Carver sees happy days again

IOWA CITY - Freshman forward Melsahn Basabe dribbled past and leapt over his fellow Iowa newcomers sitting near the free-throw line. The players laughed, then quickly rushed to check out the digital pictures taken by multiple media outlets.

Players bumped into one another on purpose, junior guard Matt Gatens' smile was heartfelt and sophomore forward Eric May showed genuine excitement when talking about new coach Fran McCaffery's up-tempo system.

Happy days are en vogue at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“Everybody's in a good mood,” May said. “Everybody's together on this. Everybody has the same amount of excitement for practice to start, for the season to get going.”

Everybody said the same thing last year, four months after a European trip formed a united core of Hawkeyes. The returnees and newcomers bonded over bowling parties and weightlifting sessions.

This year the rhetoric's the same. But the feeling is different, May said.

“This year when guys are saying they're excited and they're together, they're not just blowing smoke,” May said. “I can tell a big difference. Last year was my first year in college basketball, so I didn't have anything to compare it to. Compared to last year, this year is a complete turnaround in energy level and excitement among the players.”

McCaffery has changed the mood, in part, because he's new. He's different. He took a team (Siena) to the NCAA Tournament last year and didn't finish 10-22 unlike Iowa. He went to three straight NCAA Tournaments at Siena when Iowa finished 38-58 over the same three-year period.

It's a new era for Iowa basketball, but the past is hard to forget. Iowa twice scored 40 points in losses at Purdue and Wisconsin, the lowest offensive outputs for the Hawkeyes in 61 years. Iowa's 35-point defeat at Minnesota was the Hawkeyes' worst to the Gophers in 108 years.

“It was awful,” said junior guard and co-captain Matt Gatens. “It seemed like nobody was having fun playing the game. I know I didn't. It was devastating at the end of the season. I feel like it's past us.”

The players went through a conditioning boot camp during the summer to prepare for McCaffery's offensive changes. Gatens lost 20 pounds, while May lost around seven. Freshman Devyn Marble gained 17 pounds and junior post Andrew Brommer stayed at the same weight but reshaped his body.

They ran sprints every morning at 6 a.m., often without a basketball. They lifted weights using plyometrics to generate lean muscle rather than bulk. It was torturous, but they were together.

“You're not doing it alone, though,” May said. “You wouldn't be able to do this stuff if you were just by yourself. You need to be with guys that are doing this same type of stuff, who are experiencing it and can relate to it.

“We've really built, through those types of conditioning we've never done before, we've built a lot.”

McCaffery prefers to keep his focus narrow within the team concept. Expectations, he said, are more about media and fan projections. He expects his team to prepare to win every game and establish his style of play.

Right now the players are believing it.

“I don't think a coaching change can go more smoothly than what this has gone,” sophomore point guard Cully Payne said. “Coach has really gotten us to buy in ... there's not one person on this court right now that questions what Coach wants.

“I think it's about the way he goes about stuff. He's real articulate, he's real smart with how he goes about it. You can tell he knows the game. He knows the game better than anyone I've ever met.”

Happy days are here again.