Actually, it’s the "One-Name’’ team.

"We’ve made sure the only name on our uniforms this year is ‘IOWA,’’’ Coach Steve Alford said. "We need to learn what the University of Iowa means and the importance of putting that on your chest.

"You get to a stage like this and you forget what an incredible opportunity it is. I want our players to be appreciative of this opportunity every day. Last year we got away from understanding what the front of the jersey was, and we paid more attention to the back of the jersey.’’

Gone for the first time in many years from the Hawkeyes’ uniforms are the players’ names.

That’s what happens when the players—some of them anyway—come back from a season that produced a 19-16 record.

That’s what happens when the team finishes 0-8 on the road in the Big Ten.

That’s what happens when the players think they’ll be playing in the NCAA tournament, but wind up going to the NIT—and lose to LSU, 63-61, in the first round.

That’s what happens when the basketball season ends in March and frustrated fans can’t wait for spring football practice to start in April.

That’s what happens when four players who were supposed to be on this season’s team bail out for one reason or another during the summer.

That’s what happens when Pierre Pierce, who started 32 games last season, is charged with third-degree sexual assault on the first day of October. He’s now suspended from the team.

That’s what happens when Alford spends three days with his old college coach, Bobby Knight, in Lubbock, Texas, during the summer. [Don’t forget, Knight has never had his players’ names on their uniforms at Indiana or Texas Tech].

"This is all about Iowa basketball, not about individuals,’’ said 6-11 center Jared Reiner.

"We’re a team and we’re together,’’ said freshman guard Jeff Horner.

Time will tell if the new attitude pays off.

But let’s be realistic. With Pierce now in a personal and basketball no-man’s-land, Alford is down to seven recruited scholarship players. An eighth, Josh Kimm of Norway, Ia., was recently awarded a scholarship.

The rest of the team will be made up of walk-ons. Alford has two now, and may add another one or two.

It would take someone smoking funny tobacco to think this team could finish anywhere but in the second division of the Big Ten.

But Alford is trying to say the right things; trying to prop up his players.

"This is, as basketball IQ goes, one of our smartest teams,’’ he said. "If this team can stay healthy and focused, I think we have a chance to be competitive.

"I’m motivated, I’m challenged, I’m fired up about this season because I spent three days in Lubbock with a guy (Knight) with whom I have an incredible amount of respect.’’

About last season, Alford said, "I’m my own worst critic. I did it as a player and I’m doing it as a coach. We didn’t communicate last season. The staff didn’t communicate with the players. We got distracted.

"We were 13-4 and things were going pretty smoothly, then we lost a couple of Big Ten games in a row. We started trying different things that weren’t in our system.’’

"Now, because of the combination of those things and distractions over the summer, they’ve seen the ugly. So there’s a Clint Eastwood flavor of the good, the bad and the ugly.’’

By "championship year,’’ Alford was referring to the Big Ten tournament title his team won two years ago.

He feels some critics "are trying to diminish’’ that achievement, regarding it as something no larger than winning a four-team tournament in December.

"We’re the winningest coaching staff in Big Ten tournament history,’’ Alford said.

"It hurts a little bit after workouts,’’ he said, "but I’ll be back to normal soon.’’

Horner called it "a dream come true’’ that he’s finally part of the Hawkeye program after committing at such a young age.

Kimm, a 6-1 junior guard, transferred to Iowa from Kansas State, where he was an occasional starter.

His dad is Bruce Kimm, who has managed the Iowa Cubs and Chicago Cubs. He was elevated to Chicago this past summer, but wasn’t retained when the team played no better under him than it did under Don Baylor.

"My dad is back home now,’’ Kimm said. "He’s been playing golf, hunting and fishing—and really enjoying it.

"He hasn’t made any decisions on what he’ll do next. He has some options. Maybe he could be in the big leagues, maybe back with the Iowa Cubs next season.’’

Josh Kimm said he visited his dad a number of times when he was managing the Chicago Cubs.

"I went to Atlanta for his first couple of games,’’ he said, "and also made trips to Colorado and St. Louis. At Wrigley Field, I sat in the Cubs’ dugout for two games at the end of the season—and they had a 2-0 record while I was there.’’