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Happy with Hawkeyes Alford holds conference to put end to Indiana rumors
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Amid all the speculation and phone calls, Iowa athletic director Bob Bowlsby said he never had any doubt about Steve Alford's future as the Hawkeyes' basketball coach. Alford, a former Indiana star starting his second year at Iowa, held a news conference Tuesday to put the rumors to rest: he has not been contacted by the Hoosiers to replace Bob Knight, nor does he want to be. "It's September 12, this is the last time I'm going to talk about it," Alford said. "I'm not going to talk about something that's not going to happen." He said questions about whether he would replace Knight were getting in the way of his recruiting and his team's preparations for the upcoming season. "I want them talking about what our Hawkeye basketball team is doing on a nightly basis, and that can't happen if there's some uneasiness, uncertainty with what's going on with the head coaching position at Iowa," Alford said. Bowlsby said he knew Alford would not leave Iowa City. "That's the kind of person he is, and that's what first attracted us to him," Bowlsby said. "While others were wondering, I really wasn't." Alford, wearing a white sweater vest emblazoned with Iowa's tiger hawk logo, said he wants Indiana to know how he feels so that officials there can direct their search elsewhere. "I need to get that word out -- it's not just a commitment now, it's a commitment nine months from now," he said. Alford's relationship with Knight was strained in recent years. At their highly publicized meeting in Bloomington last season, Knight greeted Alford warmly before the game but went into a tirade when a reporter asked about his dealings with Alford. Indiana won that game 74-73. Iowa was 14-16 last year in Alford's first season, including a 6-10 mark in the Big Ten. Alford said he hopes to build the tradition at Iowa that Knight had at Indiana. The Hoosiers won three national championships under Knight, including 1987, with Alford leading the way. The New Castle, Ind., native was Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1983. Another winner of that state's coveted award in 1997, Luke Recker, played under Knight for two years, transferred to Arizona and has landed with Alford at Iowa, where he has two years of eligibility remaining. "He showed a commitment to the University of Iowa, to Mr. Bowlsby and to us that he wants to get it done here," Recker said. "If anything, that should help motivate us." Alford had to stop to compose himself as he talked about advice he received from family members, including his mother, who told him simply to pray. His wife, Tanya, was more direct. Alford said she told him to "pray as you will, but the kids and I aren't going anywhere."
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