I know all of you have been waiting for a Steve Alford update, and former Iowan Jim Giudicessi is just the guy who can handle it. Here's Giudicessi's e-mail to me:
"Ron....how is everything in Iowa? I hope the snow is all gone soon so that you can start watching your lawn grow.
"All is well here in New Mexico, but I thought it was that time of the basketball season to update all my friends back in Iowa on the success...or lack thereof...of your second-favorite former Iowa basketball coach...right behind Lute Olson...the one and only Steve 'Mr Wonderful' Alford and his New Mexico Lobos.
"Coming off two straight Mountain West Conference championships...one shared and the other outright...UNM fans had high hopes for the Lobos' 2010-11 team, but 'God's gift to coaching' has managed to coach the team down just like he did at Iowa. Their loss Wednesday night at home to UNLV was their 2nd straight home loss and 4th in a row overall. Earlier in the conference schedule they lost three in a row, including a loss to Wyoming, whose only other MWC victories are over TCU and Air Force. (Note, the TCU and Air Force basketball teams should never, ever be confused with the outstanding teams those schools put on the football field.) The only 'signature' win was at home over BYU, where the Lobos came back from 13 points down in the last 15 minutes to win. Unless the UNM manages to win the MWC postseason tournament Lobo fans can plan to spend at least part of tournament time right here in Albuquerque playing some other second division team from another conference in Alford's favorite tournament....the NIT. Oh, well, at least UNM will get to play another game or two in the $70 million dollar remodeled Pit.
"One other UNM/Alford note...Dairese Gary, the Elkhart, Indiana, point guard who had committed to play for Alford at Iowa, then changed his mind and followed Alford to New Mexico, is finishing off an outstanding college career. He has played in 125 straight games...starting 121 straight despite taking a pounding every time out. He leads the Lobos in scoring and assists... and is the Mountain West Conference all-time assists leader.
"Of course, if he'd honored his commitment to Iowa even after Alford left, he'd have quickly gotten bored playing Todd Lickliter's style of basketball and have transferred out after a year to become someone else's star player. But as someone who has no respect for Alford, but loves watching UNM play...Dairese Gary has made it worth the price of admission for the last 4-years. I would have love to have seen him play for the Hawks under Tom Davis or now under Fran McCaffery.
"Take care for now...and if you get back to New Mexico in the future...I'll buy you a margarita."
Jim Giudicessi
National Sales Manager
2 KASA Fox
Office: 505-998-9530
Cell: 505-362-8416
Fax: 505-944-0259
jgiudicessi@kasa.com
13 Broadcast Plz. SW
Albuquerque, NM 87104
[RON MALY'S COMMENTS: Great hearing from you, Jim. But I'm sorry Alford hasn't made it a better basketball season for you and other New Mexico followers. I guess he's not yet ready for prime-time. Evidently, Alford needs to schedule another of those one-on-one get-togethers with Bobby Knight, who coached him at Indiana. Knight would get Alford back on the straight and narrow. Say hello for me to Steve and Lute--and Bobby, too--the next time you see them. And that margarita in Albuquerque is starting to sound like an excellent idea].
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