Hlas column: It's high time that it's go-time at Carver-Hawkeye

IOWA CITY - The air has been sucked out of the basketball at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for too long.

More specifically, the men's basketball program has been joyless and unentertaining, which isn't exactly as alluring a basketball duo as LeBron and D-Wade.

So Iowa came up with a marketing slogan for new coach Fran McCaffery's program. “Let's Be MAD Again.”

I'm no Don Draper. I've waited a long time for a promotion from typist to junior advertising executive, and I'll wait a lot longer. But I suspect one key rule in the ad game is you never should have to explain your slogans.

My own choice for a catch-phrase would have been “Let's Have FUN Again.” My theory: People like to have fun.

But none of this seems to really matter. Season-ticket sales for the Hawkeyes have inched upward since the switchover from Todd Lickliter's style of yesteryear to McCaffery's promise of an uptempo system. There's nothing that sells better in sports than hope, and the Iowa program got an injection of it several months ago.

Now comes the reality. The first day of practice is today. The first game that counts is in less than a month. People were pretty pleased with what Lickliter said and how he came across in the several months between his hiring and Game No. 1, too. But that was where things peaked.

How about now? Will this team be more competitive against big-time opponents and will it play a more-entertaining style of ball? Or will halftime presentations to Hawkeye football players remain the most-popular parts of Iowa basketball games? We'll know soon enough.

What is clear is that the returning Hawkeye players are acting almost as relieved as rescued Chilean coal miners. Basketball players who dig the half-court game and nothing but the half-court game are rarer than an Iowa win at Michigan State.

“I think our bodies and minds have been focused on a slow-it-down-and-grind-it-out motto,” junior guard Matt Gatens said.

Yes, he's a guard. A shooting guard. Not a small forward, not an occasional point guard. Gatens can now focus on his best position.

“To change your body and your mind regarding what the goal is with the ball, it's going to be really exciting for us,” Gatens said. “We've talked a lot about speeding it up, and making sure we're still able to work the ball through the offense and get a good shot. We're excited about it.”

McCaffery said the Hawkeye who could gain the most from going from slow-motion to actual motion (my terminology, not his) is sophomore forward Eric May, who certainly had his moments of sparkle through the dull last season.

“He's got blinding speed,” McCaffery said. “He's one dribble (and a) dunk from one step beyond the 3-point line. He's that explosive. And I think what you need to do is get him the space that he needs, and you're better able to come by that in transition than you are in half-court.

“When I watched film from last year, I think the one guy that was most hampered by the slower style was Eric May. You could see that he wanted to go sometimes and they were pulling it back. That's how Todd Lickliter felt like they had to play, and I respect that.”

May isn't hiding his delight. “The players couldn't be more excited,” he said. “From the coaching staff on down to the managers, everybody's excited about all this.”

This is the honeymoon period for McCaffery and Iowa. Lickliter got one. Steve Alford got one. They last as long as, well, as long as things appear to be moving forward instead of sideways or worse.

All that reasonable people can expect this season is for the Hawkeyes to be more interesting and pointed toward better results in future winters.

Dick Vitale's preseason rankings for ESPN has Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State 2-3-4 in his preseason rankings. (Naturally, Dookie V. has Duke No. 1). If Iowa can just compete with those teams this season, ticket sales will be sustained and optimism will grow.

“I think when you look at those teams, OK, why are they where they are?” McCaffery said. “Well, they've got some premier players, but they've also got a little more experience than we do right now.”

Iowa's players need a different kind of experience than what they've had in recent years. So do their fans, who are ready to come out of seclusion.