Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Remember Chris Street with his teammate Wade Lookingbill

Episode Date: January 18, 2023

Trent Condon talks about the latest on the New England Patriots offensive coordinator position and Bill O'Brien and why that matter for Iowa football. Then former Hawkeye Wade Lookingbill talks about his teammate Chris Street.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at Linkedin.com/lockedoncollege Terms and conditions apply.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bill O'Brien apparently is not real keen on the idea of going back to New England. What does that mean for Iowa football? And we remember the great Chris Street. Every day. Welcome into the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. I'm Trent Condon, and thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen each and every day. We're available wherever you get podcasts, Apple, Google, Stitcher, you name it, we're there. Spotify, oh yes, we are there.

And of course, you can also find us on YouTube. Just hit the subscribe button while you're there. Helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Five-star reviews, that's what we're looking for on the podcast side. Little football talk today. Plenty of basketball on the anniversary. 30 years of the passing of Chris Street. We will talk today to one of his teammates. Wade Lookingbill is going to stop in.

We will talk to Wade about him, his life, his legacy, and, of course, the documentary that we're going to see coming up this evening on Big Ten Network, 8 o'clock, right after the game that is on finishes up. They will go into that with the postponement of the Iowa Northwestern game that was supposed to be played tonight at 8 o'clock. Weather looked a little iffy. I was talking about making my way over there now.

Don't have to worry about the weather. Unfortunately, we will see when they get that game in. As we talked about a little bit yesterday, still a waiting word when they're going to get that game in. And a possibility is if Northwestern going to get that game in and a possibility is if Northwestern going to be able to play this weekend and that's obviously a huge huge component to that we're going to talk with late coming up here in just a little bit but kick things off with little football news and a report that came out from over the weekend this I found on Yahoo Sports

from Danny Jallet. Excuse me. And the conversation that we've had a lot, if there's going to be a change in the offensive staff, if we're going to see movement happen with this Iowa football team, how is this going to happen? How is this going to play out? We know Kirk Ferentz is not going to fire his son. It doesn't matter how bad it was because it was as bad as it possibly could be this year.

And it looks like there's no changes afoot at this point in time. As we look around college football and everybody making moves Clemson they're out changing things around you got Wisconsin being a portal star and and the evolution of them they're going out and getting wide receivers and three four-star quarterbacks and on and on and on to the excitement that's building here we are even with some excitement in Iowa I mean there's not to take away from Cade McNamara and Eric Hall and Seth Anderson and the portal and getting the six-year guys to come back for another season. Nico Ragaghini coming back for another year and the excitement of that.

We got Joey the Bull coming back for another year, rushing the passer over on the edge. Yeah, we have that excitement, but it's just not at the same level as what we're seeing with some other people and other teams. So you have that component to it and something definitely that you have to look at overall and wonder what's next for Iowa. The portal is coming to a close. Players cannot enter anymore. Classes have started in Iowa. How quickly do they need to turn things around?

Is there a possibility of still another addition? It seems unlikely at this point. So we wait and we wait for a decision from Kirk Ferentz of what he's going to do. Is Gary Barty going to step in and force a decision? Well, the easiest domino to fall was Bill O'Brien getting the offensive coordinator job with the New England Patriots. Of course, familiarity there already. That's where Brian Ferentz began his coaching career. You have that component to it. Sound like at least from some of the people that had some inside knowledge of the situation that Brian Ferentz was well-respected by Bill Belichick and that staff.

And they, they really thought that he had a chance to be a really good coach in the future and, and did some good things there. He had a ton of talent. Look, it's easy to coach guys like Gronk and Aaron Hernandez off field stuff aside. Those are two incredibly talented guys. But when that was happening, when that was going on, the question was, all right, he's going to come back to Iowa. What do we really know about him as a coach?

The thing about Brian Ferentz is he's got, I'm sure, great coaching qualities, but you've got to show up, right? And in six years as an offensive coordinator, it just doesn't work. It doesn't mean that you're a bad coach. It just means something completely different. So we have that component of it and definitely something. But the report from Yahoo about Bill O'Brien being floated, coming back here, there is talk that he's not exactly real keen on the return. This is from Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard. And he says this, he checks all the boxes,

knows the system, can coach the quarterback, has a relationship with Mac Jones, is not an outsider, has probably learned a few new tricks in the college game. Last I heard, this can change as quickly as the Patriots policy on commenting contracts. He was not gung-ho about this gig

due to the lack of clarity about the setup. Belichick told O'Brien he had autonomy, including over-assistance. There it is. That might make it more attractive. As we await for the dominoes to fall, we will continue to see on that front. Well, we're going to talk with Wade Lookingbill,

the former Hawkeye. He is going to join us here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. We will remember Chris Street when we come back here in a moment. You're listening to Lockdown Hawkeyes. Today's episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast is brought to you by BetOnline, your number one source for sports betting information, stats, news, and analysis.

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As we roll through here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, happy to be joined right now by Wade Lookingbill. Wade, good to catch up again. Good to see your face. We've done some basketball together. Got to see you over at the Iowa-Indiana game. Well, you're a little closer to the action than I was down there. Thanks for hopping on with us today.

Yeah, thanks, Trent. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. Well, of course, today it is a day that I think anybody remembers if you're old enough to remember. And with the podcast, it's something that I've talked about this week is I want to have the ability to talk about it to the younger people. And one of my disappointments, as I told you, I was with my daughter at the Indiana game. She's seven. She's getting really interested now in basketball. She's out there playing at the Rec game. She's seven. She's getting really interested now in basketball. She's out there playing at the RecPlex in West Des Moines and getting a couple of shots

up, hit a couple of buckets last night. So you got that component, but she's into it. And I wanted to explain this story and I wanted to talk to her about it and the impact that it made on me. I was 12 at the time. You were a teammate of Chris Street. And for the younger people, it's something I think is incredibly important for all of us to not just have this be a memory that fades, a person that fades into the background, but continue to keep Chris Street at the forefront. I know that's

something important to you as well, Wayne. Yeah, it really is. You know, it's tomorrow's the anniversary of the accident, the 19th. And then, you know, Chris's birthday was February 2nd. And there's just a lot of irony in these in this situation we were supposed to play northwestern the night before the accident and that game obviously got postponed just like tonight's game got postponed and it's just a lot of eerie similarities but um you know i think i think that 30 years later after his death he still remembered and that's what. And that's what's pretty cool. I think that just kind of sums up what kind of player he was,

what kind of person he was. And he was only 20 when he was killed. He didn't even reach the age of 21. But he was a special player. I always tell people he was a great player, unbelievable player. He was even a better kid, better person. You know, as we look back upon him as a basketball player and we watch the highlights and we see him, of course,

had the main free throws as you guys played at Duke and Cameron Indoor and everything happened there. For people that maybe just see the highlights or don't remember, you know, him as a player at the same level because, you know, it's a different kind of conversation that we have about Chris. Talk about it. It was something for me as an Iowan, you an Iowan, you looked up to him. You wanted to play and that tenacity that he brought, that was something that was always at the front of the press there with Dr. Tom. He was going to be there with the arms

waving and making it difficult to get that ball inbounds. Yeah. And you know, it's 30 years, a long time, but even Chris committed gosh, 32 years ago, I think he was one of those first kids to commit really early. I think it was after his sophomore year in high school, they offered him, I offered him and he committed. And then I think a few years later, 10 years later, so Jeff Horner committed really early. You know, it just was, it was just, it wasn't done back then. It just was something. But, you know, and you see all these pictures, you know, when Chris was four years old and he opened,

opening up his Christmas present and he gets an Iowa Hawkeye t-shirt and this big smile on his face. And then he's seven years old and he's got his Hawkeye sweatshirt on and he's 12. And so it's kind of a cliche, but I think he, again, always wanted to be an Iowa Hawkeye. And when they offered, he said he's done. That's all he needed was just the one offer from Iowa, and he took it.

And he became one of the Hawkeye greats. You know, another thing that I always think about about him is he was a big guy that could step out and hit a shot, something that we didn't see a ton of back then. Yeah, there were some power forwards that had a little bit of a mid-range game, but nothing like that. And think about him, a guy like him coming around and playing in today's environment. What a shooter, what a bet,

and he would have obviously put in the work to be that. But people also talk about him at the next level. What did you guys hear about him? A possibility of even making a jump early, going off to the NBA, and it sounded like a lot of people, a lot of scouts really liked him yeah he he he talked about it you know I don't know if he would have gone it's again it was it was so unique last at that time um I think he was going to test the draft waters for sure just to kind of see where he was at but you know what so as a sophomore he finished second in the Big Ten in rebounding behind a guy named Chris Weber.

So and then I think he was still second when he was when he was killed. And when you leave the Big Ten in rebounding, that's that's a pretty good sign you could play. And you're right. Chris was one. His athleticism was getting better. He could run and jump and throw the football, throw the baseball, all those things. And you're right, that stretch four man, like what they call it now, everybody back when I was playing, you picked, set a screen, set a pick, and then you rolled to the basket.

And now everybody picks, sets a screen, and they pop. They stay out and shoot the mid-range, shoot the three. And Chris was developing that really well. And it was something where it was going to be an added weapon for him going forward. Wade, the night of his passing, you guys were out to a team dinner, something that you guys did before pretty much what, all of your games. Take us back to that time. And as it went down

I've heard Dr. Tom talk in the past about bringing the players together and just the difficult nature obviously of that and and the way that it was take us back into that fateful night yeah so what we used to do Trent for for Big Ten home games just to kind of get away from whether if you were in the dorms or just kind of you know your, your apartment life sometimes was kind of crazy. We always stayed at the Highlander Hotel the night before Big Ten conference games. And you could go out there any time and have a meal. And then a lot of guys would work out back at the arena. And you had to be back to your room by, I don't know, it was 10 or 11.

And it was a unique day. It was the first day of second semester and um so guys were kind of getting back into that routine coming and going and we had lost at duke and we were kind of trying to to find things we had a couple couple days of hard practice and we we were ready you know guys were ready we were still ranked top 15 in the nation acro was going to be a first rounder that year. And we had some pieces. And we had practice and kind of going out to eat.

And again, kind of on your own. And this is pre-cell phone, pre-Twitter. So I go back to my apartment. I eat a little early, go back to my apartment and was watching, funny what you remember, I was watching Michigan, Indiana that night just on TV tv and i got a call from kevin ralston kevin was our head manager and he said you got to get to the arena right away and uh you know he i could tell his voice was you know emotional and he said there's been an accident and i thought it was my parents and he

said he said chris has been in a car accident And so that's when you first hear and you drive over and then it didn't take long before, you know, you hear that, that Chris had been killed. They, they, I, yeah. And it didn't take long. And then it just kind of spread as fast as it could, you know, again, pre Twitter, pre internet. I talked to people that, you know, went to, went to bed that night that didn't know that he had passed till the next morning, just because some of us, you know, again, pre-Twitter, pre-internet. I talked to people that, you know, went to bed that night that didn't know that he had passed till the next morning just because some of them either didn't watch the TV news or didn't catch it.

And then the next morning, everything kind of got started. So you guys ultimately have 12 days off, or I guess it would have turned out to be, what, nine days after his passing before you guys get back out there on the hardwood talk about the time in the interim I mean you have a funeral to go to you have Mike and Patty there and his sisters and and just what that time was like I mean it had to be just such a whirlwind and incredible to even think about basketball during that time yeah I tell people you, practice in basketball was the easy part,

you know, just because you were focused. But you're right, it was funeral and visitation and trying to see the streets. And some of us were closer to Chris than others or close to his family. You know, I kind of grew up with Chris from the time he was 16, playing in the summer, and he'd come over to camp. And we even played in some AU tournaments together when he was 16 playing in the summer and he'd come over to camp. And we, we even played in some AU tournaments together when he was a sophomore and I was a senior in high school. And so we knew his family and,

and just a lot of things going on, but, but basketball was, that was the easy part. You know, it was like Chris had an injury or he was sick or maybe he had a test to make up. He just wasn't at practice. You know, it practice you know it it it happened occasionally for all of us um but then when basketball was over that's when you really missed your your friend you know it was something where that's when you thought more about you know i got to get a suit or what do you wear to a funeral you know just things that you never really had to think about until that time. And yeah, it was an interesting time for sure.

You became starter at that point, took over that role. Of course, AC was out there, Val Barnes, we talked about those guys, James Winters, Kenyon, a young Kenyon Murray out there playing with you guys and going out there. And of course, the games games afterwards the memories of the Michigan State comeback and then playing at home against the Fab Five and I want to talk about those games but just being that guy kind of inserted into the lineup and it just I mean it had to be an eerie feeling right? It was it was kind of strange you know I'd played a lot my freshman sophomore year but before Chris got there and and my junior year then, which was Chris's freshman year,

I got hurt, hurt my back and I redshirted. And Chris was just better than me from day one. So it was, it was something, you know, sometimes you get a little, everybody wants to play, wants to shoot and wants to score, but you want to win games. And so you put the best players out there that you can. And Chris was better than me. And yeah, so I stepped in and tried to do the best I could. And, you know, the Michigan State game, the comeback was crazy. And that Michigan

game, it was Super Bowl Sunday. Can you imagine CBS had the Super Bowl? It's one of the Bill's Super Bowls when they were losing in that losing losing streak, but like Dallas maybe won that year, but that was the lead into the Super Bowl, you know, now they have seven hours, ten hours of pregame stuff, but at the time they had Michigan, Iowa, and yeah, it just was, was a noon tip, and the arena was as loud as I've ever heard it then, or even, even still, and yeah, we were fortunate to get a couple wins and still had a pretty good year. I think we were fourth seed in the tournament that year, but just couldn't – we were missing a big piece for sure.

No doubt about it. And, you know, the Michigan game, that was a Fab Five Michigan. That was – and not year one, that was year two with Weber, Rose, Juwanard all coming back jimmy king ray jackson eric riley was on that team they had a couple of big guys that they could throw out you know just a really talented team you guys got down early in that game and i think it was kenyon that hit the shot maybe made it eight two if i remember correctly um just that game you mentioned the environment there in carver emotion that you're just never going to see again it was just an absolutely incredible moment one that will live on for a

long time and good thing that you know that thing was recorded right i know we're talking a ways ago but going back and watching tonight on the btn or after the chris street i don't know when this is going to air tramp but you know after the after the wednesday night you know with the game being canceled they're going to show the Chris Street documentary I guess you call it, and then they'll show the Iowa-Michigan game after that. Yeah, I mean, that was, you know, you talk about Weber, Juwan Howard, you know, the team was lower. They were good. Got down early, and it just was something where

you know, like we had a little extra help maybe in that game and and uh Val Barnes had a huge night and AC Earl was you know great on both ends and yeah it just it was um it was a really it was a really nice way for that game to end you know Michigan was trying it wasn't like they were giving us the game, you know. But it was sometimes things just align the right way, whether that's the big comeback at Michigan State or, you know, beating Michigan at our place. And it was – I think it helped.

I think it helped our team and helped the streets, probably helped the state of Iowa a little bit. Absolutely. And, you know, that's something that I talk about a lot, both here on the podcast and on my radio show, is for people, you're a little bit older than me, Wade, but growing up, Iowa basketball was it. You know, you and Fort Dodge being Osage, you didn't watch a whole lot of sports during the week.

It was Iowa basketball back then on Thursday nights. And for me, that was it. That was the only time I could watch sports during the week or Monday night football. Those were the only times it was, it was such a huge thing. I remember reading Lou Dolson's book and he talked about the formation of the Iowa television network across the state and the syndication, but they were getting something like a 75 share for, which is unthinkable in any environment. The Superbowl doesn't get a 75 share. And that's just how big Iowa basketball was. And there's something looking up to guys like you,

watching Chris Street. Yeah, we love watching B.J. Armstrong and Roy Marble and watching guys like that. But to see you guys as Iowans and given a little dork for most ages, hope, hey, maybe one day you could be a Hawkeye too. That was also a huge part, I think, of Iowa basketball back then.

Well, I think that is all part of why Chris is remembered. You know, he was from Iowa, grew up in Indianola, and loved being a Hawkeye. It wasn't like he went somewhere and transferred back. And he was a great player on top of that. And then also, he was really good with the fans. You know, the, the, the media always said that Chris was, was good with them. And, and, um, you know, whether it was, uh, whether you were seven years old or 87 years old, Chris was Chris, Chris understood what it was like to, to, to play at Iowa and, um, the good and the bad that came with that. And there were some responsibilities that came with that. and Chris was always terrific with the fans and that big smile and yeah I think again like I said even even 30 years later he's still still missed still remembered you mentioned his parents Mike and

Patty and them being there they were supposed to be at the game tonight that obviously has been postponed against Northwestern but you know that you know, and seeing them still around, I mean, that had to be impactful to you guys too. It's one thing to lose a teammate, but now the big picture thing that there's still a family there. There's still parents that are grieving as you guys are going through the process. Tell us a little bit about his parents. Well, Mike, Mike, Mike tells a great story. Mike, Mike played football at central and Mike was a good athlete. I think Chris got his height from his mom, but Mike was a good athlete. But Mike tells a story that, I don't know, he's a junior or sophomore in college at Central, and he didn't know if he was going to start at center or a quarterback. Could have gone either way. So there's kind of a combo there. But that's where Chris got his toughness. Mike and Patty's just as athletic, just as tough. Mike loves to hunt and fish.

Chris liked that stuff. That was never my thing. I was more about playing golf and doing that. But Chris would hunt and fish. Yeah, just a good kid from south-central Iowa that happened to be 6'9", and can run and jump, and was a really good kid and a really good basketball player. Love the memories, and we'll be watching the documentary tonight. I know you're a part of that. I have heard from people that have already seen kind of an advanced copy of it. Have the Kleenex ready?

It's going to be an emotional night, and though there won't be a basketball game, maybe even spotlighting this even more without the game could be a very good thing. And maybe even more people, instead of being up at 10 o'clock and you're more of a casual fan, you're not a Hawkeye fan, maybe you'll get even more people that'll get their eyes on that. And I think that's a really important thing too just again continuing his legacy yeah that that's the thing and you know and just just real quick with with coach McCaffrey he's been unbelievable he has been unbelievable with including Chris's memory the streets you know and that all that has not always been the case with coaches that have come after Coach Davis.

And Coach McCaffrey and his family, you know, they keep Chris's name as part of the golf outing. They have the plaque there right by the locker room. None of those things are things they have to do because it is kind of a distraction. They had that 20 years ago or 25 years ago with the Purdue game. This is stuff that coaches don't have to do. And Coach McCaffrey has gone above and beyond to include Chris's name and Mike and Patty's name and keep it in the program. And that's a great thing.

Well, Wade, we'll finish it up here with you. And just a couple of notes on McCaffrey's team right now. We'll get you out here. And just a quick thought or two on this Hawkeye basketball team. Four straight wins. I had them buried. I thought it was over. The loss to Eastern Illinois.

The 0-3 start. Just completely out of sorts. And yet here they are. Credit. Bray McCaffrey, if he can get this team to the NCAA tournament, that'll be eight of the last 10 years. Dr. Tom never had a stretch like that.

Lute Olsen never had a stretch like that. Of course, the two coaches previous to him certainly never had a run like that. I just got to give so much credit to that guy and the team that was really struggling to dig them out and at least give us hope here as we make our way through January and February. Yeah, yeah. Even that second half of the Penn State game, I think, you know, they were, they were down, they were down 20 and a half in Nebraska,

down 20 and a half at Penn State. Then they were 20 early against the, against IU, the game we were at. But yeah, it's just something where, you know, even the last couple of games, Chris Murray has been really good, but he hasn't been 30-20 good, and they've still won. So I think that shows a sign. Tony Perkins played really well the other night. Peyton Sanford looks like he's back to playing well. You know, it's just – I still think 10-10 is the goal. You know, if you go 10-10 in the Big Ten, you're going to get in the tournament.

I don't think it will be a 7, a nine, a six, a ten seed. I don't think it matters as much as it used to, but they still got some work to do. You know, it doesn't help them that the game got postponed tonight because they were on a roll. You know, you get in that routine, game three days off, the other game three days off. So they'll have to make that up.

They're at Ohio State Saturday. Who's reeling? You know, that was a top 20 team a couple weeks ago, and now they are struggling. But that's one that they have to get. And really, they only have the one bad loss at Nebraska because they got beat so bad. But losing at Penn State, there's no shame in that. Losing Wisconsin at home, that's one you want to get. But I think at Rutgers kind of makes up for that. Now they got to get a couple more of those. They got to win at Ohio State or they got to at least battle at Purdue. I don't think get Purdue on the road, but they only play Purdue once this year. So there are some things that kind of go in their favor. So again, 10 and 10, 11 and nine for sure. And then win at least one, maybe two in the Big Ten tournament, and they'll be fine.

Get hot in the Big Ten tournament again. That was a fun run last year. Yeah. Hey, Wade, always appreciate your time. Love catching up with you. Love talking Iowa basketball. And we will do it again soon. We'll do it on the radio side tomorrow.

Appreciate it. Thanks, Trent. Talk to you soon, man. Good luck. We'll talk to you soon. Appreciate it. Wade Lookingbill, former Iowa Hawkeye, joining us here on the soon, man. Good luck. We'll talk to you soon. Appreciate it. basketball. Our experts, Isaac Shottie and Andy Patton, bring you everything you need to know on and off the court. Plus here from the big name experts, coaches, and players throughout the

basketball landscape. It's Locked On College Basketball available on YouTube and wherever you get podcasts. Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen today. We'll be back with you tomorrow, getting ready for the weekend. Of course, Ohio State on tap next. We'll also react to the documentary tonight, talk about that, and recap some of the things, the impactful parts of that as we come back tomorrow with you each and every day. Your team every day on the Lockdown Network. I'm Trent Condon.

Thanks for watching Lockdown Hawkeyes.