Though we may not think of the Iowa Hawkeyes as a traditional powerhouse in the world of college basketball, they are still one of the best basketball teams in Iowa. And there was one season in which they did something that was unfathomable.
We are familiar with high scores in this day and age but scoring 100 points or more in college is still a feat. Now imagine doing it in 14 of 25 games over the course of an entire season. That is what the 1969-70 Iowa Hawkeyes basketball team did on their way to a historic campaign. It was likely the best Hawkeyes basketball season ever.
That wasn’t the only thing that they did that season. They also happened to run the table against the Big Ten Conference that year, rolling to the tune of a 14-0 conference record. This is everything you need to know about that Hawkeyes team.
Not Exactly the Best Start
What most people who followed that season don’t remember is that it started with anything but promise. As a matter of fact, they opened the 1969-70 season with their second-lowest output of points, falling to Southern Illinois 73-67.
By the time New Year’s Eve rolled around – for the second game in the Rainbow Classic, the Hawkeyes were just 3-4. Along the way, they started to light up the scoreboard but were completely shut down by St. John’s in the first game of the Classic, losing a close one 57-55.
With the team sitting below .500 and the Big Ten schedule looming large, it felt like things could get off the rails in a way that most did not imagine. But that’s where the fun started.
As the Hawkeyes head into the NCAA tournament, we look back at another beloved @IowaHoops team. The 1969-70 Iowa men's basketball team: https://t.co/q13VAt3ZIY #Hawkeyes #AlwaysAHawkeye pic.twitter.com/ADMru8YU6e
— University of Iowa Center for Advancement (@UIAdvancement) March 19, 2021
How it Went
Beginning with the second game in the Rainbow Classic against Hawaii, the Iowa offense could not be stopped. The Hawkeyes would finish the season by winning their last 16 games, including running the Big Ten Conference slate to the tune of a 14-0 record.
Over that time, they hit 100 points or more in all but six of those games and only scored fewer than 90 once (an 83-81 win at Illinois). The Big Ten play began with a January 3rd matchup against #17 Purdue, a huge way for a struggling Hawkeyes team to get underway.
The rest of the schedule went as follows: win at Michigan, win at Wisconsin, win vs Tennessee Tech, win vs Indiana, win vs Minnesota, win at Indiana, win vs Wisconsin, win vs Michigan State, win at Illinois, win at Ohio State, win vs Northwestern, win at Purdue, win vs Ohio State, and a win at Northwestern.
During the course of the season, they would climb from unranked all the way to being the 8th-ranked team in the country. It was one of the most impressive runs not only in Iowa history but in college basketball history as well.
— Ralph Miller's high scoring 1969-70 Iowa Hawkeyes – featuring John Johnson and Downtown Freddie Brown — pic.twitter.com/7WcHAryA5O
— Matthew J.McCullough (@mckoosa1) April 22, 2022
The Climb in the Rankings
Iowa first started to get national attention after a dominant 92-74 win at Wisconsin on January 10, 1970. Heading into their next game two weeks later against Tennessee Tech, the Hawkeyes were finally ranked, landing at #20 in the AP polls.
They would stay there for a few more wins but after gaining their second decisive victory over powerhouse Indiana, they finally shot up to #14. The climb would be slow but steady, seeing them finish the regular season at #8 overall.
Despite losing in the regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament, the Hawkeyes would finish as the 7th-ranked team in the nation. Coach Ralph Miller, in his sixth season with the Hawkeyes, made his group known as the ‘Miller Six Pack’.
Five of the six members of the famed Six Pack would be eventually drafted into the NBA. Given that the league was comprised of just 17 teams at the time, the feat is even more impressive. They had a pair of first-round picks (more on them later), as well as Glenn Vidonic (4th round, Cleveland), Ben McGilmer (12th round, Baltimore), and Chad Calabria (14th round, Phoenix).
All About the Offense
You can’t talk about the 1969-70 Iowa Hawkeyes without talking about their offensive output. Though there were a few hiccups – an opening loss to Southern Illinois in which they scored 67 and a tight loss to St. John’s where they put up 55 – the rest of the season was a lesson in offensive basketball.
Over the course of a season in which they went 20-5, including an impressive 11-1 record on their home floor, they scored 100 points 11 times. They hit 90 or more six additional times. Other than the two aforementioned losses, they never scored less than 81 at any other point in the season.
In today’s game, where the 3-pointer has become a common way of life, that might not seem crazy. But considering what the rules of the game were at the time, it is even crazier than it sounds. For starters, the 3-point goal was still about 15 years or so away from becoming a normal part of the collegiate game. There weren’t players taking hundreds of threes per year like they are now, making the totals even more impressive.
But perhaps the single most impressive thing is that the shot clock had yet to be implemented. That means that teams could simply gain possession and drain the clock, keeping scores low around that time. Even with the lack of a shot clock, Iowa still played a fast-paced style of play that led to triple digits on any given night.
John Johnson
The catalyst to the offense that season was without a doubt senior forward John Johnson. Johnson was a man-possessed that season, averaging a team-best 28 points per game and 10.1 rebounds during this historic season.
He was so dominant as a senior for the Hawkeyes that it propelled him to the upper echelon of the NBA Draft, landing as the seventh overall pick. He only played two seasons for the Hawkeyes but he was outstanding in both campaigns. His leap to 28 points per game came following a debut season in which he averaged 19.7 points per game.
Johnson shot almost 57% from the field while hitting 75% of his free throws at the line. He led the team in points, rebounds, and field goal percentage, showcasing his dominance as a senior for the Hawkeyes.
His 27.9 points per game and 49 points against Northwestern are both still Iowa records. Johnson would finish as a Third-Team All-American for both UPI and the AP, solidifying himself as one of the premier players in the nation.
Fred Brown
Though Johnson was outstanding, he was far from the only tremendous player for the Hawkeyes. Fred Brown was dynamite for the Hawkeyes during the 1969-70 season, averaging 17.9 points per game and really establishing himself as one of the premier point guards in the country. That is why he is one of the best Hawkeyes basketball players in history.
That, combined with his outstanding 1970-71 season in which he improved to 27.6 points per game, while improving his rebound and assist totals as well as his free throw percentage, was why he went sixth overall in the 1971 draft.
Paired with Johnson, the two top-10 draft picks were the driving force of a Hawkeyes team that will be remembered for a long time to come. It has already been 50 years and will likely be at least 50 more years before their efforts are recalled.
The 1969-70 Iowa Hawkeyes – JJ #50 – Fred Brown #32 — Ralph Miller – head coach – They averaged 102.9 ppg. for the season and lost a heartbreaker to Artis Gilmore's Jacksonville Dolphins by one thin point in the NCAA Tournament – 104-103….. pic.twitter.com/xo9J8GvIB7
— Matthew J.McCullough (@mckoosa) March 30, 2020
How Did it End?
The Hawkeyes had finally made the NCAA tournament, their first trip since 1956. At this stage, the tournament was not the 64-team bracket that we are all familiar with. It was a 25-team bracket, which means that the level of competition was much tougher from top to bottom. The Hawkeyes faced the Jacksonville Dolphins, who won a play-in game versus Western Kentucky.
It was the battle of two offensive juggernauts, with Jacksonville having a pair of giants in Pembrook Burrows III (7-foot) and Artis Gilmore (7-foot-2). Gilmore wound up going on to the NBA and ABA, where he played 17 seasons and scored nearly 25,000 points.
It was Burrows, however, that wound up being the more difficult one to contain. He wound up leading Jacksonville to a surprise 104-103 victory, though the Hawkeyes blame something else for the loss. One of the best free throw shooting teams in the country at 78%, they made 19 of 31 from the line that day. Even two and the game could have been different.
It wasn’t all sadness, however. A couple of days later, playing Notre Dame in a regional consolation game, Iowa went off to the tune of a 121-106 victory. It was never even that close, with Iowa leading the game 75-42 at the half. Austin Carr had a game-high 45 points for Notre Dame but it wasn’t enough to get the game close.
Despite losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, this Iowa team will be remembered forever. They are one of the most historically relevant offensive teams in the history of college basketball and the catalyst to one of the best seasons in the history of the Iowa Hawkeyes program.
Credits on Featured Image: Kristine Full/Flickr
