Alford and Iowa

I appreciate Alford's apparent commitment to Iowa. He did not talk to Indiana. He did not talk to Missouri. He's focused. That's smart of him. He's got a good gig at Iowa. That job, frankly, does not have the pressures of an Indiana job, which would only be heightened for him as a former star. If by some happy chance he could win a National Championship at Iowa, or even build nationally successful program, he'd be the favorite 'son' of two states.

What would define success? He's been pretty successful so far: 20+ win seasons and 2 (3?) Big Ten Championships. I guess the next level would include going deeper in the NCAA tournament and recruiting stronger. Stronger recruiting means no good Iowa recruits going to Kansas (LaFrenz, Hinrichs, Collison) or Creighton (Korver). The top Iowa recruits should be drawn by Iowa, Iowa State, and UNI. Also, we need to draw more strongly from Chicago, St Louis and, at a stretch, Indiana (with Alford's connection there).

My brother swears that the word around Iowa City is that Alford's not that great a guy. That he's full of himself, etc. I don't know how to factor those rumors from the fish bowl in.