The Todd Lickliter era is something Iowa Hawkeye men's basketball fans would rather soon forget. Tom Archdeacon, of the Dayton Daily News, writes that Lickliter was a big part of a RedHawk "one shining moment" that happened during a 68-61 loss versus Tennessee State. Lickliter is an assistant on Charlie Coles staff. They have a record of 8-17 on the season and are 311th in the nation in scoring with 61 points per game.
Archdeacon describes the "one shining moment" as Lickliter coaching sophomore guard Quinten Rollins on what to do with the ball when there is only 3.2 seconds left on the clock. Per Rollins, Lickliter advised,
OK, you've got two dribbles and then a pass or a shot.
It was described as a magical play. Rollins - obviously drawing upon his new found wisdom in the ways of basketball and clock management - decided to pass the ball to Will Sullivan who then would miss the three-point attempt to end the half. But wait! Sullivan was fouled and would make two of three free throws giving the RedHawks a 35-26 halftime lead. Rollins said of Lickliter,
"That play worked perfectly, just the way Coach Lickliter said it would," Rollins said. "He really knows what he's doing. He's a good coach."
Pure genius.
Oh, and the second half? Miami was outscored 42-26 and lost the game by seven.
Tom Archdeacon goes on to list the accomplishments of Iowa's former, and now Miami's assistant coach. Lickliter said of his time at Iowa,
"I've said almost nothing on the Iowa situation because I don't want it to sound like excuses"
About Butler, Lickliter added,
"To have it not work out at Iowa - especially after I left a great situation, a place I loved - I'd be less than honest to say I didn't have regrets"
His boss, previously mentioned Charlie Coles, had a little more to add. Coles said,
"To Todd's credit, Iowa pulls the plug on everybody they get. They don't understand - it's Iowa."
Coles added,
"Their facilities aren't that great. It's not the best of programs. Why they wouldn't keep a guy like him, I don't get it. They were going to be pretty good with the players he was bringing in. He's just a wonderful, wonderful teacher. There's something special about him. It's too bad Iowa couldn't see it."
Lickliter credits his pal Paul Patterson for keeping his fire to coach basketball burning. Lickliter and Coles have a friendship that goes back 20 years. When Coles needed a coach he gave his friend a call. Coles is 70 and may retire soon. "I'm ready to be a head coach again" says Lickliter, perhaps it will be at Miami.
Men's Hoops. Fran McCaffery held his weekly press conference yesterday. Looking back, McCaffery says he's surprised Matt Gatens didn't earn at least a co-mention for Big Ten Player of the Week. Fran also believes it's the team's youth that is responsible for inconsistent play. Iowa has beaten three Top 25 teams this season, but lost some head scratchers too.
Looking forward, McCaffery isn't sure if Cartwright will be able to play Thursday versus Wisconsin. Fran hopes that Basabe can play with the same energy level as Saturday. He also talked about Melsahn and Aaron White adding muscle but maintaining a weight where they can still run.
Last week there was talk about an in-state basketball tournament of sorts coming to Des Moines next year. Gary Barta said,
"It's no secret that the four of us are talking about coming up with a new format for playing each other, and that's still the case,"
The decision will come after the basketball season. Drake and Iowa State have one more year left on their contract. A double-header of Iowa vs. UNI and Iowa State vs. Drake could happen next year. A four team tournament could still a possibility down the road.
Women's Hoops. Another week, another Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor for Samantha Logic (okay, so that's two-in-a-row). This week she added an 18 rebound game to her portfolio. The Hawkeye women will also play Thursday night against Northwestern.
Football recruiting. Iowa offered Delano Hill of Detroit, Michigan. Hill plays high school ball at Cass Tech in Detroit, same school as 2012 commits Ruben Lile and Laron Taylor. Hill is a 6'1" 185 pound safety prospect (YouTube).
Cass Tech is full of division one talent. Two other 2013 prospects had offers or interest from Iowa but committed to Michigan following junior day in Ann Arbor. David Dawson and Jourdan Lewis were included in the eight four-star recruits that committed to Michigan this week. Chris Fox, Taco Charlton, Jake Butt, Logan Tuley-Tillman and Kyle Bosch all held offers from Iowa.
St. Louis athlete Derrick Mitchell Jr. received an offer from Iowa yesterday. Mitchell is a 6'0" 185 prospect that played quarterback, safety, linebacker and was his teams punter at Vashon High (YouTube).
Iowa also extended scholarship offers to a pair of Forestville, Maryland defensive linemen. Darius Commissiong is a 6'2" 285 pound defensive tackle that already holds offers from Maryland, Boston College, NC State, Virginia and others (YouTube). Kevin Robbins is a 6'4" 225 pound defensive end with offers from Michigan State, Rutgers, Syracuse and East Carolina (YouTube).
A lot of other links:
- Hello, my name is . . . Reid Sealby
- Hello, my name is . . . Eric Simmons
- Hello, my name is . . . Tevaun Smith
- Hello, my name is . . . Daumantas Venckus-Cucchiara
- Iowa's Roy Devyn Marble advances to finals of Geico Play of the Year
- Ex-Hawkeye Jarryd Cole making a splash in Iceland
- Latest On Iowa Podcast
- Hello, my name is . . . Laron Taylor
- Hello, my name is . . . Cody Sokol
- Iowa students free Thursday against Wisconsin
- Iowa's Matt Gatens earns Fran McCaffery's praise
- Iowa's Melsahn Basabe makes a defensive difference against Indiana
- Shining Logic
- Iowa eyeing Davis, Moore for OC job?
- Film Session: Gatens from beyond the arc
- Q&A: Iowa swimming coach Marc Long discusses Big Ten Championships
- Basabe brings 'Slime Movement' to Iowa City
- Hawkeye trackster Austin wins conference honor
- McNutt, Daniels among Hawkeyes' prepping for NFL combine
- Greg Davis, possible Iowa offensive coordinator candidate
- Former Hawkeye Paul Chaney arrested for OWI