Expecting Iowa to make it back to the NCAA tournament this season is probably too much.
The Hawkeyes intend to have fun trying, though.
Fresh off three losing and some would say boring seasons under fired coach Todd Lickliter, Iowa and new coach Fran McCaffery are bringing a run-and-gun style back this season.
The change in format from Lickliter's halfcourt system is twofold: to lure back local fans tired of watching slow and ultimately losing basketball and, more important, to start winning again.
Iowa finished 10-22 last season, dropping 20 or more games for the first time.
''When we get the ball off the rim, we go,'' said McCaffery, who was hired away from Siena in March. ''It's an aggressive mentality at both ends of the floor.''
Whether McCaffery has the horses to pull it off is another matter.
There's no question that Iowa has some talented players. The question, of course, is if the Hawkeyes have enough of them to be a factor in the Big Ten race.
The backcourt has a chance to be a strength. Sophomore Cully Payne has more experience than he probably should at this point in his career, having been forced to start all 32 games a year ago, and McCaffery wants him to be more aggressive in looking for his own shot.
Junior Matt Gatens, who tore a tendon in his non-shooting hand that could keep him out for the first week, has dropped close to 20 pounds to fit the new system. After two years of being a do-everything for the undermanned Hawkeyes, he's settled in at shooting guard.
Gatens averaged 12.3 points a game last season and was an honorable-mention All-Big Ten pick despite playing through a variety of bumps and bruises. If Gatens can stay healthy, he could blossom into a star in this system.
So can sophomore small forward Eric May, whose athleticism will find a welcome home in McCaffery's up-and-down attack. May, an all-Big Ten freshman team pick in 2009-10, led the Hawkeyes in blocks and steals a year ago and will be a key cog in Iowa's defensive efforts.
''They are athletic enough to play this style. Keep in mind, we're not playing like Loyola Marymount. We're not playing that way. We're going to dig in defensively,'' McCaffery said. ''We have good athletes, good basketball IQ, we've got toughness, and we've got players who want to win.''
Iowa could have problems down low unless a few under-the-radar post players emerge.
Jarryd Cole, the only senior on the roster, is a bit undersized but has managed to do a decent job in his time with the Hawkeyes. Junior-college transfer Devon Archie, who missed last season with a shoulder injury, and junior Andrew Brommer will be on the spot at power forward but should be pushed by a pair of athletic freshman: Melsahn Basabe and Zach McCabe.
Iowa has been a program in transition ever since that day nearly five years ago when Northwestern State drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to stun the Hawkeyes in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Steve Alford beat the posse out of town a year later, leaving for New Mexico. Though Lickliter's humble demeanor seemed a fit for the Hawkeyes when they hired him, players came and went with stunning regularity and that, ultimately, led to his downfall.
McCaffery inherits a program that was as down as it's been in recent memory, and dwindling attendance numbers speak to the apathy in Iowa City.
McCaffery believes a more exciting brand of basketball might bring fans back. But he knows that only winning is going to keep them in the building.
''I think it's really hard in college basketball today to play slow, unless you're winning a lot of games. People just don't want to see that,'' McCaffery said. ''At the same time, there's got to be a plan behind it.''
