If you caught the Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball game a few weeks ago from the Palestra, you know how closely coach Fran McCaffery’s identity is tied to Philadelphia’s storied basketball past.
He grew up on the north side, but learned the game playing on its inner-city courts and playgrounds. He later played home games at the Palestra for three seasons as a member of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers.
What you might not know is that fran McCaffery’s earliest exposure to the Hawkeyes also occurred in Philadelphia — 40 years ago during Iowa Hawkeye’s 1980 run to the NCAA Final Four.
Fran McCaffery was already familiar with Iowa college basketball. His hometown friend, Lewis Lloyd, had just completed a spectacular first season at Drake University, averaging 30 points and 15 rebounds per game. Lloyd played prep ball at Overbrook, the same Philly high school where Wilt Chamberlain starred. Nicknamed Black Magic, Lloyd and McCaffery were teammates on a summer travel team on which Fran’s nifty ballhandling, defense and floor leadership earned him a bookend moniker, White Magic. They never lost a game together.
When I asked McCaffery if he attended the 1980 East Regional Finals, he said, “Absolutely. We lost to Duke in the second round. My season was over, and I was home in Philly. There was no way I was going to miss out. The only problem was I didn’t have a ticket and the Spectrum was sold out.”
Powerhouses Syracuse, Maryland and Georgetown had brought a lot of fans. The East Coast teams had major star power, national rankings and a basketball pedigree. Each had legitimate designs on the Final Four while Iowa was the team that garnered a local headline, “Iowa Who?”
McCaffery’s brother Jack had a seat on press row for all three games. The brothers devised a plan to sneak in Fran through a service entrance while Jack engaged security guards — who may have turned a blind eye as Fran slipped past, twice.
The next challenge was to find a place to sit in the sold-out arena. As McCaffery put it, “The press row were not normal seats back then — it was makeshift, set up with folding chairs crammed together specifically to accommodate extra press for the NCAA Tournament. It wasn’t well organized, which made all of the difference.”
Members of Iowa's 1980 Final Four team are honored at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 2005. In front, from left, are Ronnie Lester, Jon Darsee and Kenny Arnold, and in back, from left, are Mike Heller, Steve Waite and Vince Brookins. (Photo: Register file photo)
Arriving early, the boys shifted the chairs and name tags just enough so that Fran McCaffery could squeeze in next to his brother. Thus, Iowa’s future coach gained a front-row seat to watch the Black and Gold play for the very first time.
“I’d heard of Ronnie Lester,” McCaffery said, “but I knew little about Iowa. Remember that ESPN only started in 1979. Maryland’s Albert King, Georgetown’s Sleepy Floyd, and Louis Orr from Syracuse got all of the press and deservedly so, each would become solid pros in the NBA. But it became obvious — even though he was injured, there was no doubt in my mind that Ronnie Lester was the best player in the tournament.”
McCaffery continued: “It was clear from the start that Iowa was well coached, disciplined and followed their game plan. Coach (Lute) Olson managed the games very well. His team, of course because of Ronnie Lester, took excellent care of the ball. But everyone held up to the pressure. I remember Vince Brookins, the twin towers, Kevin Boyle, Bobby Hansen and Kenny Arnold. They did their jobs and withstood a hostile crowd. Through all of the pressure and opposition inside the Spectrum, Iowa never folded. They never lost their composure. They weathered every run and every obstacle in their path. It was impressive to watch.”
Iowa beat Syracuse 88-77 in the round of 16. The regional final victory against Georgetown is stuff of Iowa legend winning 81-80 to cement Iowa’s third and most recent trip to the Final Four.
The Hawkeyes came into the Palestra this January generating modest respect and little fanfare — similar to how the Hawkeyes arrived in Philadelphia 40 years ago. The ’79-80 team demonstrated the ability to win, though battered — just like this year’s team. And like coach Olson in 1980, McCaffery is forced to play a razor-slim rotation, leaving him with small margin for error.
The imprint the 1980 Hawkeyes made on McCaffery 40 years ago was one of grit, resilience and selfless teamwork — characteristics today’s team seems to have in spades.
Jon Darsee, a regular Register contributor, was a member of the University of Iowa 1980 Final Four team and a three-year basketball letterman. He now serves as chief innovation officer at the UI.
The 19th-ranked University of Iowa men's basketball team gutted out an 85-80 victory over No. 24/25 Rutgers on Wednesday night on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Scarlet Knights erased a nine-point deficit with 4:13 remaining and briefly led 77-76 following a five point spurt from Ron Harper, Jr. with 2:25 remaining. After Joe Toussaint missed two free throws, Iowa secured the offensive rebound and redshirt freshman CJ Fredrick drove in for a layup to give the Hawkeyes the 78-77 lead.
Rutgers' Akwasi Yeboah misfired on a 3-pointer on the ensuing Rutgers possession before Wieskamp drained a dagger, connecting on 3-ball from the top of the key to put Iowa up 81-77 with 1:29 to play.
"We have to take care of the ball down the stretch, their pressure hurt us, but we responded well," said Wieskamp. "They went on a run, but we responded right back. We fought the whole game. They're an aggressive team and we knew that was the type of game it was going to be."
Two Harper free throws closed the gap to 81-79 with 1:05 left and Rutgers had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead with 30 seconds to play. Jacob Young got to the basket, but his layup bounced around the rim and Iowa secured the board. Redshirt sophomore Connor McCaffery put the game away, making four free throws in the final 16 seconds to send Iowa to its 14th victory of the season.
"In those moments down the stretch, we have to come together, and that's what we were able to do," said junior Luka Garza.
The win is Iowa's fourth straight, tying a season-long streak, and it is the third consecutive home victory over a ranked opponent. Iowa is 9-1 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season.
Garza posted his 11th double-double, finishing with 28 points and 13 rebounds. He was 11-of-17 from the field and he made 2-of-4 3-point field goals.
Wieskamp scored 18 points, Toussaint had 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, and senior Ryan Kriener added 11.
The Hawkeyes shot 52.7 percent from the field and made nine 3-pointers in the game. Iowa won the rebounding battle, 38-30, but Rutgers took advantage of 15 Iowa turnovers, turning them into 26 points.
Harper led all scorers in the game with 29 points, making 10-of-14 field goals, and grabbing nine rebounds.
Quoting Head Coach Fran McCaffery
"We certainly, after the two turnovers, had an opportunity to hang our heads, and we did not do that. We kept fighting. We executed on offense, to perfection, and then got the key stops. It's one thing to come down and score and get a stop, score, get a stop, make your free throws, and that was really impressive."
About That D
Rutgers entered the game allowing a Big Ten-best 58.7 points per game. The Scarlet Knights hadn't surrendered more than 65 points in nine games.
Iowa scored 85 points -- the most Rutgers has surrendered this season and the Hawkeyes shot 52.7 percent, becoming the first Rutgers opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor in 19 contests.
"It's understanding that you have to be able to play through that physicality without losing your composure," said McCaffery. "That's what we did in order to get 85 points against this team -- a very good defensive team, as impressive a team defensively as I've seen on film."
Of Note...
- Iowa has won eight of 10 games, including four straight.
- Garza posted team bests in scoring (28) and rebounds (13). Garza totaled 20+ points/10 + rebounds for the eighth game, which ties for the most in the country.
- Joe Wieskamp drained his 100th 3-pointer of his career with 1:29 remaining in the second half to increase Iowa's lead from one to four points.
- This was the only regular season meeting between Iowa and Rutgers.
- Ryan Kriener reached double figures for the third straight game (11).
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