[2] Ives had been a stand-out basketball player at Diagonal High School and led the team to the state championship.

[2] Due to World War II and the lack of able-bodied male student athletes across the nation, the NCAA allowed freshmen to play varsity sports in college, which until that time had been disallowed.

[1] With this rare opportunity, Ives went on to have a highly successful four-year letter-winning career as a Hawkeye.

[1][2] It is still the third highest scoring game in Iowa history and it earned him the nickname "Diagonal Dagger.

[3] He instead coached basketball and baseball at Parsons College, married Joan Newton and lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where Ives had a hardware business.