Remembering Iowa's 1980 Final Four team

Thirty-five years ago, the Iowa Hawkeyes limped into the NCAA men's basketball tournament on the back and one good leg of our all-America point guard, Ronnie Lester. Before ESPN, or even the term "March Madness," became mainstream, we were a Cinderella in a season that played out like a Greek tragedy. If you asked any one of my teammates today, they would remember three things that set us apart in 1980: adversity, adoration and miracles.

Adversity

We eked into the Big Dance, undefeated when Lester was healthy enough to finish a game but barely able to break .500 when he wasn't. The adversity we faced was cruel. One morning we woke to the horrifying news that our beloved top assistant coach, Tony McAndrews, was in critical condition with multiple fractures and head injuries after the small plane returning him from a recruiting trip crashed. Authorities said it was a miracle he survived. Coach McAndrews would recover but he would not return to the bench that season and his passionate intensity was a significant loss.