Leaf led one of the top offensive teams in the nation. Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is an American males’s faculty basketball coach and former skilled participant who’s the top coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). The game was decided by a game-winning jump shot by Keith Smart with five seconds remaining. He walked up to him one day with an idea. Guyton to Bob Knight: Return to Indiana, help heal old wounds. In 1999, the Bears advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Duke.[8]. He helped the Hoosiers claim their fifth national championship, and finished his career as Indiana's all-time leading scorer. In the first round, they survived a tough game against Montana 62–57, but despite Dairese Gary's 28 points, fell in the second round to an upstart Washington side. With Brian Dennehy, Al Thompson, Benz Antoine, James Lafferty. "I'd rather be in a film room with him than out in a pasture," he said, "but it’s whatever coach wants, I’m going to adhere to.". His son was "obsessed with being good," Sam Alford said. He was saddened by Knight's declining health and memory loss that came to light at an Indiana appearance in April. The book recounts how Knight once criticized Alford's work habits and leadership ability, telling him he couldn't "lead a whore into bed. [51], Alford ended his tenure with a 124–63 overall record and 55–35 in the Pac-12. And it was not one of his classic jump shots. [37] The Bruins went 1–1 in the 2015 Pac-12 Tournament,[38] but proved most major projections wrong by receiving an invitation to the 2015 NCAA tournament, earning a No. New Castle and Indiana University basketball star Steve Alford was abruptly dismissed from his coaching job at UCLA last December and now is on the brink of a new season coaching at Nevada. Drew Gordon and Dairese Gary led a talented team that underachieved much throughout the year into the conference tournament. In his senior year, the Alford-led 1986-87 Hoosiers won Indiana's fifth national championship, when the team defeated Syracuse in title game of the Division regular season and conference tournament champion [1] Alford's free throw percentage of .897 (535-596) is ninth best in the history of the NCAA. [13] The following year, Alford led a talented squad that featured three eventual NBA first-round draft picks and five future NBA players. As the losses mounted, Alford increasingly blamed his players. Alford starts every practice at Nevada — and has at every coaching job he's held — with the four-corner passing drill Knight's son, Pat, told Alford was "the worst drill ever. The focus of attention for the Syracuse zone followed Alford to the side of the court opposite from where Daryl Thomas found Smart open for the game-winner. The place was packed. Alford decided to play basketball for Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team. As a freshman, Alford quickly earned the favor of Coach Knight. After a game Alford's senior year, Knight blew up in the locker room: "Alford, what's your excuse? The team seemed poised to make a run in the MWC conference tournament, but a tragic ACL injury to Gary in the semi-finals against BYU proved to be too much to overcome for this young UNM squad. [53] However, they lost six of the next nine and finished with a 7–6 record in nonconference play, closing it out with four straight losses, the last of which was a 73–58 defeat to Liberty. Alford quickly gained the trust of then head coach Bob Knight and started all but 5 of his 125 games. [13][19][20] The Bruins had rarely sought players who were not four- or five-star recruits,[19] while Bryce was rated a consensus three-star prospect. But, he got the best out of me.". ", Knight later stood in front of an IU student assembly and said: "If any of you pass Steve Alford on campus, I want you to stop him and ask him if he can spell 'defense.' And when the shot fell in at that game in New Orleans, back in Bloomington the world went mad, said Jen Schmits Thomas, who was a junior at IU. [7] His form at the foul line is so routine that it inspired a famous mantra from Indiana fans: "Socks, shorts, 1-2-3 swish". Conference regular season champion He's scored more than 2,400 points that way, and that's incredible, considering he doesn't get any tip-ins, drives or dunks. It's time for Knight to step out of the public limelight, Alford said. The team advanced to the Division III championship game in 1995, placing second in the nation after suffering its first defeat in 32 games. After graduation, Alford wrote a book about his college playing experiences entitled Playing for Knight: My Six Seasons with Coach Knight.[4]. In 1993, 1994, and 1995 Alford was named the Indiana Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year. He was getting thrown out of practice then. He was photographed in a sports coat, a button-down shirt open at the top and blue jeans. Alford got thrown out as a freshman. Mindy Reynolds Ford remembers leaving the fountain to go back to her dorm, trying to get on the phone to call her boyfriend. Coach Steve Alford talks about a bet Michael Jordan made him and never paid. But it was nothing like the love that welled up for No. "But in that toughness, he shows how much he cares and loves and how much it makes you better. Alford was named Indiana Mr. Basketball in high school before playing at Indiana University under coach Bobby Knight. 14 seed Alabama Birmingham to advance to the Sweet 16,[13] when they lost again to Gonzaga. Afterward, the players headed to the locker room, to what was sure to be hell. "[1] Knight later admitted Alford was in fact an incredible worker and leader and the comments were just Knight's method of motivating players. "It’s tough. "I don’t think it was so much making that bet because coach was coach, it was more he was betting on I wasn’t tough enough to handle it. The team later lost to Virginia in the Elite Eight and after the defeat, Alford wasn't thinking about how he'd beaten Jordan. This was the first of three straight seasons that the Hawkeyes played in the NIT under Alford. A plea bargain was reached where Pierce pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Two weeks after his hiring, Alford apologized for declaring Pierce's innocence "before the legal system had run its course. "Because I thought Gary was the best defender I ever played against in college," Alford said. Alford is inside his office at the University of Nevada, where he launches his career with the Wolf Pack in an exhibition game Oct. 19. Steve Alford, who stays in contact with Knight, said Wednesday he has “no idea” whether Knight is planning a return to Assembly Hall. That is a hard one to explain," he said earlier this year. But after playing for Knight's Olympic squad, at least one player wondered how Alford would survive the next three years at IU. Alford, who was 19, believes his role on the team had everything to do with his familiarity with Knight. In 1985, the NCAA suspended Steve Alford for 1 game for posing for this sorority fundraising calendar pic.twitter.com/DBfX8tAo3B. Alford also recalled one of his favorite instances of Dakich angering former IU coach Bob Knight. When Alford began coaching that team, the team had lost its first eight games. He is at the school after being fired in December by UCLA — where he spent five and a half years, making three Sweet Sixteen appearances. [18] In his first season, fans accused Alford of nepotism for playing his son Bryce over fellow freshman Zach LaVine. In his first year as the Lobos coach Alford posted a record of 24–9, 11–5 in league play. They were seeded #3 in the Atlanta Regional of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, but lost in a first-round upset to #14 seed Northwestern State 64-63, leaving Alford with only one NCAA Tournament win since taking over at Iowa. [25][26] Although he was considered more of a shooter than a true point guard,[27][28][29] Alford's son was the team's only legitimate option for the position. Tyus Edney, who starred on UCLA's 1995 national championship team, continued as director of operations. Thrown out of practices, that usually happened to the seniors, the ones Knight counted on. Steve has inside position for rebounding on the opposite side from the shooter," Hammel said. Following his time at Manchester, Alford was named the head coach at Southwest Missouri State University, now Missouri State University. And he did that. The IU fan base couldn't believe it, but midway through his junior season, it happened. https://www.indystar.com/.../13/steve-alford-and-bob-knight-era/3919204002 Guyton's first official episode was released Oct. 27, and Steve Alford was his guest. "It was a no-win. Alford is a Christian. What happened inside the locker room, after that Boilermakers 72-63 victory, Alford has said only: "It was bad. The Hawkeyes finished 21-12 with a 7-9 conference record in the 2004-2005 regular season, but they won their first two Big Ten Tournament games against Purdue and Michigan State before losing the third game to Wisconsin, 59-56. In 1994 and 1995 Manchester won conference titles, and in Alford's final three seasons the team competed in the NCAA Division III Tournament. During his second year (2000–01) the Hawkeyes went 23–12 in the regular season and 7–9 in the Big Ten Conference regular season, but they won the Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament with four straight wins against Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, and Indiana. When the fury sets in, coach, when a player does something knuckleheaded or idiotic, don't yell at them. He was small for a major-college guard, slow without any compensatory quickness and strong only because he ate and flexed himself up to 185 pounds from 150 as a freshman. With Robert Abbott, Terry Clapacs, Rick Davis, Frank Deford. "I needed somebody like coach Knight to do that. Of course, Knight took it to an entirely different level. They won a first round home game against Nebraska and lost on a last second buzzer beater on the road to Notre Dame. The story of 1985-86 season of Indiana University's men's basketball team, led by the controversial coach Bob Knight, who would later be banned for his abusive behavior. [34][35][36] UCLA closed out the regular season with three straight home wins to finish undefeated (9–0) at home in the conference for the first time since 2006–07. [59] He became a professional basketball player and is currently playing in Germany. Alford knew he wasn't playing, but was he supposed to make the trip with the team? "It was just a phenomenal team I had a chance to be on," he said. "I had to take this walk from the (airport) back to Bloomington," Alford said. No one, not even Alford, can say exactly what it was. You obviously don't want to lose to Purdue at home.". On March 30, 2013, Alford signed a seven-year, $18.2-million contract to become the head coach of the UCLA Bruins,[8] joining a program that has won a record 11 national titles. And he did. ", "I have no idea," Dakich told Alford, "but I think I'd be on the bus.". He was Team MVP for four years at Indiana University; All-American in 1986 and ’87; and helped his team win the 1987 NCAA National Championship. At the end of his college career, Coach Knight said, "He's gotten more out of his abilities offensively than anybody I've seen play college basketball. In the next season Manchester posted a record of 23–4, and in his fourth and final season his team finished 31–1. In this game Alford played alongside Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin and Wayman Tisdale. Indiana Basketball Sports Basketball Basketball Players Indiana State Indiana University Bob Knight John Mellencamp Bobby Coaching. The investigation ultimately led to Bob Knight… Alford cannot say his coach's name without tears welling up in his eyes. [33] Losses included a 39-point defeat to No. Alford averaged 10.3 points per game, was second in assists, and shot .644 from the field. Division regular season champion The 2011-2012 season began with a rough patch. RENO, Nev. — Steve Alford tried to make a deal with Bob Knight about the shouting. However, the Hawkeyes defeated Minnesota, Michigan State, and Ohio State to win the Big Ten Tournament and finish 25-8 going into its third NCAA Tournament under Alford. Not long after Alford ended Jordan's college career, he was back in Alford's life, this time a teammate on the U.S. Olympic basketball team that featured Knight as coach. Alford began his college coaching career in North Manchester, Indiana in 1991 as head coach of the Division III Manchester University's basketball program. That’s the big deal," he said, smiling. 4 seed", "UCLA earns a surprise selection into the NCAA tournament", "UCLA gets No. "He cared about, not just cared about stopping me, he took it personal and he had the ability to do it.". To play summer pickup, essentially, with the likes of Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Wayman Tisdale, Chris Mullin, Alvin Robertson and Vern Fleming was a dream come true, Alford said. Alford was known to practice shooting so much that he would wear out six or seven nets a summer and frequently forego social activities. Bob Knight teaches it and expects it. Alford's not going to lie, Knight could break his heart. A kid named Jacob Jaacks, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound center, Iowa’s muscle. He has done so much for me.". [45], In 2017–18, UCLA opened its new practice facility, the Mo Ostin Basketball Center. This earned them a #7 seed in the 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, where they defeated Creighton in the first round but lost to Kentucky in the second round. "He hasn’t paid up. 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