olson who saw something in him his junior year.  By the time the rest of the world got the word on Lester it was too late as he turned down a bunch of blue chippers to go with his man Lute.  Of course Lute left for Arizona soon after but the damage was done and the future of Iowa basketball would be forever be changed.  The dynamic 6’2 175 pounder might be the best true point guard in the Big Ten.  He is a great drive and dish guy and can hit open jump shots all day long which he is more than adept at getting his own shot.  His matchups with Earvin Johnson of Michigan State became must watch and he flat schooled freshman Isaiah Thomas of Indiana who also hails from the Windy City.   The Hawkeyes are a much better team with him on the court and Lester has a chance to be something special.  There is a good chance he leads the league in assists this year.  Sophomore B. J. Armstrong had a solid first year in Iowa City and though he will not push Lester gives the team solid depth at the point.  Armstrong adds the extra dimension of being able to hit big shots and has range to 24 feet.  He comes from Bloomfield Fields Michigan (Raveling went after Michigan with his recruiting) is a good team player and is solid on defense but his best asset is his jumper and his consistency.   He has a bright future as a solid piece of a good team but he is not the take charge leader and go to guy of Lester.   

 Raveling changed that last year as he brought in a group of freshmen that did not get many minutes on the varsity but proved on the JV they are ready for prime time. Or at least PT as in part time.  The strange thing is that it seems most of these kids were clones from each other with two specific sizes and skill sets.  First, we have the wings.  Not one but four sophomores are 6’5, 6’6 who will defend all day long.  The two Kevins, Boyle and Gamble, Roy Marble and Bob Hansen (no not the Butcher Baker) will compete for time but bring the kind of intensity on the defense Davis loves.  Not all of them can play and none of them are especially gifted offensively as of now so they will be part of a deep team for the Hawkeyes but they will contribute in Iowa City.  The most likely to get minutes of this group is Marble as he is the most advance offensively but then again the others are a bit better on the defensive so once again Davis has got some decisions to make.  The second group is a bunch of tall long-armed big men who are way more defensive than offensive.  Brad Lohaus, Michael Payne, Les Jepsen and Greg Stokes  are all 6’10 and above and will compete for the next three years for minutes.  Stokes is the only one to show any propensity offensively so he has the best shot for minutes but these guys will be connected for a long time as Davis tries to win with numbers, his press and attitude over talent in the tough Big Ten. 

 The Iowa Hawkeyes are ready for another up and down season for the fans in Iowa City.  A program that has been snake bitten and had to overcome too many tragedies will once again try and battle the monsters of the Big Ten for basketball supremacy.   New Coach Dr. Tom Davis will try and compete with a solid core of veterans but with no legitimate superstar as the best player on the roster is still waiting to become eligible.  The team is filled with great role players and tons of depth and experience must find a way to hang with teams with far more talent.  Davis has the right approach as he brings his press to Iowa City and Hawks Nest are going to love this fast paced style.  There are some changes coming as some popular stalwarts are almost assuredly going to get replaced by some of the new breed Davis (and his predecessor George Raveling) have recruited.  The speed of the game has got much faster and of course the players have got much bigger and these corn fed kids from Iowa are just not up to snuff.  And when they are some blue blood swoops in like a Crow in a cornfield and steals them away.  The campus here runs right along the Iowa River and the fanatics of this state love their sports especially in their long, cold winters but so far the success this program has had has not been sustained.  Can Davis turn the corner and will he find some studs in all the recruits he is bringing in?  The state famous for caucuses and corn wants to be known for basketball but that might just be a ‘dream’.  But man do they have a great Wrestling program so Carver-Hawkeye will be filled to the brim more often than not!