Repeating a Billy Packer comment got the wrath of Iowa upon me

Al McGuire (left) and Billy Packer jokingly sq. off on the quilt of the 1982 Large Ten-ACC Shootout on the then-5 Seasons Heart in Cedar Rapids. McGuire and Packer had been coaches for the postseson all-star sport that was performed in Cedar Rapids thrice.

If Billy Packer, who died Thursday, was a commentator on a school basketball telecast, it was an enormous sport.

Packer labored 34 Ultimate Fours. He stated what he thought and didn’t appear to fret about it.

A kind of occasions was on a 2001 March Sunday in Chicago when Iowa confronted Indiana within the Large Ten males’s basketball championship sport. Mike Davis was Indiana’s interim coach, and did a pleasant job that season. Former Indiana All-America guard Steve Alford coached Iowa.

Late in Iowa’s 63-61 win, Packer stated Alford and Davis had been enjoying for the Hoosiers’ job. That was fascinating to these of us in Iowa.

Three days later, the Hawkeyes had been in Uniondale, N.Y., the place they’d play (and defeat) Creighton within the first-round of the NCAA tourney. At a press convention the day earlier than the sport, I requested this to Alford at his press convention:

“Steve, nationwide newspapers, nationwide radio reveals have continued speaking about you and linking you to the Indiana job. Ought to these tales die?”

That was a marshmallow served on a tee, if Alford noticed it as a marshmallow served on a tee. He might have stated sure, smiled, and that will have been that. Alford didn’t see it that approach. He received fairly upset about it, really.

“You’re from freakin’ Iowa,” he replied. “Why are you asking me that?

“Ask Billy Packer. Packer says he referred to as me. He didn’t name me on Monday.

“I’m not . … I went by means of this … I’m not desirous about entertaining any questions on Indiana College. They’re in a regional someplace, I don’t know the place they’re at.

“Exit to their web site and ask Indiana individuals about what’s happening at Indiana.

“We’re the Large Ten champions. We’re the College of Iowa. Ask me questions concerning the College of Iowa.”

Melissa Isaacson of the Chicago Tribune didn’t suppose Alford ought to inform the questioners which inquiries to ask, and had a follow-up on the matter.

“What did I simply say?” Alford responded. “Effectively, I’m not saying something. Are there any questions on Iowa? Jiminy Christmas!”

ESPN ran that clip on each SportsCenter the remainder of that day, and SportsCenter was on lots of occasions. Sports activities radio individuals from Chicago and Timbuktu had been phoning my lodge room, and I did a masterful job of not taking their calls. Thank goodness the Web was a sliver of what it’s now. Message boards and social media in Iowa would have devoured me. Alford was simply starting to take Hawkeye basketball to the stratosphere, and I used to be Darth Vader with a fully-charged lightsaber.

Oh, the telephone messages and letters to the editor that waited for me again at Iowa after the Hawkeyes misplaced their second-round sport to Kentucky in Lengthy Island. The gist of it was “Why are you making an attempt to run Steve Alford out of Iowa?”

I’ve at all times insisted that the individuals who write bizarre letters and emails like which can be within the very-minor minority. However the very-major majority who would by no means waste a second doing one thing like that don’t make any noise, so the primary group might be actually loud.

Indiana gave Davis the full-time job, by the best way. Alford ultimately moved on to New Mexico, UCLA, and now Nevada, the place his group is 16-5 this season.

Billy Packer labored video games on CBS for seven extra years. I by no means received to speak to him about that 2001 day in Chicago and what made him say what he stated. However I’ll ceaselessly recognize that when he, Al McGuire and Dick Enberg labored video games collectively on NBC, it was nice tv.

The following time I noticed Alford after that Lengthy Island day that had me contemplating america Federal Witness Safety Program was that September. It was, sarcastically or coincidentally, in Chicago. He sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Recreation” at a Cubs sport at Wrigley Subject.

I went to put in writing a column about it. We met within the press field and he couldn’t have been nicer, laughing about what had occurred months earlier than as if it had been an enormous previous enjoyable time for everyone.

Alford advised me he jokingly requested a Cubs official if he might inform the followers “We’re from freakin’ Iowa.” However as an alternative, he launched himself and Iowa gamers Luke Recker, Ryan Hogan and Jason Smith by saying “The Large Ten champs are at Wrigley right this moment!”

I by no means had something resembling an issue with Alford once more. What was form of humorous to me, although, was the longer he stayed as Iowa’s coach, the extra that readers had been telling me I used to be being too simple on him.

In hindsight, on that 2001 day in Lengthy Island I ought to have requested “That rascal Billy Packer was making mischief for you on CBS the opposite day. Ought to we attempt to get him kicked off tv ceaselessly?”

Which is absurd, in fact. However in 2023, a media panderer or two would possibly dance that pandering dance in the event that they suppose it can curry favor amongst a coach and his or her followers.

I’m unhappy about Billy Packer’s loss of life, as I used to be about Enberg’s and McGuire’s. They placed on a terrific present. That’s what this big-time faculty sports activities is, you already know. It’s a present. In the event you’re on the correct aspect of it, you’ll be able to take it to lots of completely different of locations and preserve creating wealth.

I’d like to see Iowa play Nevada in a first-round NCAA tourney sport this 12 months. Or a second-round or third-round or sixth-round sport. It will be a terrific story, and that’s all I actually ever need out of these things. The trick is to not be in the course of a sizzling story whenever you’re protecting it.

Alford was proper again then, I have to admit 22 years later. I’m from freakin’ Iowa.