Why Iowa? Seniors had faith and believed

IOWA CITY — The shape of recent Iowa basketball took many forms in Fran McCaffery's early coaching tenure, but one could argue the program molded into its present state at a gym in Lansing, Mich., nearly five years ago.

'I just remember the day that Adam Woodbury committed,' Iowa senior guard Anthony Clemmons said. '(McCaffery) was in my gym. He came up to me and said, 'We just got a big recruit, Adam Woodbury 7-foot.'

'(High school teammate) Denzel (Valentine) played at a camp with him and said, 'He's a great player.' I was like, 'Why not? Why not go to the highest level and play with the highest level of players?''

Clemmons picked Iowa 11 days after Woodbury, a top-50 recruit. Iowa point guard Mike Gesell, who also was ranked in the top 100, committed to the Hawkeyes the previous month. Together, those three provided Iowa with name recognition, direction and winning. Along with forward Jarrod Uthoff, who transferred to Iowa that year as well, Iowa's senior class ends their home careers Tuesday against Indiana. They're responsible for 87 wins, an NIT title berth, two NCAA tourney bids and a third likely in two weeks. They've experienced public highs and lows on the floor and off the court. But their significance — even in the face of a bitter late-season slide — cannot be understated.

Iowa finished 11-20 in 2010-11, McCaffery's first season. It was a slight improvement over a 10-22 debacle in 2010. The program was mired in a five-year postseason absence and four straight losing seasons.

While many fans easily recall the glory years of the 1980s and the consistent winning of the 1990s, high schoolers knew nothing about Iowa but turmoil and mediocrity. Iowa didn't renew the contract of Tom Davis — Iowa's all-time winningest coach — in 1999. Steve Alford's eight-year era was marked with inconsistency and polarization. Alford left for New Mexico in 2007 and was replaced by Todd Lickliter, who promptly drove the program into a 38-58 three-year canyon. McCaffery was Iowa's fourth coach in a 13-year period.

So McCaffery sold a vision for a program. He had a few holdover pieces like Iowa City native Matt Gatens, but he had to persuade top-notch players that Iowa was going to the NCAA tournament. That Iowa could compete for championships. That together they could change and elevate a culture. That they would buy in to the history and write their own pages.

McCaffery relentlessly sought Woodbury and Gesell. He spent the summers of 2010 and 2011 scouting Woodbury and Gesell of the All-Iowa Attack, an AAU squad. As Woodbury's value skyrocketed, McCaffery attended every one of their AAU games. Even as Ohio State's Thad Matta and North Carolina's Roy Williams drove for Woodbury, the Iowa coach's tenacity stood out.

'That kind of commitment, to be able travel around the country and follow us wherever we went, that really showed a lot about who he is as a recruiter and as a coach and a person,' Woodbury said. 'I just believed that he'd always be there for me.'

Woodbury and Gesell played alongside guard and Marion native Marcus Paige, who picked North Carolina. Gesell also had offers to major schools like Stanford, but there was something about Iowa and McCaffery that stood out.

'I looked at the coaching staff; we have so much experience as a coaching staff,' Gesell said. 'I wanted that experience to help me develop, and then I looked at the guys who were already here ahead of me, the guys we had coming in with me, and I knew we had a chance to do something special.'

Growing up a Michigan State fan, Clemmons knew little about Iowa, except that he and Valentine visited the campus when Lickliter was coach. When McCaffery recruited him, he spoke with the Marble family to get a better feel for the program.

'I didn't know a lot,' Clemmons said. 'I just trusted my instinct, listened to the Lord and my followed my heart.'

Iowa's losing ways didn't impact Clemmons' decision; it was the prospect of turning it around.

'What happened in the past doesn't mean what happens now,' Clemmons said. 'So I really trusted and looked at the players who were coming in. I knew there were going to be battles between me and Mike, another point guard. I just took on the challenge. I looked him up to see if he's a good player. He was. I took that as a challenge. He's going to make me better, and I'm going to make him better.'

In a topsy-turvy year where Iowa was ranked as high as No. 3 and now has lost four of five games, the way this class came together was more important than any outcome. Collectively, they elevated Iowa from the Big Ten basement to league title contender. In the process, they made Iowa relevant.

'I believed,' Woodbury said. 'I believed in what (McCaffery) was telling me. I believed in the guys who were already here to kind of help me get to where I wanted to go. I believed in the guys who were here with me. We had a lot of guys who were about winning in my class, we really did. Obviously Jarrod joined a little later, but he's about winning as well. I just believed we could do some of the things that I've always wanted to do in my life.'

McCaffery acknowledges the players look a leap of faith on him and the program. He's thankful for the opportunity to coach them.

'What I appreciate is when our players make a decision to come here, maybe when it wasn't as fashionable, believing in themselves that they're going to make something happen when they get here, and it will be great,' McCaffery said. 'I think you love that about any competitor that you recruit.'

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