Iowa AD Apologizes to Roy Marble's Family over Luka Garza Jersey Retirement
Mar 9, 2021
Iowa center Luka Garza speaks folllowing a video tribute after an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin, Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa. Garza, a senior, was playing his last home game at Iowa. Iowa won 77-73. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
University of Iowa athletic director Gary Barta apologized after offending the family of former Hawkeyes basketball star Roy Marble while announcing the retirement of Luka Garza's No. 55 jersey.
Marble, whose No. 23 has not been retired, held the school's all-time scoring record for 32 years before Garza surged past it in February. Shortly after the Big Ten regular season ended, Barta announced no other Hawkeye would wear Garza's number, joining Carl Cain, Ronnie Lester, Bill Logan, Sharm Scheuerman, Bill Seaberg, Bill Schoof, Greg Stokes, Chris Street and B.J. Armstrong.
"We have learned since Sunday that Roy Marble's family was hurt and feeling disrespected since that day," Barta said, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "I just want to take a moment and share that absolutely that disrespect was unintentional and to publicly apologize for that."
Marble's son, Devyn Marble,tweetedMonday that he would never watch another Iowa game in his life after "the amount of disrespect that school has shown" to his family. Devyn played at Iowa from 2010-2014 and was named first-team All-Big Ten his senior year.
Roy Marble scored 2,116 points during his career while leading Iowa to a 30-win season in 1987 as well as the 1988 Sweet 16. Yet those accomplishments have previously not been enough to qualify for a jersey retirement.
Per the University:
"Iowa Athletics, in conjunction with the Iowa Varsity Club, have had different criteria over the years involving accomplishments, All-America recognition, individual awards, etc. Gary Barta and Iowa administration have been working towards a set of criteria that is more streamlined, in which exact awards and recognition are included. The top two priorities are individual National Player of the Year recognition, and consensus All-America recognition. Gary and Iowa administration will continue to work towards a more direct list of criteria that will be used moving forward."
In the meantime, Marble will join Murray Wier and Chuck Darling in a permanent display at Carver Hawkeye Arena.
Luka Garza's No. 55 Jersey to Be Retired by Iowa After Historic Hawkeyes Career
Mar 7, 2021
Iowa center Luka Garza reacts after making a basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin, Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Luka Garza's career will go down in Iowa history, and his jersey number will, too.
The school announced Sunday—after Garza dropped another double-double in No. 5 Iowa's 77-73 win over No. 25 Wisconsin—that it would retire No. 55.
"I honestly didn't expect that at all," Garza said, per ESPN's Myron Medcalf. "I didn't realize that was a plan or that was going to happen. I was just really happy we won the game. For Coach to tell me that, it was a surreal feeling. Time slowed down, as I heard those words."
Garza became the program's all-time leading scorer at the end of February, as the team embarked on a streak that saw it win seven of its last eight games with the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments looming. With the victory over Wisconsin on Sunday, the team locked up the No. 3 seed heading into the conference tournament.
Entering play Sunday, Garza, who was a consensus first-team All-American last year, was averaging 17.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game on 54.5 percent shooting and 36.5 percent from deep for his career.
In addition to his school-record 2,201 points, Garza leads the program in a number of other categories, including conference scoring (1,399), total field goals made (829), field-goal attempts (1,522) and 40-point games (two). His name also appears on a myriad of other Iowa record lists (h/tKCRG News).
His 642 points this season are the most nationwide.
Eight other Hawkeyes players have had their number retired, including NBA champions Ronnie Lester and B.J. Armstrong.
Panic Meter Steadied, but Iowa Is Trapped in Familiar Pre-NCAA Tournament Slump
Feb 17, 2021
Iowa center Luka Garza (55) drives to the basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Michigan State, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Iowa is used to this feeling. And that's exactly the problem.
After a 12-2 start to the 2020-21 season, the Hawkeyes encountered the dreaded Franuary slide. They recently endured a 1-4 spell, dropping into the danger zone at 7-5 in Big Ten play and 13-6 overall. In early February, they fell outside of the AP Top 10 for the first time all season.
At that moment, Iowa's schedule still contained Rutgers, Michigan State, two matchups with No. 21 Wisconsin and one clash opposite both No. 4 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan. The most concerning part was history has showed it might not get better.
Now, let's back up: What exactly is Franuary?
Hawkeyes fans, maybe skip this painful section. Iowa's coach is Fran McCaffery, who's guided the program for 11 years now. Throughout his tenure, losses have often piled up after the calendar flipped to a new year—January and February.
For example, the 2013-14 team opened with a 19-6 record but was 20-12 at the end of the conference tournament. Two years later, Iowa plummeted from 19-4 to 21-10. Then in 2018-19, the Hawkeyes cratered to 22-11 after a 20-5 start. They never advanced past the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament in those seasons.
Even after accounting for the Big Ten's competition level, that's a miserable trend to have experienced.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery
Fortunately for Iowa supporters, the 2020-21 team has avoided the worst-case fate of missing March Madness. Recent wins over Rutgers and Michigan State have steadied Iowa's perception.
Because of the quality opponents left, the Luka Garza-led roster is destined for the 68-team NCAA tournament field. B/R's Kerry Miller shared he "can't imagine a scenario" in which the Hawkeyes miss out. Eamonn Brennan of The Athletic and ESPN's John Gasaway have labeled Iowa as a lock too.
On one hand, that invites a sigh of relief. Can't win a national title unless you're in March Madness, and Iowa will be.
Conversely, the "lock" status does little to disguise the reality that Iowa has serious concerns to address. The Hawkeyes have five regular-season games and the Big Ten tournament to sharpen their offense and find a functional defense.
And, again, all while taking on high-level competition.
Wisconsin is a defensive-oriented squad that will challenge Garza, whose production has dipped lately, opening the National Player of the Year conversation. However, his contributions are the foundation of Iowa's upside.
Ohio State has a similar offense-driven profile to Iowa, but the Buckeyes have performed at a much higher level recently. It's an opportunity for Joe Wieskamp, Jordan Bohannon, CJ Fredrick and others to showcase the Hawkeyes' depth of scoring while trying to avoid, well, disastrous mistakes on defense.
Iowa coaching staff screaming frantically to get to the open shooter in the corner, Pat McCaffery runs the other way, easy three for Indiana. Iowa has like 8 defensive lapses every game that are oh so very bad. pic.twitter.com/UxlfoJRsJP
Michigan boasts a top-10 offense and defense, per KenPom.com. Winning a championship means beating a team of the Wolverines' caliber in March Madness, so staying competitive here is vital.
In fairness, the definition of success for the Hawkeyes during this upcoming stretch is subjective.
Wins and losses are the obvious metric, and some viewers—both fans and analysts—judge primarily on outcomes. Others will monitor Iowa using the eyeball test or a numbers-based approach, and still more will combine all three. This is all an inexact science; there's no perfect way to evaluate performance.
Do the Hawkeyes need a 5-0 or 4-1 finish to quiet concerns? What happens if they're 3-2 or 2-3 down the stretch? Iowa has KenPom's top-ranked offense in the nation but is just 108th on defense; what sort of rise defensively is adequate? How does that compare to the eye test?
No matter how you analyze, Iowa has improvements to make, little time to actualize them and zero easy wins. Even 7-10 Penn State is a feisty opponent despite its record.
Locking in that March Madness bid is most important. Iowa will have a chance to make a run at a national title.
But if the Hawkeyes' familiar slide continues in this final stretch, 2020-21 will be yet another season that opened with great promise and broke down in Franuary.
Luka Garza, No. 4 Iowa Upset by Unranked Minnesota in Overtime
Dec 25, 2020
Iowa center Luka Garza (55) works to the basket as Minnesota forward Isaiah Ihnen (35) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Dec. 25, 2020, in Minneapolis. Minnesota won 102-95 in overtime. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
The No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes suffered a stunning upset against unranked Minnesota on Friday night as the Golden Gophers defended their home court, 102-95 in overtime.
Luka Garza finished with 32 points and 17 rebounds, but the Hawkeyes (7-2, 1-1 Big Ten) couldn't hold on down the stretch, blowing a seven-point lead with 40 seconds remaining in regulation. Minnesota's Marcus Carr (30 points, eight assists) hit a three-pointer with five seconds left to send the game to overtime after Jordan Bohannon's last-second game-winner attempt fell short for Iowa.
The win moves the Gophers to 8-1 (1-1 Big Ten) on the year and in line to jump crash the AP Top 25 on Monday.
What a win by @GopherMBB over @IowaHoops. Tremendous. Gophers beat Iowa and @SaintLouisMBB on back-to-back weekends. The @B1GMBBall would get 11 teams in the field if it were today.
It's Iowa's second loss in three games after falling to No. 1 Gonzaga, 99-88, on Dec. 19. A 15-point victory against Purdue earlier this week made it seem like things were getting back on track for the Final Four-hopefuls.
Now it's back to the drawing board without much time to switch things up.
The Hawkeyes are back in action against a surging Northwestern team on Dec. 29. The Wildcats defeated Indiana and Michigan State in their last two times out. This isn't exactly the easy win it looked like it might be when the schedule came out. Then on Jan. 2, Iowa travels to No. 11 Rutgers for a matinee in New Jersey.
The next stretch of games could be the most pivotal of the season for Iowa after this week's setback.
Head coach Fran McCaffery can at least feel good about his team's ability to score as Garza, Joe Wieskamp and CJ Frederick combined for 69 points on Friday.
That just wasn't enough to power past Minnesota.
Junior center Liam Robbins poured in 18 points with five rebounds while senior forward Brandon Johnson added 26 points and nine rebounds himself.
It's a resume-making win for a Gophers team that already knocked off Saint Louis, Boston College and North Dakota this year. Unfortunately, that could all fall apart in the next few games. Minnesota's next six games are all against ranked opponents including a rematch against Iowa on Jan. 10 and two games against No. 19 Michigan.
Luka Garza Announces Iowa Return with NSFW Meme from 'The Wolf of Wall Street'
Aug 2, 2020
Iowa's Luka Garza (55) shoots as Illinois' Kofi Cockburn (21), Da'Monte Williams (20), and Andres Feliz (10) defend in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, March 8, 2020, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Holly Hart)
Iowa star Luka Garza will return to school for the 2020-21 college basketball season after withdrawing from the NBA draft, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Garza confirmed the news with an edited video from The Wolf of Wall Street(warning: NSFW language):
The 6'11" forward was a consensus All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year last season after averaging 23.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
Not only did he rank fifth in the nation in scoring, his 34.4 player efficiency rating was second-best in college basketball behind only Nathan Knight of William & Mary, perSports Reference.
He helped lead the Hawkeyes to a 20-11 record, although he didn't get a shot at the NCAA tournament last year because of the coronavirus.
While there is some concern about the upcoming year with the pandemic still an issue nationwide, Garza said Sunday he's "very confident" there will be a college basketball season, perMark Emmertof theDes Moines Register.
Iowa now has a chance to be a top contender in the Big Ten and nationally while returning most of its rotation from a year ago.
Not only will Garza be a Wooden Award candidate, he will have plenty of help between Joe Wieskamp, CJ Fredrick and Jordan Bohannon, who will return after missing much of last year with a hip injury.
Iowa State Coaches, Staff Take $4M in Pay Cuts Because of COVID-19
Apr 1, 2020
Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Ames, Iowa. Pollard is back to work just a month after suffering a heart attack. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard wrote a letter to Cyclones fans Wednesday and informed them of significant pay reductions and suspensions for athletic department coaches and staff in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per Pollard, ISU will institute a "one-year, temporary pay reduction for athletics department coaches and certain staff," which would decrease the department payroll by over $3 million.
In addition, bonuses and incentives for all coaches have received a temporary one-year suspension, saving the department $1 million.
As far as fans go, ISU is putting a halt on an increase to Cyclone Club annual giving levels, which Pollard reports "will save donors approximately $2.5 million for required seating donations."
Season and individual ticket prices will freeze for all sports, and the deadline for club donations and football season ticket renewals has been suspended until May 29.
Lastly, fans can choose to make season-ticket or donation payments either monthly, quarterly or semi-annually.
Per Pollard, the changes were implemented in light of the $5 million shortfall the department encountered after the Big 12 and NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments were canceled because of COVID-19.
The news comes in the midst of the NCAA canceling its winter sports championships and spring-sports seasons and championships.
Speculationexists as to whether the collegiate football season may be impacted as well.
Per World Health Organization figures from Wednesday afternoon, 827,419 people worldwide have confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 40,777 people have died.
In the United States, 163,199 people have confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,850 people have died.
Luka Garza, No. 10 Iowa Hold off No. 7 Cincinnati; Advance in NCAA Tournament
Mar 22, 2019
COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 22: Jordan Bohannon #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts with Joe Wieskamp #10 during the first half against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The Iowa Hawkeyes scored a minor upset with a 79-72 victory Friday over the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Iowa, the No. 10 seed in the South Region, bounced back after losing six of its final eight games before March Madness to advance. Luka Garza led the charge with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Cincinnati couldn't take advantage of getting a quasi-home game from the selection committee in the opening round. Justin Jenifer scored 19 points to pace the American Athletic Conference tournament champions, but it wasn't enough for the team to avoid an early exit.
JordanBohannonIs Hawkeyes' March Madness X-Factor
Bohannonis Iowa's most dangerous outside shooting threat having knocked down 75 threes entering Friday's game, 21 more than anyone else on the team. He didn't have his best shooting day against Cincinnati, making one trey on four attempts, but he still made a major impact.
The junior point guard finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists to help push the Hawkeyes into the second round. His and-1 layup with just over a minute left virtually clinched the win.
BR Video
As a whole, the performance showed whyBohannonmight hold the key to how far Iowa can go in the NCAA tournament despite being the team's third-leading scorer.
The Iowa native does a little bit of everything for the Hawkeyes. He runs the offense, hits clutch shots, isn't afraid to challenge in the paint for rebounds at both ends and has also improved as a perimeter defender—a key reasonCincyshot just 22.2 percent from three in the contest.
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Bohannoncan't do it alone. Garza came up big Friday, and Iowa is going to need better performances from Tyler Cook, who scored just five points after entering with an average of 14.9.
That said, the team's floor general possesses the ability to turn the team's first-round upset into a Cinderella run if he builds off his showing against the Bearcats.
Cincinnati Must Address Depth Issues Before Next Season
You could argue the Bearcats' starting lineup did enough to beat Iowa. Along with Jenifer's 19,JarronCumberland added 18 points, whileNysierBrooks,TreScott and Keith Williams combined for 25 points while grabbing at least five rebounds each.
The problem for Cincinnati was a lack of contributions from its reserves.
BR Video
Cincy's bench chipped in just 10 points compared to 17 from Iowa—the same seven-point difference as the final score—and eight of those came from CaneBroome. The other five players who saw the floor for the No. 7 seed missed all six of their shots from the field and scored two total points.
The Bearcats are set to lose two seniors, Jenifer andBroome, but Friday's loss shows the coaching staff's job goes far beyond merely replacing two key members of the rotation.
Head coach Mick Cronin and Co. must either recruit or develop more players, preferably sharpshooters capable of making an impact in limited minutes, for Cincinnati to take a step forward next season.
Making a deep March Madness run without depth players knocking down big shots is an uphill battle.
What's Next?
Iowa moves on to face either the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers or No. 15 Colgate Raiders in the South Region's second round Sunday.
Iowa HC Fran McCaffery Suspended 2 Games for Calling Ref 'Cheating Motherf--ker'
Feb 27, 2019
BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 07: Head coach Fran McCaffery of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 7, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. Iowa won 77-72. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
The Iowa Hawkeyes have suspended head men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery for two games.
The Athletic's Scott Dochterman shared Iowa's full press release about the decision:
Following No. 22 Iowa's 90-70 road loss to the unranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday at Value City Arena, McCaffery unleashed an expletive-laden rant toward one of the referees.
"You cheating motherf--ker," he said, per Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade. "You're a f--king disgrace."
With 4:08 left in the second half, Iowa guard Connor McCaffery, the head coach's son, received a technical foul after arguing a separate foul call. Then referees assessed Fran a technical foul at the 3:10 mark after he walked onto the court to voice his frustration with the officiating.
According toESPN.com, reporters asked the elder McCaffery about his conversation with the referee in the hallway of Value City Arena. McCaffery declined to go into detail, saying, "I can't talk about that."
McCaffery's suspension could prove costly for the Hawkeyes. At 10-7 they sit sixth in the Big Ten, and he'll be out for games against Rutgers and the 19th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers.
Any hope of earning a top-four seed for the Big Ten tournament—thus automatically qualifying for the quarterfinals—is likely gone at this point for Iowa. The team sits two games back of the No. 17 Maryland Terrapins.
Iowa HC Fran McCaffery Calls Ref 'Cheating Motherf--ker' After Loss vs. OSU
Feb 26, 2019
Iowa men's basketball head coach Fran McCaffery reportedly used profane language toward an official after his team's 90-70 loss at Ohio State on Tuesday.
Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade reported the exchange (warning: tweet contains profanity):
Uh, wow. Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey was just screaming at an official walking down a hallway of Value City Arena. "You cheating motherfucker! You're a fucking disgrace!"
McCaffery hasn't been immune to past outbursts. He was ejected after getting two technicals against Maryland last season for coming onto the court and arguing with refs. Chad Leistikow of Hawk Central highlighted some other incidents.
"Over the years, McCaffery has publicly screamed at his players, nose to nose," Leistikow noted. "He's slammed a chair at Michigan State. He's been suspended for bumping an official at Wisconsin."
McCaffery also got angry with a scoreboard operator during a game against Michigan, as Leistikow noted. Furthermore, Iowa did not shake hands with North Dakota players or coaches after a December 2016 win, per C.L. Brown, then writing for ESPN.
Dan Wolken of USA Today called for Iowa to take action against the coach:
Fran isn’t a good enough coach to get away with the pile of bad stuff he’s done. It’s multiple episodes a year. It’s embarrassing. Iowa needs to do something about it.
Going to need a compelling argument for why a coach calling a ref a “cheating mother******” isn’t grounds for a suspension — maybe for the rest of the season, given his history.
The counterargument is that McCaffery isn't the only coach prone to outbursts, technical fouls and cursing at officials. What McCaffery reportedly did Tuesday isn't even the worst incident in the Big Ten this year.
That doesn't make what has occurred right, though.
Whichever end one falls on regarding McCaffery, No. 22 Iowa dropped to 21-7 overall and 10-7 in Big Ten play. Ohio State improved to 18-10 and 8-9 in the Big Ten.
The Hawkeyes host Rutgers on Saturday.
Iowa Radio Voice Gary Dolphin Suspended After Calling Bruno Fernando 'King Kong'
Feb 22, 2019
Maryland forward Bruno Fernando (23) drives past Iowa guard Connor McCaffery during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in Iowa City, Iowa. Maryland won 66-65. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Iowa Hawkeyes broadcaster Gary Dolphin has been suspended for the remainder of the 2018-19 basketball season after making racially insensitive comments about Maryland Terrapins forward Bruno Fernando, according to Hawk Central's Chad Leistikow.
Dolphin apologized for his offensive remarks in a statement, per Leistikow:
"During the broadcast, I used a comparison when trying to describe a talented Maryland basketball player. In no way did I intend to offend or disparage the player. I take full responsibility for my inappropriate word choice and offer a sincere apology to him and anyone else who was offended. I wish the Iowa Hawkeye players, coaches and fans all the very best as they head into the final stretch of the season. I will use this as an opportunity to grow as a person and learn more about unconscious bias."
Dolphin's initial comments came following No. 24 Maryland's 66-65 road victory over No. 21 Iowa, which saw Fernando record 11 points and 11 rebounds.
"Twelve threes on 22 made baskets. That's some pretty good long-range shooting," Dolphin said of Fernando on Tuesday, according to Leistikow. "And then Fernando was King Kong at the end of the game."
Fernando had four points, including the game-winning basket with 11 seconds remaining,and two rebounds in the final 30 seconds of the game to complete the upset.
Leistikow noted that this is not the first time Dolphin has been subject to discipline this season. The longtime radio announcer was suspended for two games back in November following his"hot mic" comments about Iowa guard Maishe Dailey.
Dolphin would go on to issue a public apology to Dailey on social media:
