The absolute best college guard I have ever seen......also my favorite.
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Steve Krafcisin knew it. Everyone on the team knew it.
Ronnie Lester was The Man. "All the players knew Ronnie was the best player on the floor," Krafcisin said. "If we needed a shot, he was the guy who was going to take it. If we needed a basket, he was the guy who made it." So it's no surprise to Krafcisin that Lester, who teamed with him on the basketball court for two seasons at Iowa, today becomes the 139th member of The Des Moines Sunday Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.
"Ronnie was the best," Krafcisin said. "He had outstanding athletic ability, but no ego. He was as down to earth as anyone could be.
"He didn't say much. He just let his basketball style do his talking."
Lester, who lettered in 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980, ranks fifth on the Hawkeyes' career scoring list with 1,675 points. As a junior, he starred on a team that tied for the Big Ten championship, and in his injury-plagued senior season, the Hawkeyes made it to the the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis.
He made such a strong impression that his No. 12 jersey was retired before his final home game as a Hawkeye.
Lester said he's often asked what he remembers most about being at Iowa. Playing on a Big Ten championship team and another that went to the Final Four aren't at the top of the list.
"My four years at the university were very good for me, mainly Lester Down to earth because I grew a lot as a person," he said. "I met a lot of people from different backgrounds -- and I'm still good friends with many of them today."
So impressive was this smooth 6-foot 2-inch point guard from Chicago that he was named the Hawkeyes' most valuable player in his final three seasons.
Iowa hasn't had an all-American since Lester was honored in 1978-79 and his bittersweet 1979-80 season.
Steve Waite and Kevin Boyle, others who were Hawkeye teammates of Lester, speak of his quickness and strong work ethic.
"Ronnie had a quickness that's hard to describe," Waite said. "A lot of players are quick, but Ronnie had the ability to stop on a dime. He could change directions without losing anything.
"And what a hard worker he was! He spent a great deal of time working on his jump shot. If there was any part of his game that was a little weaker than another, he'd work hard to improve it."
Boyle said Lester was a floor leader through example and action, not words.
"He wasn't outspoken," Boyle said. "But he was very explosive once he got on the basketball floor. He worked hard, and he made everyone on the team better."
In Lester's years at Iowa, no one knew him better than trainer John Streif, who watched him struggle with an ailing knee in his senior season.
"He was certainly very well blessed with the physical basketball tools the Lord gave him," Streif said. "He was probably one of the greatest basketball players ever at Iowa -- if not the greatest.
"He was always there, always dependable. He never wanted any recognition. He just operated in a quiet, behind-the-scenes manner.
"He was friendly not only with me, the trainer, but with the student managers. He still keeps in touch with us."
Streif said Lester was responsible for one of the most emotional experiences of his life.
"Ronnie's mother had brought him up in a high-rise near Comiskey Park in Chicago," Streif said. "One of the first things he wanted to do when he signed a professional basketball contract was invest in a another home for her.
"He found a condominium and, out of the blue, called me. One day he called to say, 'John, I'm going to move my mom. Do you want to come help?'
"I did, and I'm not sure I've done a more rewardingthing in athletics. Seeing his mother move to the place Ronnie got for her was a very emotional thing. She was a special lady."
Dayton, Ohio, might be a great place to live, but for Lester it wasn't a nice place to visit -- at least in December 1979.
Iowa marched into the championship game of the Dayton Classic on Dec. 22 with a 7-0 record. The Hawkeyes rolled past Mississippi State, 81-62, in the first game, and Dayton was their foe for the title.
Iowa won the game, 61-54, but lost Lester for much of the rest of the season. With 7 minutes 8 seconds remaining, Lester injured a knee and played no more.
"It was a play in the open court," Lester said. "There was one guy back on defense, and I was trying to beat him to the basket. I got past him, or even with him, when I pushed off with my leg to put the ball up.
"I got a little push to my back, and my knee buckled. I was examined on the floor by a physician, and he thought I should have surgery. But, when I got back to Iowa City, it was decided otherwise.
"I came back later, but hurt the knee again in practice, and wound up playing just a few Big Ten games. Even though our team wound up going to the Final Four, it was a very frustrating season for me personally. It was the first time I'd been hurt to the extent that I couldn't play up to my capabilities."
Missed Many Games
After scoring 14 points against Dayton, Lester sat out the next six games. He scored 26 points in three Big Ten games, then missed nine games before returning in the home finale against Illinois.
It was on that afternoon, before leading Iowa's scoring with 15 points against the Fighting Illini, that Lester's uniform number was retired.
Would Lester be able to play? Would he start? Fans in Iowa Fieldhouse, where the Hawkeyes still played their games, were kept in suspense until seconds before the tipoff.
Nine starters had been introduced from the two teams before the questions were answered. Finally, Lester's name was announced as a starter.
"I told Streif I felt good after the warm-ups, and could go," Lester said. "Getting back out there was fun. I'll always remember the day."
NCAA Suspense
The victory gave the Hawkeyes a 19-8 record. However, still in doubt was whether they would be chosen for what then was a 48-team NCAA tournament field. But a bid was forthcoming. Lester was ready.
He scored 17 points against Virginia Commonwealth in Iowa's opening East Regional game at Greensboro, N.C., then got 17 against North Carolina State in the next game.
He combined for 17 against Syracuse and Georgetown at Philadelphia, and collected 10 against Louisville before reinjuring the knee in the Hawkeyes' 80-72 opening-day loss to Louisville in the Final Four. Lester had to sit out the 75-58 loss to Purdue in the third-place game, and wound up missing 16 of Iowa's 33 games.
He averaged 14.8 points -- second-fewest of his collegiate career. He averaged 13.4 as a freshman, 19.9 as a sophomore and 18.7 as a junior when Iowa finished in a tie with Purdue and eventual NCAA champion Michigan State for the Big Ten title.
"There was no question the injury cost him a half-step on the court," Waite said. "Like other players who get knee injuries, you have the thought of it in the back of your mind. You're not sure if you want to make a cut or a jump."
In 1979, Lester played on a U.S. Pan-American Games team that finished first, and in 1980 was a first-round choice of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association draft. He was the 10th player picked, but was immediately traded to Chicago.
"Portland had a deal worked out with Chicago," Lester said.
At the time, the scouting report on Lester from Bulls General Manager Rod Thorn read this way: "Ronnie is a pure point guard. He's a very good all-around player who knows how to get a team into its offense. He knows how to control the tempo of the game, and is a very good middle man on the fast break."
However, the knee continued to give Lester problems when he became a professional.
"Playing in the NBA wasn't fun for me because of the knee," he said. "I couldn't play the way I wanted because of the swelling and stiffness in the knee. I just couldn't do the things I did before."
