If You Build It, They Will Come

If your NBA team is out, it's nice to have a team to root for.  Below are the teams ranked by the thing that matters to this blog: the number of Iowa Connections.  TLDR Go Utah and Denver!  Boo most of the Eastern Conference! Iowa Playoff Connections 2 - Denver :           Monte Morris (ISU),  Ryan Bowen  (Iowa) 2 - Utah :                Georges Niang (ISU) ,  Matt Thomas (ISU) 1 - Portland :            Terry Stotts  (Cedar Falls) 1 - Brooklyn :              Tyler Cook  (Iowa) 1 - LA Lakers :      Talen Horton-Tucker (ISU) 1 - Phoenix :      Abdel Nader (ISU) 0 - Boston 0 - Atlanta 0 - Milwaukee 0 - Miami 0 - New York 0 - Washington 0 - Philadelphia 0 - LA Clippers 0 - Dallas 0 - Memphis Playoff Results (11-3) Let's see how the blog's rooting interests did....

        Profile Trev Alberts was a linebacker for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the early 90s, who was a consensus All-American in 1993*.  He was drafted #5 overall in the 1994 draft** by the Indianapolis Colts, but injures limited his career to three years.  Trev was born in Cedar Falls, and now works as the athletics director at UNO (University of Nebraska-Omaha).   * Alberts also won the Jack Lambert Award for best linebacker, also won by Iowa's Josey Jewell in 2017 ** 1994 NFL Draft Iowa Connections: Mike Wells (4th UofI) and Kurt Warner (Undrafted  UNI) Personal Notes I wonder if Trev thinks about his pro career much.  He was a dominant player in college, garnering many awards and played for a national championship with Nebraska.  But injuries derailed his pro career and he was done.  One could reasonably wallow a while wondering why his talent went to waste, but Trev didn't do that.  He pushed himself into other jobs....

Here's my updated list for Iowa Connections on NBA teams.  Connections are sparser than the NFL, so I will only list teams with connections. Note: Coaches in italics . Note 2: Matt Thomas and Tyler Cook have played for 2 teams this year. Iowa State Cyclones : 7 Ames : 2 Iowa Hawkeyes : 2 Northern Iowa : 1 Buena Vista : 1 Cedar Falls : 1 1 - Brooklyn :             Tyler Cook (Iowa) 2 - Toronto :              Nick Nurs e (UNI),  Matt Thomas (ISU) 1 - Los Angeles Lakers :      Talen Horton-Tucker (ISU) 1 - Phoenix :      Abdel Nader (ISU) 2 - Sacramento :       Harrison Barnes (Ames),  Tyrese Haliburton (ISU) 2 - Indiana :                Doug McDermott (Ames),  Nate Bjorkgren (Buena Vista) 2 - Denver :           Monte Morris (ISU), Ryan Bowen (Iowa) 2 - Utah : ...

        Profile George Kittle is a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, and is considered one of the best in the game.  He received a player of the year award for his record breaking 2019 season, leading his team to the Super Bowl.  He attended both Iowa City West and Cedar Falls before becoming an Iowa Hawkeye.  He was drafted in the 2017* draft **. * Iowa connections in this draft: Desmond King (UofI), Jaleel Johnson (UofI), C.J. Beatherd (UofI), Amara Darboh (Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines), Eric Saubert (Drake) ** Tight ends drafted before Kittle (146): O.J. Howard (19), Evan Engram (23), David Njoku (29), Gerald Everett (44), Adam Shaheen (45), Jonnu Smith (100), Michael Roberts (127), Jake Butt (145) Personal Notes Iowa has reputation for developing great tight ends (yes, I know how that sounds you 7 year old), and have been represented by a number in the pros. A short list of the most prominent, probably a few guys that you've had on a fant...

Here's the final list of players with Iowa Connections in the NFL in 2020.  For shame Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta and Carolina.  I mean 3/4 NFC West teams had 0 Iowa Connections (the one team that did won the Super Bowl, think about that!) Note: Coaches in italics Iowa Hawkeyes : 46 Iowa State Cyclones : 15 Northern Iowa Panthers : 8 Iowa Western Community College : 3 Drake Bulldogs : 2 Ellsworth Community College : 2 Des Moines : 3 Iowa City : 1 Ames : 1 Cedar Falls : 1 Marion : 1 Johnston : 1 5 - Green Bay : Christian Kirksey, Josh Jackson , Jerry Montgomery (Iowa), Allen Lazard (ISU), Dominique Dafney (W. Des Moines) 5 - New England :    Carl Davis, James Ferentz, Ross Reynolds (Iowa), Xavier Williams (UNI), Nick Caley (ISU) 5 - Chicago : David Montgomery,  Jay Rodgers  (ISU), James Daniels /  Mark DeLeone  (Iowa),  Mike Furrey  (UNI) 4 - Buffalo : Ike Boettger /  AJ Epenesa  / Micah Hyde (Iowa), AJ Klein (IS...

 If your NFL team is out, it's nice to have a team to root for.  Below are the teams ranked by the thing that matters to this blog: the number of Iowa Connections.  TLDR Go Buffalo!  Boo New Orleans! Iowa Playoff Connections 2 - Tampa Bay : Tristan Wirfs / Anthony Nelson (Iowa) 4 - Buffalo : Ike Boettger /  AJ Epenesa  / Micah Hyde (Iowa), AJ Klein (ISU) 4 - Green Bay : Christian Kirksey / Josh Jackson (Iowa), Allen Lazard (ISU), Dominique Dafney (W. Des Moines) 3 - Kansas City : Ben Niemann / Anthony Hitchens (Iowa), Kelechi Osemele (ISU) 3 - Tennessee : Parker Hesse/ Desmond King / Amani Hooker (Iowa) 2 - Washington : Ross Pierschbacher (Cedar Falls), Brandon Scherff (Iowa) 2 - Los Angeles Rams : Austin Blythe / Jake Gervase (Iowa) 2 - Baltimore : LJ Fort (UNI), Kristian Welch (Iowa) 2 - Cleveland : Adrian Clayborn / Derrick Willies (Iowa) 2 - Chicago : David Montgomery (ISU), James Da...