Hawks start ballin', Kaczenski starts bawlin'

(By Chris Hassel)


It's hard not to get excited about the future of Hawkeye basketball, when watching Aaron White and Devyn Marble. Let's just hope these guys decide not to transfer at the end of the year. I remember feeling the same about Jake Kelly.

The new Tigerhawk at mid-court is pretty cool. I was never a fan of the small black circle, with an even smaller Tigerhawk. If they can do it at Carver, why can't they do it at Kinnick? Makes no sense. The field always looks so bare.

The Carver floor looks much better than it used to.

Doug McCermott had another great game for Creighton, tonight. He scored 27 points, on 10-of-14 shooting, in Creighton's 87-79 win over Northwestern. Not only do I think Creighton has a shot to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, I think McDermott could make a run at National Player of the Year. The guy puts on a clinic every time he plays --- and he's only a Sophomore!


Rick Kaczenski is throwing bombs on his way out of Iowa City. Just two days after leaving the Hawks, he announced he would be the D-Line coach at Nebraska. While being interviewed by a Nebraska radio station, he reportedly said: "It's obviously helps when you walk into high school and you have the N on your chest. It will be the 1st in my career when u r walking into high schools with a name brand on your chest. I'm excited about that." That quote is courtesy of Hawkeyeinsider.com's Rob Howe. I mentioned earlier in the week that I never like the guy. He was always a foul-mouthed hot-head on the sidelines...even before the game started. No other coach for Iowa/ISU, or any other team I've covered have stuck out like this guy. He has the sound of a dude that was upset that he wasn't going to be considered for the Defensive Coordinator position, at Iowa. Sour grapes.

Kaczenski even looks the part....

I'm a bit surprised that the Hawkeyes are already in Phoenix, getting ready for the Insight Bowl. I guess that's a good thing, right? I mean, at the very least, James Vandenberg has more time to get acclimated to being away from home. The Junior QB is 6-1 at home, and 1-4 on the road this season. It's harder to win on the road --- much harder...but he looks like a completely different player away from Kinnick Stadium.


Still no word on what Marcus Coker did to get suspended. That's probably good news. Media outlets all over the state, including Channel 13, continue to scour the court reports and make calls to police. No one seems to be investigating anything involving Coker. Hopefully it's something as simple as missing a practice. Ferentz is keeping tight-lipped. 



I almost got in a wreck the other day, thanks to one of the red-light cameras in Des Moines. I was creeping out into the intersection to turn left when the light turned yellow. The car that was coming the opposite way slammed on the breaks in the middle of the intersection because the person was obviously afraid of getting the ticket. I couldn't get around the person in time, so I had to throw it in reverse and scoot back to the line and wait for the light to change. Traffic cameras making things safer? Not a chance.