RON MALY HAS BEEN WATCHING THE PARADE GO BY FOR A LONG TIME. THIS IS ONE OF HIS WEBSITES.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

It Was Quite a Saturday In January, Starting With Some Outstanding High School Jazz Choir and Show Choir Performances On trhe Stage At Waukee. The Basketball Victories By Drake [Which I Feared Was Going To Be 0-for-the-Valley], Iowa State and Iowa Made It a Dazzling Afternoon and Night


By RON MALY

We spent all day and most of the night watching and listening to some excellent high school jazz choir nnd show choir performances at Waukee.

So I didn't see much basketball on the tube. 

I managed to watch the final few minutes of Iowa State's victory over Kansas on ESPN, and I'd heard earlier that Iowa defeated Ohio State. 

Frankly, I wasn't surprised with the Iowa State and Iowa victories. 

The Cyclones always win at Hilton Coliseum [regardless of what teams they're playing], don't they? 

I knew The Mayor wouldn't let Kansas off the hook tonight.

And Iowa had already beaten a strangely-inept Ohio State team in Columbus this season. I figured the Buckeyes would play an even poorer game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and I was right.

What did get my attention, though, was when I read the story Ty Patton of Drake sent me on my computer about the Bulldogs' game against Indiana State.  

That's the outcome that shocked me. 

I was talking to a longtime Drake fan last night at the Valley-Southeast Polk boys'/girls' doubleheader, and I told him I thought the Bulldogs were headed for an 0-for-the-Missouri-Valley- Conference record this season.  

To me, things were looking hopeless at the Knapp Center [and in every other gym in the Valley] for coach Ray Giacoletti and his players.  

Over the years, I've seen some tremendous basketball at Drake [thank you, Maury John, Tom Davis, Keno Davis, Bob Ortegel and Gary Garner], but I've also observed some lousy Drake teams, too.  

This 2014-2015 squad was one of the worst.

I was wondering if  Drake athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb would have to lure Tom Davis out of retirement a second time so he could pump some blood and oxygen into what had become a basketball program on life support. 

The Bulldogs went into today's game with records of 3-14 overall and 0-5 in the Valley. 

They were playing an Indiana State team that was 5-0 in the league.  

Yet, somehow Drake won the game, 84-78, meaning it won't be a winless league finish after all.    

Patton, Drake's sports information guy,  informed me in his account of the game that the victory was the 190th of Giacoletti's career.  

"I'm proud of this team," Giacoletti said after the game.  "We’ve been through as adverse a situation as I’ve ever been in in 30 years. This team has not splintered and it hasn’t broken.”  

That's good news.  I'll expect a second Valley victory very soon.  

No sense stopping now.

And nice going, Cyclones, Hawkeyes and all of the talented singers and dancers who participated in the  jazz choir and show choir extravaganza today on the stage at Waukee High School. 

Great show by all.