<img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> By SEAN KEELER
Register Sports Columnist
09/20/2002
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Crystal ball time. The Iowa men's basketball season is coming into focus . . .
OCT. 11 Despite a shortage of scholarship players and limbo-low expectations, more than 6,000 students attend the fourth annual "Game Night" at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Mark Van der Platts, a junior econ major from Orange City, wins the three-point shooting contest before the intrasquad scrimmage. He is offered a scholarship on the spot but turns it down in favor of the second prize, a year's supply of Pokey Sticks from Gumby's Pizza.
OCT. 20
Center Jared Reiner cannot attend practice because of a class. Coach Steve Alford uses a folding chair in his place.
OCT. 31
Just before the start of a closed practice at Carver-Hawkeye, Alford accidentally kicks one of his own walk-ons out of the building after he fails to recognize him in street clothes.
Iowa practices with seven players.
NOV. 1 During a scuffle for a loose ball, senior Rance "Keg Stand" Kohlmeier stomps on the sore right foot of Jeff Horner, refracturing Horner's pinky toe. Kohlmeier, a 6-foot guard out of Orland Park, Ill., will open the season as the starting off-guard.
It's the first start for Kohlmeier since his sophomore year at Iowa - when he was the small forward for Delta Chi's intramural team.
NOV. 13 The first exhibition with the California All-Stars is called off with 6:32 left after the Hawkeyes run out of players. Iowa trails at the time, 83-59.
NOV. 14 Athletic director Bob Bowlsby publicly pledges his support to Alford for the 6,387th time.
NOV. 24 In the season opener, Brody Boyd's three-pointer at the buzzer gives Iowa a 59-57 victory over Florida Atlantic.
NOV. 26 At the Knapp Center, Drake rallies for a 68-60 win over the Hawkeyes. Bulldogs point guard David Newman records a quadruple-double: 21 points, 11 assists, 11 steals and 10 blocks.
DEC. 13 Sparked by a bawdy home crowd, Iowa leads Iowa State at halftime, 33-22. Larry Eustachy drags in Dan McCarney to address his team at halftime.
The Cyclones win, 72-49.
JAN. 4 Before a national audience on ESPN, Iowa pummels Missouri, 65-51.
JAN. 8 Before a crowd of 1,355 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Northwestern pummels Iowa, 62-31.
JAN. 9 Bowlsby publicly pledges his support to Alford for the 8,498th time.
FEB. 15 Kohlmeier's putback keys a 48-47 win over Penn State at Carver-Hawkeye. It's the Hawkeyes' first conference victory. Shirtless Delta Chis storm the court and are about to raise Keg Stand when they're hit with pepper spray.
FEB. 25 Disappointed with sagging class attendance, Alford benches three starters at Ohio State. The Buckeyes win, 115-36.
"If we've got to lose," Alford says in a statement, "that's the way I like to lose."
Boyd leads Iowa in assists (3) and rebounds (3).
MARCH 1 Indiana rips Iowa in Bloomington, 92-47, to sweep the season series. The Hoosiers outscore the Hawkeyes, 176-98, in their two meetings.
MARCH 2 Hoosier fans flood radio call-in shows, pleading for Alford to replace Mike Davis as Indiana's coach.
MARCH 13 Iowa opens its fourth Big Ten Conference tournament under Alford as a No. 11 seed with a 2-14 conference record.
In the first round, the Hawkeyes upset No. 6 seed Wisconsin, 52-48.
MARCH 14 On Josh Kimm's three-pointer at the buzzer, Iowa knocks off third-seeded Ohio State, 61-60.
MARCH 15 Reiner hits one of two free throws with 2.2 seconds left against Michigan State, sending the No. 2 seed Spartans home with a 47-46 setback.
MARCH 16 The top-seeded Hoosiers drill the Hawkeyes, 79-51, in the Big Ten title game.
Alford gets a standing ovation from the Indiana cheering section as he leaves the floor.
MARCH 17 Bowlsby announces that Alford has agreed to a four-year contract extension, including a retention bonus of $2 million if he remains in Iowa City through 2007.
"There's no question in my heart," Alford says in a statement, "that this is where I belong."
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<small>[ September 21, 2002, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: IU_lauren3 ]</small>
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