[Herky] Really, really great in Iowa City

[Sue Bailey]

I will try to get extra copies, anyone want one???  Sue

'Really, really great' in Iowa City

SI cover just another perk of being a Hawkeye

By Scott Dochterman,The GazetteIOWA CITY - Jarrod Uthoff saw the image 
earlier in the day. Adam Woodbury had not. Mike Gesell saw the back of 
his head. Anthony Clemmons didn't see anything until a reporter showed him.

'Holy Buckets,' Clemmons said, reading the 'Sports Illustrated' 
headline. 'Goodthing we're defending somebody.' The Iowa basketball 
program, which tumbled to a school-worst 10-22 season in 2010 before 
Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery arrived on campus, now adorns the regional 
cover of the nation's foremost sporting magazine.

It's the first time since 1966 the Hawkeyes landed on the cover. As 
expected, players and coaches had different reactions to the publicity.

The cover photo and story, which is written by BrianHamilton, features 
Uthoff, who leads the Big Ten in scoring at 18.6 points per game.

Uthoff has ignited a basketball program on the verge of a third straight 
NCAA berth, something the program hasn't done since the 1991 through 
1993 seasons.

An Iowa coach informed Uthoff via text that he is on the cover. But 
you'd never know it based on his response.

'It was pretty neat,' Uthoff said with little inflection in his voice.

The Iowa Hawkeyes return to the cover of 'Sports Illustrated' for the 
second time in the 2015-16 academic year, with the basketball team 
making its first appearance since 1966.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
But when asked about what he thought about being on the cover, Uthoff 
perked up.

'To me it's about us,' Uthoff said. 'It's about the Hawkeyes and what 
we've accomplished as a team. It's nothing about what I've done as an 
individual. I think we've come a long way with this program, this year. 
People predicted us at the bottom of the Big Ten, and we've proven we 
can play with anyone.' That's the kind of response Woodbury figured 
Uthoff would give.

'I'm sure when you guys asked him about it, he didn't care,' Woodbury 
said. 'That's a part of his deal.' Iowa (17-4, 8-1 Big Ten) entered 
Tuesday tied with Indiana atop the league standings and ranked fifth by 
the Associated Press and seventh by the USA Today/Coaches poll.

It's been a gradual climb upward for the program under McCaffery. In his 
first season, Iowa finished 11-20. Following two consecutive NIT berths, 
the Hawkeyes have reached the last two NCAA tournaments. Last year, Iowa 
won its first NCAA tournament game since 2001.

The surge from irrelevance to NCAA title contender is notlost on 
McCaffery. He remains focused on Iowa's next game tonight against Penn 
State (1111, 2-7) - but he appreciates the recognition.

'It's a reflection of what they've accomplished,' McCaffery said. 'I 
think you always want that to be the case for your guys. When you see 
them working as hard as our guys work, you want to see them recognized 
properly, so I think it's a terrific honor. Great respect for that 
publication, and we're happy to be on it.' It's the second time in 
barely two months Iowa athletics has graced Sports Illustrated. In late 
November, Iowa tight end George Kittle was featured onthe cover as the 
football program finished the regular season unbeaten. The school 
previously never had both sports on SI covers in one athletic school year.

'It shows that we've continued to get better and better every year,' 
Gesell said. 'I think that we've done a tremendous job of not letting 
that get to any of our heads and just staying level and getting better 
every day. It's cool to have that national recognition, especially with 
the season football had and now the season we're having.

'It's really, really great to be a Hawkeye right now.'

•Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott. dochterman at thegazette.com 
<mailto:dochterman at thegazette.com>

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