Steve Alford
Steve Alford
Sport(s)	Basketball
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	New Mexico
Biographical details
Born	(1964-11-23) November 23, 1964 (age 47) Franklin, Indiana, USA
Playing career
1983–1987 1987–1988 1988–1989 1989–1991	Indiana University Dallas Mavericks Golden State Warriors Dallas Mavericks
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1995 1995–1999 1999–2007 2007–present	Manchester Southwest Missouri State Iowa New Mexico
Accomplishments and honors
Championships NCAA National Championship (1987) Big Ten Tournament Championship (2001, 2006) MWC Regular Season Championship (2009 and 2010)

Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is a retired American basketball player and the current head coach of the University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team. Alford, a former college basketball star and NBA player, was born in Franklin, Indiana and grew up in New Castle, Indiana.

Playing career[link]

Early life and prep career[link]

Alford learned to count as a three-year-old by watching the numbers tick off the scoreboard in Monroe City, Indiana, where his dad, Sam Alford, coached the high school team. Sam frequently moved around for various coaching jobs. Steve missed only two of his dad's games, once when he had chicken pox, and once when he made the regionals of the Elks Club free-throw shooting contest.^[1] When Alford was nine years old he attended a basketball camp put on by Coach Bob Knight.^[1] Eventually the Alfords settled in New Castle, Indiana, where Steve played on the New Castle Chrysler High School basketball team with his dad as coach. Alford was known to practice shooting so much that he would wear out six or seven nets a summer and frequently forego social activities in favor of practicing.^[1]

As a freshman Alford barely averaged a point a game, but then averaged 18.7 the next season.^[1] By his senior year in 1983, before the 3-point line was even implemented, Alford averaged 37.7 points per game and earned the Indiana "Mr. Basketball" award.^[2] His team advanced to the state quarterfinal but lost to Connersville in the 1983 state tournament. Later, shortly after Alford won a gold medal as a member of Bob Knight's U.S. Olympic team, he gave the medal to his dad in a tearful ceremony at the high school in tribute to the loss.^[1]

Indiana University[link]

Alford elected to play basketball for Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team. At Indiana, Alford became the university's all time leading scorer with 2,438 points (a record later eclipsed by Calbert Cheaney, who eventually went on to become the Big Ten's all time leading scorer). Alford was the first player to be named the team's MVP four times. During his final three seasons, Alford earned first team all-Big Ten honors. In the Legends of College Basketball by The Sporting News Alford was #35 on the list of the 100 greatest Division-I college basketball players. When The Sporting News named its top ten NCAA basketball players of the 1980s in December 1989, Alford was listed at number ten.

As a freshman, Alford quickly earned the favor of Coach Knight. Dan Dakich, Alford's former teammate and later an interim Indiana coach, said, "Steve was incredibly mature as a freshman. He was getting thrown out of practice then. If Coach respects you and knows you can handle it, he'll do that. When I was a freshman, only Randy Wittman and Ted Kitchel, the seniors, were thrown out." ^[1] That year Alford helped lead Indiana to an upset of the Michael Jordan led North Carolina Tar Heels in the 1984 NCAA tournament. As a sophomore Alford was named to the 1985 NIT Tournament All-Tournament team after the Hoosiers finished second behind UCLA.

As a junior, Alford and the 1985-86 Hoosiers were profiled in a best-selling book A Season on the Brink. Author John Feinstein was granted unprecedented access to the Indiana basketball program and insights into Knight's coaching style. The book recounts how Knight once criticized Alford's work habits and leadership ability, telling him he couldn't "lead a whore into bed." ^[1] Knight later admitted that Alford was in fact an incredible worker and leader, and that the comments were just Knight's method of motivating players.^[1] The Hoosiers went 21-8 that year and finished 2nd in the Big Ten, with Alford earning All-America and Big Ten Player of the Year honors.

In his senior year, the Alford-led 1986-87 Hoosiers won Indiana's fifth national championship against Syracuse in the 1987 NCAA tournament. The game was decided by a game-winning jump shot by Keith Smart with five seconds of play remaining.^[3] Alford shot 7–10 from the 3-point line, scoring 23 points.

Olympics[link]

Olympic medal record
Men's basketball
Competitor for the  United States
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	Basketball

For the 1984 Summer Olympics Alford, just 19 years old and a sophomore, was selected to play on the U.S. basketball team, coached by Bob 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 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.

Professional[link]

Many fans in Indiana expected Alford to be drafted by the Indiana Pacers, but the Pacers selected Reggie Miller instead, and Alford fell to the Dallas Mavericks.^[4] Initially the choice angered Indiana fans, but ultimately fans and even Alford embraced the decision. Years later Alford said, "Not only was it a much better draft choice than drafting me ... Reggie turned out not to be a great pick, he turned out to be great for the state of Indiana."^[2] Alford played in the NBA for four seasons, mostly with the Dallas Mavericks, though he spent a portion of one season with Golden State Warriors. Over the course of his career, he started three games, scored 744 points, had 176 assists, and shot free throws with an accuracy of 87 percent.

Player profile[link]

Alford quickly became the face of Indiana basketball and a fan favorite throughout the state. Dan Dakich, Alford's former teammate and later an interim Indiana coach, said of him, "Basically, he owns all of Indiana." ^[1] Alford's wife Tanya said, "Everybody talks about his hair, his all-American image, how mothers would want him to marry their daughter. Everybody thinks he's so perfect. Well, that's a pretty accurate image. That's exactly what he is." ^[1]

Alford embodied the "David versus Goliath" image of Indiana basketball popularized in the hit movie Hoosiers (released in 1986 while Alford was at Indiana). He was small for a major-college guard, slow without any compensatory quickness and strong only because he ate and flexed himself up to 185 pounds from 150 as a freshman.^[1] According to commentators, Alford owed his success to repetition and work.^[1] In his workouts he would pick a spot on the floor and take 10 shots. If he didn't make eight, he would punish himself with fingertip push-ups or wind sprints. At the end of his college career, Coach Knight said, "He's gotten more out of his abilities offensively than anybody I've seen play college basketball. He's about as good a scorer for being strictly a jump shooter as I've ever seen. He's scored more than 2,400 points that way, and that's incredible, considering he doesn't get any tip-ins, drives or dunks." ^[1]

Alford is considered one of the best free throw shooters in the history of the game.^[1] Alford's free throw percentage of .897 (535-596) is fourth best in the history of the NCAA. His form at the foul line is so routine that it inspired a famous mantra from Indiana fans: "Socks, shorts, 1-2-3 swish". Before releasing a free throw, Alford told himself, "Soft over the front edge of the rim," and some people believed they could see his lips move.^[1]

Coaching career[link]

Manchester College Spartans[link]

Alford began his college coaching career in North Manchester, Indiana. He started in 1991 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.

Southwest Missouri State Bears[link]

Following his time at Manchester, Alford was named the head coach at Southwest Missouri State University. He began his position there in the 1995-96 season, and would remain there until 1999. During his time at Missouri State, his teams posted a 78–48 record. In 1999 the Bears advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Duke.

Iowa Hawkeyes[link]

Steve Alford was named the head coach of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball program on March 22, 1999.

Although Alford's first game as coach was a 70–68 victory against the defending national champion Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden, his team went 14-16 during his first season at Iowa. During his second year (2000–01) the Hawkeyes went 23–12 in the regular season and 7–9 in the Big Ten Conference regular season, but they won the Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament with four straight wins against Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, and Indiana. This earned them a #7 seed in the 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, where they defeated Creighton in the first round but lost to Kentucky in the second round.

The Hawkeyes' conference record dropped to 5–11 during the 2001–02 season, but they defeated Purdue, Wisconsin, and Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament before losing to Ohio State in the finals. The Hawkeyes played in the National Invitation Tournament that season, but lost to LSU in the first round to finish with a 19–16 record. This was the first of three straight seasons that the Hawkeyes played in the NIT under Alford. They won the first two rounds of the 2003 tournament against Valparaiso and Iowa State before losing to Georgia Tech, finishing with a 17–14 record. In 2004 they lost to St. Louis in the first round of the NIT to finish 16–13 despite a 9–7 conference record (the first winning Big Ten Conference record under Alford).

The Hawkeyes finished 21-12 with a 7-9 conference record in the 2004-2005 regular season, but they won their first two Big Ten Tournament games against Purdue and Michigan State before losing the third game to Wisconsin, 59-56. They earned an at-large invitation to the 2005 NCAA Tournament as a #10 seed, where they lost 76-64 to Cincinnati in the first round. During the season, leading scorer Pierre Pierce was dismissed from the team amid charges of sexual abuse; Pierce ultimately served one year in prison.

During the 2005–06 season, the Hawkeyes went undefeated at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and finished in a second-place tie with Illinois with an 11-5 conference record, one game behind Ohio State. However, the Hawkeyes defeated Minnesota, Michigan State, and Ohio State to win the Big Ten Tournament and finish 25-8 going into its third NCAA Tournament under Alford. They were seeded #3 in the Atlanta Regional of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, but lost in a first-round upset to #14 seed Northwestern State 64-63, leaving Alford with only one NCAA Tournament win since taking over at Iowa.

During the 2006–2007 season, Alford led the Hawkeyes to an 8–6 non-conference record (losing to in-state rivals Drake and Northern Iowa) and an 9–7 record in the Big Ten Conference (17-14 overall). Iowa failed to make the NCAA tournament or the NIT. It marked the first time since the 1976–1977 season that an Iowa team with a winning record has failed to make either the NCAA tournament or the NIT.

At the conclusion of the 2006–2007 season, Alford resigned from the University of Iowa to accept the coaching position at the University of New Mexico.

New Mexico Lobos[link]

Alford was named head coach at the University of New Mexico on March 23, 2007 replacing the fired Ritchie McKay. In his first year as the Lobos coach Alford posted a record of 24–9, 11–5 in league play. Twenty-four wins is the most for a New Mexico head coach in their first year. The Lobos were led by future 1st round Boston Celtics draft pick J. R. Giddens. The Lobos were eliminated in the first round of the NIT by Cal.

In his second season, led by seniors Daniel Faris, Tony Danridge and Chad Toppert, Alford guided the Lobos to their first conference championship in 15 years. He earned the MWC coach of the year award for his team's performance. Alford also set a record for most wins in the first two seasons for a UNM head coach. Alford and his New Mexico squad fell just short of the NCAA tourney and ended up with their second consecutive NIT bid. They won a first round home game against Nebraska and lost on a last second buzzer beater on the road to Notre Dame.

His third year, coaching a mostly young, untested team, Alford's Lobos nevertheless won the regular season MWC title for the second year in a row, were ranked in the top 15 for the majority of the year, and earned a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the team's first bid since 2005. In the first round, they survived a tough game against Montana 62–57, but despite Dairese Gary's 28 points, fell in the second round to an upstart Washington side. At the end of the season Coach Alford received a ten year contract extension through the 2019–20 season.

Controversy[link]

In the 2010 season during a post-game handshake line, Alford had a confrontation with a BYU forward player in which Alford called him an "extremely vulgar" name, according to the Wall Street Journal.^[5]

Head coaching record[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Steve Alford's Biography on GoLobos.com
• Career Statistics
• Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame profile

Steve Alford – championships, awards and honors Awards and achievements Preceded by Roger Harden Indiana Mr. Basketball 1983 Succeeded by Troy Lewis & Delray Brooks v t e 1984 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball team - United States 4 Alford 5 Turner 6 Ewing 7 Fleming 8 Robertson 9 Jordan 10 Kleine 11 Koncak 12 Mullin 13 Tisdale 14 Perkins 15 Wood Coach: Knight v t e Indiana Hoosiers Men's Basketball 1986–87 NCAA Champions 12 Steve Alford 20 Ricky Calloway 22 Dean Garrett 23 Keith Smart (MOP) 24 Daryl Thomas 45 Brian Sloan Head Coach Bob Knight Assistant Coaches: Royce Waltman Joby Wright v t e 1986 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans First Team Steve Alford Walter Berry Len Bias Johnny Dawkins Kenny Walker Second Team Dell Curry Brad Daugherty Ron Harper Danny Manning David Robinson Scott Skiles v t e 1987 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans First Team Steve Alford Danny Manning David Robinson Kenny Smith Reggie Williams Second Team Armon Gilliam Horace Grant Dennis Hopson Mark Jackson Ken Norman v t e Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year 1982: Jim Spivey 1983: Ed Banach 1984: Sunder Nix 1985: Barry Davis 1986: Chuck Long 1987: Steve Alford 1988: Jim Abbott 1989: Glen Rice 1990: Anthony Thompson 1991: Mike Barrowman 1992: Desmond Howard 1993: John Roethlisberger 1994: Glenn Robinson 1995: Tom Dolan 1996: Eddie George 1997: Blaine Wilson 1998: Charles Woodson 1999: Luke Donald 2000: Ron Dayne 2001: Ryan Miller 2002: Jordan Leopold 2003: Amer Delic & Matt Lackey 2004: Damion Hahn 2005: Luis Vargas 2006: Peter Vanderkaay 2007: Cole Konrad 2008: Brent Metcalf 2009: Jake Herbert 2010: Evan Turner 2011: David Boudia v t e 1987 NBA Draft First round David Robinson Armon Gilliam Dennis Hopson Reggie Williams Scottie Pippen Kenny Smith Kevin Johnson Olden Polynice Derrick McKey Horace Grant Reggie Miller Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues Joe Wolf Tellis Frank José Ortiz Christian Welp Ronnie Murphy Mark Jackson Ken Norman Jim Farmer Dallas Comegys Reggie Lewis Greg Anderson Second round Fred Banks Ron Moore Steve Alford Nate Blackwell Rickie Winslow Lester Fonville Nikita Wilson Andre Moore Bob McCann Tony White Brian Rowsom Doug Lee Duane Washington Derrick Dowell Norris Coleman Vincent Askew Winston Garland Kannard Johnson Terrance Bailey Andrew Kennedy Terry Coner Brad Lohaus Bruce Dalrymple v t e Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year 2000: Bayno & Minton 2001: Hunsaker 2002: McClain 2003: Cleveland 2004: Scott 2005: Giacoletti 2006: Rose 2007: Rose 2008: Kruger 2009: Alford 2010: Alford 2011: Rose & Fisher 2012: Fisher v t e Associated Press Indiana All-Century high school basketball team Steve Alford Damon Bailey Kent Benson Larry Bird Hallie Bryant Mike Conley Bill Garrett Terry Dischinger Eric Gordon Billy Keller Clyde Lovellette George McGinnis Rick Mount Greg Oden Bobby Plump Zach Randolph Jimmy Rayl Oscar Robertson Glenn Robinson Scott Skiles Homer Stonebraker Deshaun Thomas Clay Trainum Dick Van Arsdale Tom Van Arsdale John Wooden Fuzzy Vandivier