Before Tom Davis arrived in Iowa City, Kevin Gamble was wondering about his future in basketball as a miscast power forward. Davis moved Gamble to shooting guard and the rest is history as the former Hawkeye made his way to a ten year NBA career. He talks about the magical 1986-87 season, his move to guard, and much more.

Q: Talk about your feelings heading into the reunion on Saturday.

GAMBLE: I'm excited. You don't keep in touch with all the guys, but you keep in touch with some of them. You see a few of the guys periodically at different events and functions. I don't get back to many games in Iowa City, so I am excited to get back there.

Q: Talk about that season and how things came together than year in your first year under a new coach.

GAMBLE: There were a lot of unknowns with Coach Davis coming in. When Coach Raveling left, I really had no choice but to be excited because before that the playing time I was getting wasn't very much. It was kind of a clean slate for me and then when Coach Davis came in he talked about his style of play and I think everyone was excited about the up-tempo style and the pressure defense. Plus, we also knew we had the athletes to go out and do it. Things came together very quickly for us. We won the Great Alaskan Shootout, beating a pretty good NC State team and then beating Northeastern and Reggie Lewis, who ended up being one of my teammates here in Boston. Of course we never imagined at that point that we would end up being ranked #1 in the country. I think some of the preseason magazines had us ranked, but a lot of the guys who ended up being key players for us really didn't play a lot. B.J. really didn't play a lot the previous year. I didn't play a lot and Lohaus was sitting out the year before. Once we got to 11,12, 13 wins, we thought we had something special and people started talking about us a lot. Then we ended up being #1 in the country after we had an impressive string of wins in the middle of the season before losing to Ohio State. I remember that Illinois game being down by more than 20 points and coming back and winning, then going to Purdue and winning there in a really tough game. Then we came home and had a great game against Indiana where we hit 100 points against a Bobby Knight team. One thing I knew about that team was everyone was unselfish. Roy Marble was probably our best player and he did a little bit of everything for us. Under Coach Davis, everyone got a chance to play and score and we were really a well balanced team.

Q: Going back to that Illinois game, that had to be a pretty nice win for yourself and Ed Horton since you guys grew up in Springfield.

GAMBLE: To be truthful, I didn't know if we could come back or not. I think we had that on our minds, but with Coach Davis and his style of play, you realize that you are never out of ball games. That is when we realized if we are down 10 or 15 or 23 like we were, you are never out of the game. I think that game was a big part of when we really believed in the system and what Coach Davis did. We also really believed in ourselves and once we got the hang of the pressure defense and trusted each other, it really took off. The big thing was I always knew if I got beat that my teammates were going to be there to back me up and if my teammate got beat, I would be there. There was a real level of trust and I think everyone bought into that. I think the win at Illinois really showed us that even as tough as the Big Ten is to win on the road, we can go into anyone's place and win. For Eddie and I to play in front of our friends and family and get that win made it even sweeter.

Q: Under Coach Raveling you were playing more inside. Coach Davis moves out to the outside and you really flourished in that role. What kind of an adjustment was it for you?

GAMBLE: It wasn't much of an adjustment at all. When I was at Lincoln Junior College, my coach had me playing the two guard or small forward position. My coach told me that he could have played me down low, but at the D1 level, I was going to be a guard. Once I got to Iowa, Coach Raveling put me at power forward so every day I was battling with Brad Lohaus, Al Lorenzen, and other forwards and centers. It was tough for me at my size, being 6-5/6-6 and 210 pounds going against guys that were bigger and stronger than me. I felt out of place because I wasn't a power forward.

Q: You had to be pretty thankful to Coach Davis because that led to a career in professional basketball.

GAMBLE: Yeah, I send him a Christmas card every year. (laugh) We still talk quite a bit and Coach Davis has been a great friend to me. He's a really easy going guy and a great leader. He is the primary reason that I made it to the NBA was able to get drafted in the 3rd round. If you looked at the film from the previous year, I was playing power forward, but I really flourished in his system playing guard. I knew I had the talent, so I was a little frustrated in my junior year. I wish I would have redshirted that year and had another year to play under Coach Davis and continue to play with Eddie, Roy, and B.J.

Q: You were on the staff with under Keno Davis at Providence for a year before he was let go. What are you doing now and are you still looking to stay in coaching?

GAMBLE: I am still looking to get back into coach. There is always turnover every year, so I am looking at NCAA coaching opportunities as well as the NBA. I am also looking at some opportunities perhaps in the women's side of NCAA coaching. I have a daughter who is in 9th grade this year and I have son who is a sophomore now in high school. Coaching is what I want to do, but after leaving Providence after last year I didn't get the chance to hook on with someone. Right now I am in Boston working as an administrator in the Boston school system and working with kids at an inner city middle school. I'm trying to reach some of the kids that need help and I am enjoying it.

Q: How good of a basketball player is your son?

GAMBLE: He is average right now, but he is turning the corner. He's 6-foot-5 right now and just turned 15. His schools is fairly small, so he is one of the bigger guys on the team and is playing inside, but he has the Kevin Gamble touch as far as shooting the jumper. (laugh) My daughter is already 6-foot-1 in 9th grade, so she is well on her way as well. I think my son, Kevin Jr., really understands the game, but he is going to be a bit of a late bloomer as far as size and strength. I think he will be ok, but he has a ways to go before he gets to the level of a Devyn Marble.

Q: Do you watch a lot of Iowa Basketball these days?

GAMBLE: I do, especially when you have kids on that team that you know. Of course I played with Roy and I know his son. Every time they play they show Roy in the stands. I have watched more than I have in the past. Last year you watched because you are scouting, but this year I have watched more as a fan and I like what they are doing.

Q: What is your old high school and college teammate Ed Horton doing these days?

GAMBLE: Eddie is doing well. He is doing some stuff with the Springfield school district helping kids at a lot of different schools. He is also helping out with the high school basketball team down there going to practice every once in a while.