Steve Alford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Steve Alford | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Title | Head coach | |
| College | New Mexico | |
| Sport | Basketball | |
| Team record | 24-7(11-5) | |
| Born | November 23, 1964 | |
| Place of birth | Franklin, Indiana, US | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 332-190 (.635) | |
| Championships | ||
| Big Ten Tournament Championship (2001, 2006) | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1983–1987 | Indiana | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1991–1995 1995–1999 1999–2007 2007–present |
Manchester Missouri State Iowa New Mexico |
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Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is a former American basketball player and the current head coach of the University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team. Alford, a former college basketball star and NBA player, was born in Franklin, Indiana and he grew up in New Castle, Indiana.
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[edit] Playing career
[edit] High school
Alford played basketball at the high school level for his father, Sam Alford, who was coach at New Castle Chrysler High School in New Castle. As a high school senior, he averaged 37.7 points per game helping him earn the title of Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1983.
[edit] College
Alford attended Indiana University. During his time there, he played basketball under head coach Bobby Knight and became the university's all time leading scorer with 2,438 points, a record later eclipsed by Calbert Cheaney, (who eventually went on to become the Big Ten's all time leading scorer.) Alford was the first player to be named the team's MVP four times. He was also a first team All-American, and was named Big Ten MVP during his senior year of college. In the Legends of College Basketball by The Sporting News Alford was no. 35 on the list of the 100 greatest Division One college basketball players. When The Sporting News named its top ten NCAA basketball players of the 1980s in December 1989, Alford was listed at number ten.
During his final three seasons Alford earned first team all-Big Ten honors. As a freshman, he helped lead Indiana to an upset of the Michael Jordan led North Carolina Tar Heels in the 1984 NCAA tournament. He earned all-America honors as a junior. As a sophomore Alford was named to the NIT all-tourney team after the Hoosiers finished second to UCLA. Alford's free throw percentage of 89.8% is fourth in the history of the NCAA [1].
In 1987, Alford led the Hoosiers to the NCAA Championship Game against Syracuse. The Hoosiers won the game on a late baseline jumpshot by Indiana guard Keith Smart. Alford did his part, shooting 7-10 from the 3-point line, scoring 23 points.
[edit] Olympics
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Basketball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1984 Los Angeles | Basketball | |
For the 1984 Summer Olympics Alford was selected to play on the U.S. Basketball Team, coached by Bobby Knight. Alford averaged 10.3 points per game, was second in assists, and shot .644 from the field. He and his teammates went on to win the gold medal at the 1984 games. In this game Alford played alongside men such as Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Sam Perkins, Chris Mullin and Wayman Tisdale. Alford has recounted that during the Olympic training camp, Jordan bet him $100 that he would not last four years on Knight's Indiana team.
[edit] Professional
Following college, Alford played for four years at the professional level. During his time in the NBA, he played for the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors. He scored 744 points, had 176 assists, and shot free throws with an accuracy of 87 percent.
Alford had hoped to be drafted by the in-state Indiana Pacers in the 1987 NBA draft. Popular sentiment around the state sided with Alford, hoping the Pacers would select the hometown boy with their first-round pick. Instead, with the 11th pick in the first round the Pacers selected Reggie Miller. The large crowd at the Pacers' draft party booed. Alford slipped to the #3 pick in the second round, and Miller spent 18 years with the Pacers.
Alford co-wrote a book, Playing for Knight -- My Six Seasons with Coach Knight, about his college and Olympic basketball experiences.
[edit] Coaching career
[edit] Manchester College Spartans
Alford began his college coaching career in North Manchester, Indiana. He started in 1992 as head coach of the Division III Manchester College's basketball program. During his four seasons with the team, Alford had a record of 78-29. When Alford began coaching that team, the team had lost its first eight games. During his first season there Alford won four of 20 games. In his first full season as coach the team posted a record of 20-8. In the next season Manchester posted a record of 23-4, and in his fourth and final season his team posted a record of 31-1.
In 1994 and 1995 Manchester won conference titles, and in Alford's final three seasons the team competed in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Under Alford, the team won three straight conference tournament titles (1993, 1994, 1995). The team advanced to the Division III championship game in 1995, placing second in the nation after suffering its first defeat in 32 games.
In 1993, 1994, and 1995 Alford was named the Indiana Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year. In the 1994-95 season the Manchester team was inducted into the school Hall of Fame. In 1999 Alford was also inducted into Manchester's Hall of Fame.
[edit] Missouri State Bears
Following his time at Manchester, Alford was named the head coach at Missouri State University. He began his position there in the 1995-96 season, and would remain there until 1999. During his time at Missouri State, his teams posted a 78-48 record. In 1999 the Bears advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Duke.
[edit] Iowa Hawkeyes
Steve Alford was named the head coach of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball program on March 22, 1999.
Although Alford's first game as coach was a 70-68 victory against the defending national champion Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden, his team went 14-16 during his first season at Iowa. During his second year (2000-2001) 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. 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.
The Hawkeyes' conference record dropped to 5-11 during the 2001-2002 season, but they defeated Purdue, Wisconsin, and Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament before losing to Ohio State in the finals. The Hawkeyes played in the National Invitation Tournament that season, but lost to LSU in the first round to finish with a 19-16 record. This was the first of three straight seasons that the Hawkeyes played in the NIT under Alford. They won the first two rounds of the 2003 tournament against Valparaiso and Iowa State before losing to Georgia Tech, finishing with a 17-14 record. In 2004 they lost to St. Louis in the first round of the NIT to finish 16-13 despite a 9-7 conference record (the first winning Big Ten Conference record under Alford).
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. They earned an at-large invitation to the 2005 NCAA Tournament as a #10 seed, where they lost 76-64 to Cincinnati in the first round. During the season, leading scorer Pierre Pierce was dismissed from the team amid charges of sexual abuse; Pierce ultimately served one year in prison.
During the 2005-2006 season, the Hawkeyes went undefeated at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and finished in a second-place tie with Illinois with an 11-5 conference record, one game behind Ohio State. 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. 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.
During the 2006-2007 season, Alford led the Hawkeyes to an 8-6 non-conference record (losing to instate rivals Drake and Northern Iowa) and an 9-7 record in the Big Ten Conference. Iowa failed to make the NCAA tournament or the NIT. It marked the first time since the 1976-1977 season that an Iowa team with a winning record has failed to make either the NCAA tournament or the NIT.
At the conclusion of the 2006-2007 season, Alford resigned from the University of Iowa to accept the coaching position at the University of New Mexico
[edit] New Mexico Lobos
Alford was named head coach at the University of New Mexico on March 23, 2007 replacing the fired Ritchie McKay. In his first year as the Lobos coach Alford posted a record of 24-9, 11-5 in league play. 24 wins is the most for a New Mexico head coach in their first year. The Lobos were eliminated in the first round of the NIT by Cal.
[edit] Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester (Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1991 — 1995) | |||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Manchester | 4-16 | 3-11 | T-6th | |||||
| 1992–1993 | Manchester | 20-8 | 7-5 | T-2nd | NCAA D-III 1st Round | ||||
| 1993–1994 | Manchester | 23-4 | 10-2 | 1st | NCAA D-III 1st Round | ||||
| 1994–1995 | Manchester | 31-1 | 12-0 | 1st | NCAA D-III Runner-Up | ||||
| Manchester: | 78-29 | 32-18 | |||||||
| Missouri State (Missouri Valley Conference) (1995 — 1999) | |||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Missouri State | 16-12 | 11-7 | 4th | |||||
| 1996–1997 | Missouri State | 24-9 | 12-6 | T-2nd | NIT 1st Round | ||||
| 1997–1998 | Missouri State | 16-16 | 11-7 | T-3rd | |||||
| 1998–1999 | Missouri State | 22-11 | 11-7 | T-2nd | NCAA Sweet 16 | ||||
| Missouri State: | 78-48 | 45-27 | |||||||
| Iowa (Big Ten Conference) (1999 — 2007) | |||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Iowa | 14-16 | 6-10 | T-7th | |||||
| 2000–2001 | Iowa | 23-12 | 7-9 | T-6th | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 2001–2002 | Iowa | 19-16 | 5-11 | T-8th | NIT 1st Round | ||||
| 2002–2003 | Iowa | 17-14 | 7-9 | T-8th | NIT 2nd Round | ||||
| 2003–2004 | Iowa | 16-13 | 9-7 | 4th | NIT 1st Round | ||||
| 2004–2005 | Iowa | 21-12 | 7-9 | 7th | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 2005–2006 | Iowa | 25-9 | 11-5 | T-2nd | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 2006–2007 | Iowa | 17-14 | 9-7 | T-4th | |||||
| Iowa: | 152-106 | 61-67 | |||||||
| New Mexico (Mountain West Conference) (2007 — present) | |||||||||
| 2007–2008 | New Mexico | 24-9 | 11-5 | 3rd | NIT 1st Round | ||||
| New Mexico: | 24-9 | 11-5 | |||||||
| Total: | 332-190 | ||||||||
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National Champion Conference Champion Conference Tournament Champion |
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[edit] Family
Steve Alford is married to the former Tanya Frost. They have known each other since grade school. When Steve proposed to Tanya, he did it at New Castle Chrysler Fieldhouse, the largest high school gymnasium in the world, which also was his home gymnasium during his high school years. He put the ring up on the place where the basketball rim and backboard connect and had Tanya climb up and get it. They have three children: Kory, Bryce, and Kayla. The Alford Family has a long Indiana basketball history. Not only his father Sam Alford but his Uncle Scott Alford and Grandfather Fritz all played High School Basketball for the Washington Hatchets - Washington Indiana. His Uncle Scott Alford played for Oklahoma State on a four year scolarship. His Grandfather played on the 1942 State Champonship Team for the Hatchets. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ NCAA Men's Career Leaders from Hickosports.com, accessed Jan 21, 2008
- ^ Iowa Men's Basketball: Steve Alford from HawkeyeSports.com, accessed March 13, 2006
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Roger Harden |
Indiana Mr. Basketball 1983 |
Succeeded by Troy Lewis, Delray Brooks |
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