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| | Tuesday, September 12 Indiana not in Alford's future plans | |||||
| Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Steve Alford, a former Indiana star starting his second year as Iowa's basketball coach, wants to put the rumors to rest: he has not been contacted by the Hoosiers, nor does he want to be. "It's Sept. 12, this is the last time I'm going to talk about it," Alford said Tuesday. "I'm not going to talk about something that's not going to happen." Alford held a news conference because he said speculation that he would replace Bob Knight at Indiana was getting in the way of his recruiting and his team's preparations for the upcoming season. "I want them talking about what our Hawkeye basketball team is doing on a nightly basis, and that can't happen if there's some uneasiness, uncertainty with what's going on with the head coaching position at Iowa," Alford said. He said it's been an emotional 48 hours, since Knight was fired -- full of phone calls, e-mails and questions from different people asking him what his plans were. Alford, wearing a white sweater vest emblazoned with Iowa's tiger hawk logo, said he wants Indiana to know how he feels so that officials there can direct their search elsewhere. "I need to get that word out -- it's not just a commitment now, it's a commitment nine months from now," he said. Alford's relationship with Knight was strained in recent years. At their highly publicized meeting in Bloomington last season, Knight greeted Alford warmly before the game but went into a tirade when a reporter asked about his dealings with Alford. Indiana won that game 74-73. Iowa was 14-16 last year in Alford's first season, including a 6-10 mark in the Big Ten. Alford said he hopes to build the tradition at Iowa that Knight had at Indiana. The Hoosiers won three national championships under Knight, including 1987, with Alford leading the way. The New Castle, Ind., native was Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1983. Alford had to stop to compose himself as he talked about advice he received from family members, including his mother, who told him simply to pray. His wife, Tanya, was more direct. Alford said she told him to "pray as you will, but the kids and I aren't going anywhere." | ALSO SEE Hoosiers set to name Davis interim coach Mike Davis bio Ousted General: Knight fired for unacceptable behavior | |||||