Do you think we'll ever know what occurred in the MBB program last year

[BSpringsteen]

Do you think we'll ever get the story of what went down and why the team splintered?

A hypothesis that I've heard that certainly seems plausible...

Lickliters disdain for the I-Club circuit rubbed the boosters the wrong way and when things started spiraling out of control there were no big time people to have his back.

Combine Fuller & Gatens being unhappy, with Gatens Dad being pretty close to the athletic department and you can see how the freshman class would blame the sophomore class for their coach not being supported by anyone outside of CHA.

Then Lick gets fired, and the perception from the freshmen class is that Lick never had control over his own program, that forces beyond his control took him out, and that the Ath. Dept. never had his back.

The current recruits don't leave because they don't care for Fran, they leave because they don't have faith that whomever the coach is, has complete control and has the backing of the Ath. Dept. The situation is viewed as unstable b/c of it. What happens if the new coach angers some influential folks, does he get fired too?

Of course, this says nothing about the fact that Lick lost players on his own accord, and lost plenty of games. But it also explains why he didn't get the year 4 most people thought he would get.

 

[SCHawk]

22 losses and a disinterested fan base. That will cause problems anywhere.

 

[SLarew]

I wont argue your points. I think some of them are obvious. Fans and boosters not happy with losing. Players get frustrated, sometimes with each other. That happens and hopefully coaching staff can resolve it.

My own thinking is something happened during that 8 day break in February. Team was playing at competetive level, almost beating Michigan. Then the break and come back flat against NW, beat Ind in sloppy game, and then get rolled at Wisc and Minn.
I dont think we will find out what caused the poor play at end but it was definitely a part of Barta's decision to terminate Lick after coming out in support of him.

 

[hawkytalk]

I think having the worst record in the history of Iowa basketball is what got him. That and the fact he never talked to his players.

 

[BSpringsteen]

This isn't about what got Lick fired as much as why there are lingering affects of it over a month later.

 

[cjhawks]

I'm not one who dwells on the past, so I don't really give a rip as to what went down last year.

I'm more interested in what will go down in the coming years under Fran.

 

[loesshillshawk]

Worst 3 year stretch in Iowa history gets you fired. It also make players start pointing fingers at other guys, other coaches, fans, boosters, AD...when there is a problem it tends to decay rapidly. Iowa basketball simply had to have a bad apple removed and unfortunately when there is one bad apple there are more once you start digging. I like the fact that Fran isn't afraid to throw out the mushy ones...

 

[bpiercehawks]

A division between the frosh and sophs. I'm worried about our one "true Hawkeye".

 

[sd6365]

Worst 3 year stretch in Iowa history gets you fired. It also make players start pointing fingers at other guys, other coaches, fans, boosters, AD...when there is a problem it tends to decay rapidly. Iowa basketball simply had to have a bad apple removed and unfortunately when there is one bad apple there are more once you start digging. I like the fact that Fran isn't afraid to throw out the mushy ones...

In a turnaround situation like Iowa has been in, there needs to be a very visible leader that constantly communicates and recommunicates his/her vision to get the program back. This leader gives the players, asst. coaches and fans confidence that action is being taken. A good example of this is Crean at Indiana. Things are not going well there but he still has a fan base and it appears the players are still engaged. Lick did not lead the fan base, players or coaches IMO. Things unravel VERY fast when that is the case.

It if very obvious who is the leader of Iowa program now. Fran McCaffery knows how to lead and has a track record of turning around programs. He has seen players and recruit defection before. He has seen a disgruntled fan base and knows that straight forward communicaton is the only way to deal with it. He knows how to deal with these situations and he knows how to verbalize his plans so his players and coaches feel comfortable doing their jobs because they know he is driving the bus. It will take some time but Fran will get Iowa back to being competitive and fun again!

 

[CAARHawk]

I also think part of the problem is that Iowa hired a rather unknown coach for a lot of these players. A big name might have got them excited. But, beyond that, all they see is more extensive rebuilding.

 

[BALDIES7980]

I also think part of the problem is that Iowa hired a rather unknown coach for a lot of these players. A big name might have got them excited. But, beyond that, all they see is more extensive rebuilding.

Thats where the problem falls to the kids. Anyone will coach at least as good as Lick so chances are already better by default. Next its on them to decide if they want to suck and trudge their way thru another sh**** season or buck up,work hard and learn to play as a team and leave the personal BS off the BB court.
FWIW I really don't want to know what really happened because its the same BS drama that happens everywhere all the time. You either learn to deal with it or deal with losing and cat fighting so things are twice as bad.Grab the **** bull by the horns, work hard and live life as positively as you can.Life is hard enough when things are good, why the **** make it worse by stirring more ****.

 

[hawkdrummer1]

Lick's demeanor certainly didn't help him. When your performance is down, people will support you if you've developed relationships and have their trust. If you've been aloof and inaccesible, you're toast.

 

[jake703]

Lickliter never connected with the fans. He was a nice enough guy but I don't believe that was part of his personality to do PR for the program, which is needed.

Lickliter may or may not have connected with the players, but he clearly was not assertive enough or big enough of a personality to squash all of the "individual" personalities and create a "team" personality. He took a "we will see how it plays out" mentality to every piece of adversity that came up.

To me anything regarding the boosters or AD is just details that I will never know and don't really need to know. I think adversity reveals a person's strong and weak points and the two items above did not appear to be his strong points. Excellent basketball IQ and being a class act are simply not enough when things go south.

This is the very reason I am so excited about Fran, I think he is a much better personality to handle the rough times. In good times I would guess Lickliter and Fran are more alike than they are different, but Fran will be a much better fit for the rough patches.

 

[hawkeye2188]

After Gatens graduates i could see him leaking out info about what happened, or I could see tucker saying something to the minnesota media.

 

[TheNebraskaHawk]

There is a good chance that we will never know...

 

[tomhawk80907]

It was someone in the grassy knoll

 

[Joshr612]

Hopefully after Fran leads us to a National Championship they will make a movie. Then maybe they can show the internal conflict?!!

Little Lick can play Big Lick?

 

[tweeterhawk]

Could make for an interesting read. The three years of Todd Lickliter were certainly an enigma. At the very least it looked like we had a HC who quickly discovered he was in over his head, wasn't prepared for the challenges he would face, didn't relate well to boosters or fans, and appears to have done a poor job of sharing the responsibility for success or failure of the program. I'm not even sure he even wanted to be the Iowa mens basketball coach as the Big 10 season got underway this year, and perhaps that's what we were seeing and what the players were feeling.

I was never sure I was seeing a D1 coach sitting on the Iowa bench. His body language -- the facial expressions, rolling the eyes, holding his head in his hands, seeming failure to get remotely excited about great play or getting in the face of a player for poor play or repeated mistakes -- spoke volumes.

I wonder how things might have changed had he requested a medical leave when he had his episode and turned the reins over on an interim basis to Chad Walthall or another assistant for the remainder of the year. A moot issue at this point, but still something to ponder.

 

[Row55]

I'm not one who dwells on the past, so I don't really give a rip as to what went down last year.

I'm more interested in what will go down in the coming years under Fran.

There certainly comes a time when you can't do anything more about a bad situation, so you flush it and move on. I'm not sure we're there yet. Sure you lose recruits in a transition, but when a guy like Fuller still decides to go elsewhere, that's a big red flag. IOW, there's still stuff to fix, and as a fan, I'm curious what it is.

 

[Row55]

...I wonder how things might have changed had he requested a medical leave when he had his episode and turned the reins over on an interim basis to Chad Walthall or another assistant for the remainder of the year. A moot issue at this point, but still something to ponder.

Agree