Athletes - Steve Alford

Home > Listing Index > Athletes > Steve Alford

	Athletes - Steve Alford

Steve Alford (born November 23, 1964) is the current head coach of the University of Iowa Hawkeye men's basketball team. Alford, a former college basketball star and NBAer, was born in Franklin, Indiana and he grew up in New Castle, Indiana.

Playing career

High school

Alford played basketball at the high school level for his father, Sam Alford, who was coach at the Chrysler High School in New Castle. As a high school senior, he average 37.7 points per game, which led to his being named Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1983.

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. 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.

During his final three seasons Alford earned first team all-Big Ten honors. 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 .897 (535-596) is fourth best in the history of the NCAA, and as a freshman he led the nation in free throw percentage.

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.

Glory

In 1987 Alford led the Hoosiers to the NCAA Championship Game against Syracuse. The game was won on a late shot by Indiana guard Keith Smart but Alford did his part shooting 7-10 from the 3pt line and scoring 23 points. The 1987 NCAA Championship Game capped off one of the most successful playing careers in the history of Indiana University basketball.

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.

Coaching career

After his time in the NBA, Alford began his coaching career.

He started at South Knox High School.

Manchester College

Alford began his 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.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Steve Alford ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Steve Alford; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.