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Hlas column: Jarryd Cole's home-finale a souvenir for himself, and fans

Mar. 5, 2011 6:31 pm
IOWA CITY - It finished with the same unsightly 4-14 Big Ten record is the same as last year's, but this Iowa men's basketball team knew how to make an exit.
Beating the nation's No. 6 team in your home-finale, that's how you generate good feelings for all the months between now and the start of the 2011-12 season. That's how you have a little something to hang your hat on during the spring I-Club circuit, how you put a little substance into your advertising slogan for next fall.
Anyone who was in Carver-Hawkeye Arena Saturday afternoon and had Hawkeye allegiances will say those two hours were entertaining and emotional. That's all what people want, to feel something about a team. Well, that and winning.
Maybe this 67-65 victory over an excellent Purdue team will one day be regarded as a turning point. The turning point. Like when Iowa had been 1-12 in Big Ten football under Kirk Ferentz and gutted out a 26-23 double-overtime win at Penn State in 2000.
After Saturday's game, Iowa sports information director told first-year Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery the volume of noise generated by the crowd of 12,132 was the kind that used to be heard in Carver all the time. You know, back when the team was good.
“They were quicker to the ball today than us,” said Matt Painter, coach of the 25-6 Boilermakers.
This was more than effort, though. This was stowing fears, shelving this season's memories of good home battles against Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan that ended in tough defeats. This was executing in a game's final minutes and minute.
Iowa led the entire second half until Purdue popped in two straight 3-pointers for a 56-55 edge with 4:42 left. The Hawkeyes retook the lead when Jarryd Cole, without hesitation, sank a jumper with 4:15 left.
It was white-knuckle time from then until the end, but for a change, Iowa didn't surrender the lead. Cole hit another big jumper a couple minutes later. Bryce Cartwright finally got a good bounce on a key shot late in a game. The Hawkeyes made no critical errors in spots where we've come to expect them.
And it couldn't happen to a nicer guy than Cole, the lone senior in McCaffery's playing rotation. It was one of those good things-good people deals.
It began before the game when four Iowa male students bared their chests to reveal black body paint and gold letters spelling “C-O-L-E.” Cole's family liked that.
“I gave one a hug and I got discolored,” laughed sister Jasmin Cole of Kansas City.
But the students chanting Cole's full name at different intervals before and during the game, that meant something to the player and his relatives.
“That was awesome,” said father Neil Cole. “Just fantastic.”
“I teared up,” Jasmin said.
“I had no idea they were going to do that,” said Jarryd. “That definitely sent chills. I really appreciate that.”
You don't get that kind of connection from fans unless you've earned it over time. Cole has been on this team through 19 wins and 53 losses. He has never gotten a whiff of a postseason tournament, and won't this year barring a miraculous run in Indianapolis at this week's Big Ten tourney.
Yet, something about inspired the appreciation of Iowa fans young and old. He always played hard, he bounced back after a serious knee injury his freshman year, and he didn't bolt the program when the coach who recruited him to Iowa left for New Mexico before Cole ever attended a class here. Turmoil, losing, another coaching change. Cole stayed.
“I'm not much for giving up,” he said. Which he proved by scoring 12 of his team-high 16 points in the first 13 minutes Saturday and setting a standard his teammates fed off.
“He was phenomenal, and it was right from the beginning,” McCaffery said. “He established how we were going to play effort-wise,.”
The 6-foot-7 Cole battled 6-10 All-America candidate JuJuan Johnson, and “battled” is the operative word. Johnson got his usual 22 points, but had to take 23 shots to get them. Johnson played hard, showed no dog whatsoever. Cole and his teammates just played just a smidgen harder, and better.
When the game ended, fans poured on the court for a rarely seen moment in Iowa men's hoops the last few years. Iowa doesn't need any catchphrases or gimmicks to sell tickets later this year. Just use that snapshot of players and fans celebrating something real.
“That's what it's all about, said Iowa junior guard Matt Gatens. “Jumping all around with guys you don't even know. But we are all family.”
Was it your best day here, Jarryd Cole?
“I would go as far as to say that,” he replied.
They like Jarryd Cole, and want to like recruit Cezar Guerrero, who was at the game (Mike Hlas photo)
Jarryd Cole was a popular reporters' subject after Saturday's game (Mike Hlas photo)