Throwback Thursday - Maryland/Hawkeye edition

Going into Thursday’s game against the Maryland Terrapins, the Iowa Hawkeyes are pursuing something that the Terrapins have and the Hawkeyes don’t: a national championship. This piece is going to talk about the history of the two programs, an Iowa/Maryland connection, as well as a little bit of respect thrown Maryland’s way.

The all-time records of the two programs are as follows: Iowa (1682-1186 59%) Maryland (1593-1047 60%). The Hawkeyes and Terrapins have faced off 11 times with Maryland winning 7 of those. Also, the Terrapins have won 3 of the last 4 contests between the two schools. The scoring over those 11 games is very close. The Hawkeyes have averaged 70.8 points whereas the Terrapins have averaged 71.2. As every Big Ten game is, expect a hard-fought contest.

The Connection (Dr. Tom Davis)

As a diehard Hawkeye fan and former coach, you know it is a safe bet that I am a Dr. Tom Davis fan. Dr. Tom continues to garner a great deal of respect from the basketball community, as well he should. I own numerous books and videos that detail Dr. Tom’s systems. Coach Davis was known for running a flex offense, a patterned offense that believes in reversing the basketball from one side of the court to the other, utilizing down screens, and baseline screens that look to get either layups or elbow jump shots. Another Dr. Tom staple was his diamond press; also known as a 1-2-1-1 full-court press. When you think of Brad Lohaus, Chris Street, or Jess Settles jumping up and down waving their hands on the baseline this is what the Hawks were doing. The idea is to change the tempo of the game (typically to speed it up), get a trap, and steal the next pass for an easy, quick score.

Here’s a short clip of Chris Street hitting an elbow jumper and immediately getting into his baseline position on Iowa’s diamond press. It was his last game against Duke.

Dr. Tom Davis earned his doctorate while serving as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland. At this time, the point guard on the team was future Maryland head coach Gary Williams. In 1972 Coach Davis was the head coach at Lafayette. He brought Gary Williams on staff to serve as an assistant coach. Fast forward to Williams’ tenure at Maryland that spanned over twenty years and included a national championship in 2002, and it was evident that the tutelage of Dr. Tom had an effect on Coach Williams. The Terrapins under Williams ran both the flex on offense as well as pressure defense, specifically the diamond (1-2-1-1) press.

Respect thrown Maryland’s way / Len Bias

Maryland is currently coached by Mark Turgeon (210-103 at Maryland). He is an excellent coach and the Terps are always a tough out. Maryland has had some incredible coaches in its history. Bud Millikan and Lefty Driesell are huge names in the coaching profession. Unfortunately one of the most notable things from Coach Driesell’s time at Maryland was the passing of Len Bias. Len, or as we called him Lenny, Bias was an absolute stud.

He was a 6’8”, 210 pound skilled athlete. For the 1985-86 season Bias averaged 23.2 ppg, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He was the second overall pick in the NBA draft. He died from a drug overdose two days after he was drafted by the Boston Celtics. I was 16 years old at the time and his loss reverberated all the way to Decorah, Iowa. Lenny Bias was going to be the next big thing. In writing this I can’t help to think about Iowa’s own Chris Street. A 6’8”, 220 pound star who also would have had a terrific NBA career. More importantly, I wish these “kids” could have lived to become husbands, dads, etc...

Hit up the comments if you have any other recollections of the rivalry, Maryland stone crab recipes, Dr. Tom bounce pass stories, etc... I never meet Chris Street. He felt like everyone’s friend/brother. He will forever be my favorite Hawkeye and he represents all that is good about the state of Iowa. Go Hawks!