This week would have marked Iowa’s 26th trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Unfortunately, we are only left with memories of a great season and thoughts of great runs made in the past by the Hawkeye basketball team.

There’s no better run to glory than the one put together 40 years ago by the 1980 Iowa team.

A team led by an All American level point guard in Ronnie Lester, probably had more injuries than healthy players at times during the season and found their way to the Final Four in Indianapolis 40 years ago this week.

Lute Olson and the Hawkeyes faced their first bout with adversity at a Christmas Tournament in Dayton. Iowa was playing their Flyers in the championship game when Lester went down with a knee injury.

Iowa went on to finish out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a perfect 9-0 record, but Olson had to adjust his lineup and move Kenny Arnold from shooting guard to point guard. Then three games later, freshman forward Mark Gannon also suffered a knee injury and the Hawkeyes had to make more adjustments.

“Early on in the year, we just followed Ronnie’s lead. He was our leader and he set the tone. Then he gets hurt and Mark (Gannon) gets hurt and it was all hands on deck,” said Bobby Hansen, who was a freshman at the time.

The injuries continued with Arnold continuing to play with a broken hand and Hansen also broke a bone in his hand as well during the season. Yet, the Hawkeyes kept coming.

“We were a hardnosed bunch and we cared about each other,” Gannon said. “We all lived together and hung out together. I really think that’s what kept us together that season.”

Heading into the final week of the conference season, Iowa was 8-8 in the Big Ten and had hopes of making an NCAA Tournament field that only had 48 teams. Back in 1980, no one had any idea what a bracketologist was, so the Hawkeyes didn’t have any idea where they stood in the eyes of the selection committee.

“Coach Olson always said every game was important, especially down the stretch, but that final game felt important,” Gannon said. “It was our final home game and we were getting Ronnie back for his final game at The Fieldhouse.”

Iowa had beaten Michigan and all that was left was a game against rival Illinois. Lester returned, played 29 minutes, scored 15 points and dished out 5 assists in a hard fought 75-71 victory.

The Hawkeyes then gathered at Olson’s home to find out if they were in the field of 48. The Hawkeyes landed safely as the fifth seed in the east regional facing Virginia Commonwealth in Greensboro.

“You felt right away that it was a tough path with a good Virginia Commonwealth team and then NC State with a good group of seniors and their freshman class had Sidney Lowe, Thurl Bailey, and Derrick Whittenberg,” Hansen said.

Led by 23 points from Arnold and five players in double figures, Iowa cruised to an 86-72 victory and next up was N.C. State in their own backyard. The Hawkeyes went out and opened up a tight game in the second half by scoring 51 points on their way to a 77-64 victory.

The Hawkeyes were off to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament in Philadelphia. That included Iowa’s next opponent, Syracuse, Maryland, and Georgetown.

“There were three teams there that thought they were going to the Final Four and we just believed in ourselves,” Hansen said.

Syracuse was led by the starring duo of Louis Orr and Roosevelt Bouie and were coached by a young Jim Boeheim. Iowa build a lead in the first half and posted their third straight double digit win, 88-77. Standing in the way of the Hawkeyes first trip to the Final Four was an imposing Georgetown team, led by John Thompson and featuring star guard Eric “Sleepy” Floyd.

The Hoyas led by ten at the half and built the margin to 14 early in the second half before the Hawkeyes mounted a charge. Back in an era without a shot clock, Iowa drained the final minute plus before calling a timeout with the game tied at 78. Forward Kevin Boyle looked initially to get the ball to Lester, but he was facing double coverage, so he drove the ball towards the basket. He found center Steve Waite on the baseline. Waite drove the ball to the middle and banked it in to make perhaps the biggest basket in the history of Iowa basketball. Waite was fouled on the play and with four seconds left he made the free throw to give the Hawkeyes an 81-78 lead.

“I think Steve (Waite) was chosen by a higher power to make that play because I don’t think anyone else could have done it,” Gannon said.

This was before the three point shot and Georgetown tipped in a shot and Iowa inbounded the ball with less than a second left and the Hawkeyes were off to the Final Four after an 81-80 victory.

The Hawkeyes were flying by charter back from Philadelphia and arrived at the Cedar Rapids late that evening. A few fans had gathered at the airport to celebrate the victory, but that was just a small preview for what awaited them back in Iowa City.

“Someone from the University got on the bus and said we had a little pep rally at the Fieldhouse for the Iowa wrestlers, who had won the NCAA title,” Gannon said. “We had no idea what was really going on.”

“I was on the bus riding down there and it’s getting close to midnight and I was thinking that I had midterms this week and had class in the morning,” Hansen said.

The Iowa players filed into the locker room to drop off their gear, came up the stairs and saw a full Fieldhouse filled with Iowa fans waiting past midnight to celebrate with their Final Four team.

“I have never seen the place so packed,” Hansen said. “People were hanging off the iron rafters and they were really loud. I was like wow, this is Iowa and they love their Hawkeyes.”

One of the people there to greet the team was current Iowa assistant coach Kirk Speraw. He started the year as a graduate assistant that season, but was elevated to essentially assistant coach a few weeks earlier when assistant coach Tony McAndrews was severely injured in a plane crash on his way back from a recruiting trip. Speraw had spent the NCAA run on the road recruiting, so this was his first time seeing the team since they punched their ticket to the Final Four.

“It was amazing to see. I had actually been out recruiting and got to The Fieldhouse before the team arrived and it was packed with fans celebrating the wrestling team and then the basketball team when they arrived. I couldn’t believe how many people showed up and stayed so late,” Speraw said.

Next stop for the Hawkeyes was Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

Iowa would face Louisville and on the other side of the bracket, UCLA would battle Purdue. This was the year after the NCAA Tournament had risen to another level thanks to the title match-up between Michigan State and Magic Johnson against Indiana State and Larry Bird.

One thing they had prior to the games on Saturday was a Friday practice session at the arena. Iowa hit the floor and the stands were filled with fans and media covering the event were around the court.

“We actually had a real full practice,” Speraw said. “No one would do that today, but the fans were cheering and really enjoying it.”

“It was really unique,” Gannon said. “I have never practiced in front of stands filled with fans before, so it was really different, but that’s part of being at the Final Four.”

The next day it was the Hawkeyes and the Cardinals and more to the point, it was Lester against Louisville All American guard Darrell Griffith. For the first 12 minutes of the game it lived up to the billing. The high flying Cardinal guard had 16 points and Lester had 10 for the Hawkeyes.

“Ronnie was kind of tentative when he came back, which was to be expected,” Gannon said, “But, as the tournament went on he looked like Ronnie again and in that game he really looked like the guy himself until he went down.”

With about 8 minutes left in the first half, Lester stole the ball and was driving to the basket and was fouled. His knee gave out and his day was done and unfortunately so were the Hawkeyes. Iowa lost 80-72 and Hawkeye fans will always wonder what might have happened had their star guard stayed healthy.

“We will always have that what if with that game,” Hansen said. “What if Ronnie didn’t go down? We left everything on the floor and that’s what kept this team together over all these years, we left it all on the floor.”

Two days later Iowa lost to Purdue in the third place game to wrap-up what was a remarkable run and season. More importantly the bonds built from that season are still in place 40 years later and they are still as strong as ever.

“It was a special group of guys. We had a lot of leaders and a lot of great players and glue guys. Everyone knew their role and followed what Coach O said to do and even with all the adversity, we had a very special season,” Hansen said.