Then & Now: Moe Iba

Then & Now: Moe Iba

Compiled By Dave Brandon

(Photo Courtesy NU Media Relations)

Nebraska

basketball Hall of Famer Moe Iba was the head coach of

the Huskers from 1981-1986, and achieved a career record

of 106-71. While at Nebraska, Iba’s teams averaged over

seventeen wins per season, and four times reached the

post-season, including the school’s first ever NCAA

tournament appearance in 1985-1986. Iba also won Big 8

coach of the year twice, and each of his six teams

finished with a winning record.

Iba recently joined HHC on the

twentieth anniversary of Nebraska’s first ever-modern

NCAA tournament birth, to talk about both yesterday and

today. 

HHC: Moe, its an

honor to have you join us, and we appreciate you taking

the time to do this.

MI:  No problem. It’s

a pleasant surprise to hear from you.

HHC: As a player, you started at guard for

three seasons at Oklahoma State, where you played for

your father, Henry Iba, who is probably the man that

revolutionized college basketball more than anyone else.

What was it like playing for him, and what did you

learn?

MI: Well, the thing

about playing for my father was that growing up, and

after watching the success they had at Oklahoma State,

that’s always where I wanted to play when I came out of

high school. So, that aspect of the experience made it

that much more enjoyable.

The thing that I got from playing

for my father was the philosophy that carried throughout

my coaching career, as far as knowing how to play

defense and handle players.

HHC: Upon graduating

from Oklahoma State, you took a job at Texas Western

(now UTEP) as an assistant coach to Don Haskins. While

at Texas Western, you were put in charge of the freshman

teams, and helped develop them while compiling a record

of 64-9. In fact, many of the players you developed

played on the famous 1966 team that upset Kentucky and

won the national championship. What was it like being a

part of that, and where does it rank on your

accomplishment list?

MI: At Texas Western,

coach Haskins and I were the only coaches, as I was his

assistant. So, that was truly an honor. And, the players

that we had on our freshman team did go on to play for

the varsity, as you pointed out, and I helped with them

there, too. 

Winning the championship at Texas

Western was a feat that people probably don’t realize; a

small school going against Kentucky, and winning a

national championship was just unbelievable. I was very

young at the time, and probably appreciate it now more

than then. The thing that is going to be nice is that in

the next three months, a movie is coming out about that

season.

HHC: Yeah, we saw

that, and we want to ask you about that in a second.

First, talk to us about what that 1966 team did in

helping African Americans cross into college basketball.

MI: It’s funny you

should mention that. The thing that I didn’t realize at

the time was that sure, we’d played against other black

players throughout the year, but when we played

Kentucky, they had all white players and we had all

black. And honestly, I think that’s what made it such a

monumental game. 

HHC: Have you had a

chance to see a sneak peak of the movie yet, which will

be called Glory Road?

MI: No, I haven’t,

although I’ve seen the previews, and we’re going to get

to preview it on November 28^th in El Paso.

And I’m looking very forward to that.

HHC: So who is going

to play you, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, or Vin Diesel?

MI: (Laughs) I don’t

know who is going to play me, but the story is mainly

about coach Haskins, and how he got to Texas Western.

And, then of course about the national championship,

which is what the story should be about. 

HHC: We’ll have to

check in with you after you’ve seen the movie. Hey,

after your impressive success at Texas Western, you took

the head-coaching job at Memphis State, where you stayed

from 1967-1970. Talk about your times in Tennessee.

MI: Well, my first year there, they were

independent, and we did well in going to the NIT. The

second year, we joined the Missouri Valley, and it was a

situation where Memphis State did not have any black

athletes. So, we recruited the first black athlete to

Memphis State, and I felt good about the progress we

made there, as far as breaking the color line. Some of

those recruits ended up going to the national finals

against UCLA, actually. 

HHC: You came to

Nebraska as Joe Cipriano’s top assistant coach in 1970,

which was a position you held for eight years. Talk

about what it was like working for “Slippery Joe,” and

what did you learn from him?

MI: The thing about

Joe was that he was a very good recruiter, and people

didn’t give him enough praise for his basketball

knowledge. I think I learned more about getting the ball

from the defensive end of the floor to the offensive end

than I’d ever known before from Joe. Joe believed in

solid basketball, good defense, and he wanted to play a

fast type offense, which I learned a great bit about

from him. 

Off the court, Joe and I became

very good friends, and he loved life. The way he was

taken away from us was a shame, but he was a wonderful

man, and of course, I got very close with his son Randy,

who became my assistant at Nebraska.

HHC: After your eight

years of being his top assistant, you served one year as

assistant head coach for Cipriano in 1979-1980, as he

was fighting cancer, and actually won Big 8 coach of the

year that season.

A year later, and one night before

the beginning of the 1980-1981 season, Cipriano lost his

battle with cancer, and you took over the reigns as head

coach of Nebraska. How difficult was this time of your

life, and what you remember about it?

MI: The toughest

thing was watching Joe go down hill, as far as the

cancer taking control. And the year that he was still

alive in 1979-1980, that was a wonderful year, because

he would go with the team and sit on the bench, and it

was his team. I think I got closer to him that year than

any other year. It was sad to see him go, and when he

passed away, we took over the ball club, and it was very

difficult for the players, I think. They thought so much

of Joe and rallied together, and played very well that

year. 

HHC: Your first two

years as head coach at Nebraska, in 1980-1981 and

1981-1982, your teams finished with winning records, and

in the top half of the conference. However, it’s the

next season, in 1982-1983, that we really want to talk

about, as your team made the final 4 of the NIT at

Madison Square Garden. Talk to us about what you

remember about that team?

MI: Well, that team

was a very special team because it was the first year of

Dave Hoppen at Nebraska. And, he was such a big part of

Nebraska basketball for the four years he was there. The

guards were David Ponce and Greg Downing, and Claude

Renfro played one of the forwards. Our big men weren’t

very big in stature, as far as height, but they were

very good athletes. It was a very special year, and I

just thought that we got a lot out of the ability that

we had. And David came along so well during that year.

HHC: Your 1983-1984

and 1984-1985 teams also made the NIT, just missing the

NCAA Tournament. Out of all three of your NIT teams at

Nebraska, did any of them underachieve, overachieve, or

did they all play to their level?

MI: Well, I thought that they all played

to their level. The one year, and I can’t remember

exactly when it was, but Stan Cloudy got hurt, and he

was our three man. He went down, and it was a situation

where I think we’d have done better if he had been

healthy at the end of the year. So, that was

disappointing. However, those teams all played well, and

they were all teams that I will remember, and of course,

David was the key cog of those teams. 

HHC: The immediate

success you had at Nebraska was quite amazing, and we

have to get your opinion on the whole “football school”

label that Nebraska has had on its forehead for decades.

Does that make it more difficult for basketball to

succeed, and was it that way when you were in Lincoln?

MI: Well, I’ve always

said that the best time of my life was when I was at

Nebraska, and I’ve always said this about Nebraska.

Because of the fans and facilities, and because of it

just being the University of Nebraska - If you can’t win

in basketball at the University of Nebraska, you can’t

coach.

HHC:  Before we talk about your last

season at Nebraska in 1985-1986, we have to talk about

the illegal practice prior to the start of that season.

What are your thoughts on it both then and now?

MI: Oh… (Pause) Well,

I guess it was a big deal to a lot of people… And, we

probably shouldn’t have done it the couple times we did

it. But, we were punished by getting so many practice

days taken away, and I’m sure that it upset some of the

people on the board of regents at Nebraska. And, I’m

sorry for it, but it was something that happened, and we

worked through that.

HHC: Now that we’ve got that out of the

way… (Laughs) 1985-1986 was a monumental year in

Nebraska basketball history, as your team achieved the

first ever modern NCAA Tournament birth in school

history, and Dave Hoppen became the all-time scoring

leader at Nebraska, despite going down with a crucial

injury in the Colorado game.

How special of a team was that?

MI: Well, the thing

about that year was that David was having a great year.

We went to Colorado, as you mentioned, and he hurt his

leg in the first half, and we went into halftime and I

asked him if he thought he could play, and he said yes.

So, he went back out, and it crumbled on him real early

in the second half. To this day, I don’t think he hurt

it any further, but he had ligament damage and couldn’t

play anymore that year. I thought we had a real good

chance to win the conference championship that year with

him.

The thing that was most amazing to

me was that the next game was at home against K-State,

and we got beat very badly. And, we changed some things

within the next week or so, and went to a very small

lineup. The players we had left accepted the roles they

were put in, and played probably as good of basketball

as I’ve ever had with a very small team.

Harvey Marshall was on that team,

as was Anthony Bailous. And, probably the one player

that gathered our team together better than anybody was

Bernard Day, who was a 6’4 and a half forward that

really played well. And, Brian Carr played great at the

guard spot, so we played three guards, and those people

played tremendous basketball for the last part of the

year.

HHC: At the end of that season, and

immediately following the first round NCAA tournament

loss to Western Kentucky, you resigned as head

basketball coach at Nebraska, despite having a large

amount of success. What drove you to this decision?

MI: It wasn’t my

choice, to be very honest with you. I resigned after I

had talked to coach Devaney, and some people on the

board of regents, along with the president at the time.

They had put pressure on Bob to fire me, and would have

in the middle of that year, had he not let me stay until

the end and resign. The people who made the decision on

that were totally away from athletics, and they know

whom they are and that they made a mistake. But, I have

nothing but good things to say about Nebraska.

HHC: In your own words, what kind of

basketball coach was Moe Iba?

MI: I think I was

demanding, but fair. I think that while I was at

Nebraska, the thing I appreciated more than anything was

that the players played hard, and that’s all you can ask

for with coaching.

HHC: Talk a little

bit about Jack Moore, whom you coached from 1979-1982,

and who later died in the tragic plane crash in 1984.

What was it like having him break your Big 8 free-throw

percentage record while he played for you?

MI: Jack Moore came

from Muncie Central, and he played for Bill Herald.

Moore came to Nebraska because of Joe. And, the first

year, even though he had been player of the year in

Indiana, Jack was not real successful - He was a little

overweight.

Then, his sophomore-senior years,

you couldn’t have asked for anymore from a point guard.

He ran the point guard well, and as you said, hit all

his free throws. And, at that time, there was no shot

clock, so anytime you got ahead late in the ballgame,

you gave the ball to Jack, because they had to foul him.

Jack was voted the best little

player in the country his senior year, as far as being

under 5’10”, and was a tremendous basketball player.

And, it was not just because of his size, but also

because his knowledge of the game, and how he knew how

to run a basketball team.

HHC: What are some of your favorite

players and memories while at Nebraska?

MI: First of all, my

favorite memories of Nebraska are the people. The people

in Lincoln and Omaha were great people, but I also

always found out, that the further west you moved, it

got even better. And, I was amazed, that even when it

was 20 below, and we were playing OU one night, and I

said to myself, “My God, there will be nobody here.”

And I walked into the gym to find

it full. That’s the thing that I remember, the support

we got from the fans, and how much they loved Nebraska.

Didn’t matter what they were playing, whether it be

football, baseball, basketball, or whatever; they had

great fans.

I could name a number of favorite

players, but all of the guys who played for us were

special, and I always remember them being great

individuals and playing their hearts out.

HHC: Update us on Moe Iba’s life since

1986. What have you been doing since resigning at

Nebraska?

MI: Well, after I left Nebraska, I spent

one year at Drake University as an assistant, and then

the next year, I got a job as head coach at Texas

Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, which is

where I live now. I coached there for six years, and had

good success, and then I just kind of got worn down on

basketball and retired.

Then, after being retired, I got

involved again, because of a former coach at Nebraska

that worked for me, John Hammond. He is the player

personnel director of the Detroit Pistons. So, he got me

involved with advanced scouting, and I’ve been doing

that the last seven years. I’ve worked for Detroit,

Toronto, Seattle, and a number of other teams in the

league. And, it’s been very enjoyable and kept me in

basketball.

HHC: That’s awesome,

we didn’t know any of that. Moe, we appreciate you

taking the time to join us. Would you be okay with

taking some e-mails from the fans at

[email protected] if we set you up an

e-mail account and tell you how to check it?   

MI: Yeah, the only

thing is I don’t have a computer. (Laughs) But yes, I

can get access to it and take e-mails, and would enjoy

that very much.

Like I said, my times at Nebraska

were the best of my life, and I’ve got nothing but good

things to say about them. This has been a very fun

conversation Dave, and I really appreciate you calling.<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">