Welcome To The Swift, Fiery, Horrific Destruction Of Iowa Basketball

by Oops Pow Surprise on Mar 25, 2009 11:18 PM CDT in Basketball Comment 39 comments

There's no way to sugarcoat this news or otherwise adequately prepare you for this news, so let's just get it right out: Jake Kelly is, barring a miracle, leaving the Iowa basketball team... and he's not alone.

(A perfect visual metaphor for what's happening in Iowa City.)

The majority of the Kelly rumors, which could be settled by as early as tomorrow (or today, or six months ago, depending on when you read this article), place him at Indiana State, much closer to his hometown of Carmel, IN. Sure, homesickness doesn't normally set in after two years, but recall that his mother had recently moved to Solon to be closer to Kelly. Just a few months later, she was killed in a plane crash, plunging the entire family into a sadness we couldn't possibly wish on the worst of our enemies. If Kelly wants to be closer to his family, we won't presume the authority to call bullshit or second-guess that decision.

DEPARTURE COUNT: 1

What's far, far more troubling is the exodus occurring with the rest of the program. To the best of our knowledge, Jermain Davis did not lose a mother in a plane crash recently, yet the junior college combo guard has decided that he'd rather exhaust his eligibility at Minnesota State, a D-II school in Mankato, than with the Iowa Hawkeyes.

(no, not these guys.)

Davis, if you'll recall, was an important role player in Iowa's backcourt during the early season; he was key in Iowa's beatdown of ISU, scoring 16 points and adding 6 boards and 5 assists.

But Lickliter thought him better for the bench, and decreased PT combined with an injury meant that those 16 points Davis scored against ISU matched his entire scoring output for the last nine games of the season.

Davis blamed the system.

"I was just unhappy here," Davis said Wednesday afternoon. "I didn’t really understand my role on the team."

[...]

"The style that we play is just so slow," Davis said. "I like to play more fast-paced, and force turnovers and stuff like that."

No word on how exciting Mankato is.

DEPARTURE COUNT: 2

Oh, we're not even close to done.

According to Dochtermann, Jeff Peterson is also gone daddy gone, his likely destination Missouri State. This is a mortal fucking lock for being an issue with Lickliter; Peterson was seemingly practically handed the starting point job coming into this season, and really has it for himself now with Kelly and Davis gone. Or had it, anyway.

We've written before that Peterson's bad tendencies boded ill for the Hawkeyes this season, but all the same, he was vastly improved over last season, especially from the field. Logic dictates that the rate of improvement would begin to decrease--he couldn't have put up .575 from the field, .917 from the line, and .525 from 3-point land next season, after all. But no matter your opinion of his performance, he's the kind of guy you keep around for the sake of experience, depth, and program continuity. Unless your name is Todd Lickliter, of course.

By the way, this completes Iowa's slide from "Every player who logged minutes at the point this season is coming back" to "They're dead; my God, they're all dead." Just worth pointing out, considering Lickliter's penchant for a guard-dominated offense.

DEPARTURE COUNT: 3

Remember Chanse Creekmur, last seen dunking on what was at least an 8'6" rim over a car?

Yeah, he's "exploring other options." Always good to see your top junior prospect get cold feet, right? RIGHT?!

DEPARTURE COUNT: 4

There's lotsundlotsen rumbling that this revolt started in part over the mistreatment of David Palmer and Lieutenant J.R. Angle by Lickliter (we're pretty sure the seeds of discontent were sown well before this season tipped off; more on that later). While Angle is finally graduating (after not seeing one single second of playing time on Senior Day; the Angle family thanks you, Lick!), El Presidente has another year of eligibility.

Palmer also graduates in May, according to Dochtermann, and unless there's a graduate program in Iowa that he's in love with and he's wanting another year with this program, Palmer'll be hitting the ol' dusty trail too. This is the only departure of the group that's stuck strictly in the realm of "conjecture" at this point, but after getting done so hard that multiple players are walking off the team in disgust, why would Palmer even consider coming back? That's so El Unpresidential.

DEPARTURE COUNT: 5

So... how was your Wednesday?

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Comments

Maybe Palmer

likes the Writer’s Workshop? This is perhaps the most depressing thing I’ve read since Night by Elie Wiesel

by south_texas_hawk on Mar 26, 2009 12:16 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Not a word about Kelly

I lost my mom as a teenager. It fucked me up in ways I’m still not comfortable talking about. Jake did every possible thing we could have asked of him as a Hawkeye. He was everything we want in a player. But if Jake needs a change, I wish him the best.

by jebushchrist on Mar 26, 2009 1:48 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Best of luck to Jake wherever he lands.

by CrossCyed on Mar 26, 2009 1:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

How many Lickliter boys are there?

Can a little nepotism help with the attrition here?

by Other Chris on Mar 26, 2009 7:03 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I have an idea

With the exception of Jake Kelly (sorry Jebush), we should make them go through Brent Metcalf first.

by Duez I say on Mar 26, 2009 10:37 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Can we register for some sort of program hardship waiver

and see if we can get additional years of eligibility granted to guys who graduated.
That, or open tryouts.

Time to settle in for a long, cold couple of winters.

by chitownhawkeye on Mar 26, 2009 11:11 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Wondering aloud without looking anything up

sorry for being lazy – swamped with other stuff right now – but

Does this totally screw up the APR – Academic Progress Rating? I know the rules were once pretty funky and it’s possible it would lead to a loss of scholarships. Maybe the rules have been straightened out a bit.

by hdhawk on Mar 26, 2009 11:41 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Jake gets a pass and nothing but prayers for him and his family.

However, next year will be Lick’s 3rd. Fucking hell. This attrition is fucking bullshit. I ran D1 track and cross-country and was part of a similar transfer/quit revolt. It was due entirely to the coach being a fucking psycho that we grew to hate. He gave no consideration that he was dealing with 18-20 year old kids and did things that bear similarity to not playing graduating seniors on senior day, in the fantasy that he’s making some kind of statement as opposed to what he might in fact be – a dickhead. Even though the school didn’t care about the program, they had no choice but to force him out after another year.

I thought this team played hard, and given the injury problems harbored hope this might mirror Ferentz’s first couple of years of progress and improvement. If these transfers happen, that was wrong. Barta (or a successsor) will be looking for another coach after either 1 or 2 more completely lost seasons, except Iowa will be 11th, not 10th in conference, playing in front of 4,000, and the program will be hopeless for 10 years. Fuck. This is fucking bad.

by txhawkeye on Mar 26, 2009 11:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This will hurt Lickliters graduation rate...

but it will obviously be no fault of his own. Likewise, it’ll improve the graduation rates at whatever schools these guys end up at.

I can’t imagine any scenario where Iowa would lose future schollies because 5 kids skipped town, and I would imagine thay would any such sanctions pretty hard.

by TarHeelHawk on Mar 26, 2009 11:58 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

That's a rather creative interpretation of the situation

Absolving Lickliter of fault when up to a third of his team quits in the matter of a few days requires an incalculable amount of faith in his infallibility, especially since Davis specifically called Lickliter’s system out as the reason for his departure.

Everything I’ve heard about this situation points the finger directly at Lickliter’s abrasive, confrontational nature as the root cause of this problem. I get the feeling the title “Coach of the Year” is going to get intensely ironic in the context of Lick’s career, sort of like the guy who got tagged for domestic violence while wearing a “Husband of the Year” t-shirt.

I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks

by Oops Pow Surprise on Mar 26, 2009 12:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Curious perspective you have

Then tell me, whose fault is it?

by jebushchrist on Mar 26, 2009 1:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rich Rodriguez's

by Yinka Double Dare on Mar 26, 2009 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Frank Stallone's

storminspank: "Or we could join you can take our pants off."

by Hawkeye State on Mar 26, 2009 1:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the relevant NCAA metric is whether a student athlete was academically eligible at the time they left the institution. Graduation rates matter – but academic progress matters more. If any of these guys who leave are NOT in good academic standing, that will count against the team when they determine the 2008-09 APR and could result in lost scholarships in future years. The latest men’s bball APR number on the NCAA site show a 944 APR, where anything below 925 can cause loss of scholarships (infinity x the research I intended to do = none).

by txhawkeye on Mar 26, 2009 2:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for your response, Mr Stallone.

by jebushchrist on Mar 26, 2009 2:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don’t expect I will have useful, much less factual, information ever again. Boobs.

by txhawkeye on Mar 26, 2009 2:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tx- spot on

re: APR. Looks like the DMR finally caught up to you:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090328/SPORTS020504/903290326/1093/hawkeye_insider
The key being, as you said, they players transferring are leaving in good academic standing; in fact, Palmer graduating actually helps.

by hdhawk on Mar 30, 2009 8:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the info

I was too lazy to figure out. Truly appreciated.

by hdhawk on Mar 26, 2009 4:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

[name redacted]

by telepathetic on Mar 26, 2009 2:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Graham Zug's

"Breaststroke, free style," Rubin said of his technique, "Let’s see Phelps do that one."

by ReadingRambler on Mar 26, 2009 2:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The system at what cost?

After being skeptical, to say the least, about Lickliter’s hire and absolutely hating slow-system basketball, I have come to believe in Lickliter as a coach. There are many times that I would rather watch paint dry than Iowa basketball, but Lickliter won more games this year than he had any business winning. His players left it all on the floor every time they played, and with the exception of 4 games off the top of my head (West Virginia, @Michigan, @Purdue, and Michigan in the Big 10 Tourney) they never, ever gave up.
That said he lost some he had no business losing. Until today, I believed that we would be back in the NCAA Tourney if not next year, the year after that. Today my confidence in him is shaken to the core. Our hopes for the next couple seasons and building a base for the future, at least the way I saw it, walked out the door with at least Kelly and Peterson. If it is truly because no one can play under him, then what will it cost Iowa Basketball to live and die with “the system?” You can get players to bleed for you on the floor, because that is the nature of most Mid-Western people. If they are going to do something there are no short cuts. But you can’t expect that kind of effort on the court in plain view of the nation, and turn around and alienate them behind closed doors. Whatever the situation with Freeman really was, we should have seen this coming, but I, for one, didn’t.
I understand that Kelly has some extraordinary circumstances, and I wish him (and the others) nothing but the best. But, apparently, Lickliter didn’t do enough to comfort him and make him feel at home. Now, that is not necessarily in the job description of coaches, but you aren’t going to keep a lot of players if all they are to you is players, warm bodies to put on the floor.
Clearly I am speculating on a lot of this, but I am pulling pieces of comments left here and in other articles about the subject together to make these theories. Lickliter may get people to buy into his system, but it would be nice if he could do it without killing their will to represent Iowa. In the long run, this exodus could severely hurt our long-term profile on the national basketball scene.
Best of luck to all the players that are leaving the program. I’ll be rooting for you.

by shada's revenge on Mar 26, 2009 3:02 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

^this

by jebushchrist on Mar 26, 2009 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is true

but, what is the difference between us and Butler? I don’t remember hearing any of his players there question his coaching manner.
I thought we would be done with “guys that don’t fit / buy into the system” after last year.

by chitownhawkeye on Mar 26, 2009 4:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

apparently no one is buying....

OOPs, how long will Barta put up w/ the defections before a move is made? Jermaine Davis’s comments will be used the next 3 or 4 yrs for any recruiting wars between us and the rest of the conference or the suckClones/ UNI. i would think that Barta would be embarrassed by these players leaving.

his treatment of players hasn’t been great. was Lt. Angle that bad that he couldn’t log 60 secs on Sr. Day?

this place smells like feet. i’ll bring a can of lysol next week.

by pfac51 on Mar 26, 2009 6:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Unless TL decides to bail back to a mid-major, I don't think he's going anywhere for a bit

He’s two years into a 7-year contract and the athletic department isn’t exactly swimming in cash (if it was, I imagine we’d be a bit farther along in the practice facility development). As far as negative recruiting… meh. It’s not like they have any shortage of ammunition now – ugly style of ball, lack of wins, crummy facilities, etc.

As far as Lick’s communication problems/mistreatment of players… I would be curious to know what his rep was like at Butler. I haven’t heard many grumblings, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there. I can certainly understand why Davis or Palmer would have been frustrated, considering that they would follow up great performances with extended stays on the bench. But, at the same time, both players were awfully inconsistent and prone to some frustrating plays. Peterson’s problem certainly wasn’t PT, so maybe that was/is a personality conflict of some sort.

To me, these departures would be less troubling if we had faith in TL’s ability to bring in capable recruits to replace them. Aside from Kelly, the players rumored to be leaving were, frankly, not exactly high-B10 caliber. JP, Davis, and Palmer all had their moments, but they also had huge stretches of inconsistent and/or poor play. JP’s turnover effect on our offense has been well documented by this very site. Creekmur’s loss looks bad given the timing, but considering people who’ve seen him play seem bitterly split on whether or not he’s capable of playing at a B10 level or if he’s more of a mid-major talent, it doesn’t really seem like a massive loss. Or, rather, it wouldn’t IF we had any faith that TL would be bringing in better players to replace them. But considering the gem of his recruiting thus far (Gatens) would have come here if Herky was the coach and most of his guys have only had mid-major offers, it’s tough to have a lot of confidence in his recruiting right now.

To me, his tenure will be defined by whether or not he’s able to salvage anything from this spring’s recruiting and what he can attract to IC next year. If he can somehow manage to find players that are better, more productive fits for the team than the guys being replaced (and if the guys staying here are able to step up their production as well), then this will probably go down as just an ugly growing pain in his tenure. If he can’t, his tenure is doomed and Iowa basketball will remain in the shitter for a while.

by RossWB on Mar 26, 2009 7:39 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Butler thing is interesting to me

and I wanted to include it in my above rant, but couldn’t find a way to fit it in. I wonder if it has something to do with the kind of kid he had there. I don’t know how much different it would be, but it’s fairly evident there is some difference between TL at Bulter and TL the Hawk. Like I said, from a purely getting results point of view, Lickliter, in my opinion, is the guy. And I feel like I was jumping the gun saying it is all his fault, I hope it’s not. However, if it is, I hope something is done quickly. If we are playing all underclassmen every season, and then when they finally get some experience they leave, how are we ever going to get back to where we expect the Hawks to be?

by shada's revenge on Mar 26, 2009 8:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

on anpther Butler thing

Who are Lick’s current assistants? Aren’t they two of his former players? If so, some players from Butler felt strongly enough about Lick as coach and as a man to follow him to Iowa, to coach for and with him, to recruit for and with him, to work closely with him on a daily basis.

I am fearing it is the tunnel-vision (rumor) that often accompanies a parent-child relationship. Question: was Brian Ferentz our best center when he was starting at Iowa? tunnel-vision can happen to anyone. That’s why it causes a “blind spot.”

looking for someone smarter than KOK...

by not so fast, my friend on Mar 26, 2009 8:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am pretty sure Brian Ferentz was our best center at the time, when healthy.

I will have no problem if James Ferentz is our center next year, because I will assume that he proved that he’s the best man for the job. There have been a few occasions when you might be able to argue that the wrong guy was starting (Grigsby is the poster child), but I don’t think it has occurred that often with the football team.

As far as “tunnel vision” with the hoops team… I do buy that a little bit more, because it seems like TL has been awful inflexible at times when it comes to his system. Sometimes you do need to compromise a little bit

by RossWB on Mar 26, 2009 8:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

cough Jake Christiansen cough

by shada's revenge on Mar 26, 2009 10:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, exactly

Christensen kept his job for, what, 3 games too many? He wasn’t good enough, there was a better backup, and KF eventually gave the backup the job. You can argue it wasn’t quick enough, but remember that Stanzi sucked until about Week 7 or so. That argument doesn’t hold much water.

I got more rhymes than Wade Lookingbill's got dunks

by Oops Pow Surprise on Mar 26, 2009 11:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think we saw EXACTLY why KF was so reluctant to turn the offense over to Stanzi

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. We had loads of them in the 4 games we lost with Stanzi at the helm. Jake might have thrown the ball into the turf at his receiver’s feet or three feet over their head, but he didn’t turn the ball over very often. I think after he got one last chance to guide the offense in the Pitt game (and failed), KF decided to bite the bullet with Stanzi, in the hopes that his ability to move the offense a little better would outweigh his TO tendencies (and that his TOs would decrease over time). We saw flashes of that potential last year, I think; hopefully we see it a lot more consistently this year.

by RossWB on Mar 27, 2009 12:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

receivers'

My grammar skillz abandon me after midnight, apparently.

by RossWB on Mar 27, 2009 12:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Herb Grigsby... Ha ha ha

I remember alligator hands

by Duez I say on Mar 27, 2009 7:40 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Lick has to have tunnel vision right now....

and it’s conceivable that next year you would have seen Jake or Peterson have a litle more freedom in running the offense. Today, the program got set back at least 3 years, and it’s back to square one for Lickliter. It’ll be at least 2012 before this team sniffs the postseason.

by TarHeelHawk on Mar 26, 2009 9:29 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess I'm the only one

not giving Jake a pass. I understand he lost his mom and it was a tremendous and unexpected loss. But he was here for two seasons and announced his departure before he talked to TL and after he said he was staying. Minds change, I get that. But, I believe, what it comes down to is Jake wanting to make basketball his career and UIowa not being the launching pad for that.

by LawDeeDaw on Mar 27, 2009 10:14 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Maybe

But why is that a bad thing? If you’re going to a school and realize your degree from that school won’t get you where you want to go, you go to a different school. It’s not like he’s taking the easy way out. He’ll have to start over at a new school and sit out a year. Make no mistake – transferring sucks.

And as far as what he said or didn’t say, so what? If a reporter asks me if I’m going to masturbate today, I’ll probably say no, even though I know as soon as I’m alone and the blinds are drawn, it’s lemonparty time for the big guy.

by jebushchrist on Mar 27, 2009 11:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs