If you were Barta, what would you do?

H

Hawkeye101

Well-Known Member
There are certainly a significant faction of people that feel that Barta isn't doing what he needs to do to solve the current problems with the mens' basketball program.

I've seen lots of complaints, lots of "what if's", but I haven't seen anybody really propose a plan of action. Here's your chance.

If you were Gary Barta, what would you do? Be specific, lay out your plan of action, how it would solve the current problems and get Iowa back on the winning track and put butts in the seats at Carver. Time to stop doing nothing more than complain, but put your ideas out here for debate.

Be ready for a good debate if your plan has holes in it so think things through clearly.
 
1. If we lose anyone other than Brommer or Neari to transfer after this season, or if we lose any of our signed recruits, for reasons that aren't clearly unrelated to Iowa basketball, I'd fire Coach Lickliter and find a new coach.

2. If I don't make a coaching change after this season because of item 1 above, I'd tell Coach Lickliter that the harsh economic realities faced by the athletic department mean that I may be faced with a very difficult decision at the end of next season if significant improvement isn't shown. I would urge him to utilize available scholarships so as to maximize the chances of significant improvement next season. I'd probably also tell him that while he's the one who has to live with the choice, it sure looks to me like we could use some immediate help at PG.

3. I'd have a very frank discussion with Coach Lickliter about the composition of the staff and what progress they're making in establishing a recruiting base. In the absence of clearly demonstrated progress, I would urge Coach Lickliter to step up his efforts to bring the staff along, or to seriously consider making a change in one or more positions. I would tell him that if significant further improvement isn't shown in the use of scholarships in the next 12 months, it may not be his decision as to whether staff changes will be made. (At least part of this kind of discussion is probably annual SOP for Barta with every coach in every sport.)

4. I'd eat my words about not cutting ticket prices further and do everything possible to put more butts in seats at CHA next season. I'd start by finding a way to let students in free, limited only by the number of unsold seats on any given night.

5. I'd tell Coach Lickliter that no one on the planet wants him to succeed more than his boss, because if he doesn't succeed, his boss's job could also be on the line.

6. I'd be polishing the list I should be maintaining at any given time of possible replacements for Coach Lickliter, making a point to carefully observe the people on that list and others who perhaps should be on it, and planning for how I would handle the hiring process if the need should arise.

7. I'd find a way to broaden some of the seats at CHA so Freddy Brown can more easily get his fat *** up and down during the action.
 
Last edited:
No division one coach would (nor should they) ever let administration determin who is on thier staff, ever.
 
FreddyBrown said:
1. If we lose anyone other than Brommer or Neari to transfer after this season, or if we lose any of our signed recruits, for reasons that aren't clearly unrelated to Iowa basketball, I'd fire Coach Lickliter and find a new coach.

2. If I don't make a coaching change after this season because of item 1 above, I'd sit down with Coach Lickliter and have a very frank discussion about the composition of the staff and what progress they're making in establishing a recruiting base. In the absence of clearly demonstrated progress, I would urge Coach Lickliter to step up his efforts to bring the staff along, or to seriously consider making a change. I would tell him that if significant further improvement isn't shown in the use of scholarships in the next 12 months, it may not be his decision as to whether staff changes will be made. (At least part of this kind of discussion is probably annual SOP for Barta with every coach in every sport.)

3. I would tell Coach Lickliter that the harsh economic realities faced by the athletic department mean that I may be faced with a very difficult decision at the end of next season if significant improvement isn't shown. I would urge him to plan accordingly in terms of recruiting decisions so as to maximize the chances of significant improvement next season, though obviously everything we do in recruiting must be consistent with the standards of the NCAA, the conference and the University.

3. I'd eat my words about not cutting ticket prices further and do everything possible to put more butts in seats at CHA next season. I'd start by finding a way to let students in free, limited only by the number of unsold seats on any given night.

4. I'd tell Coach Lickliter that no one on the planet wants him to succeed more than his boss, because if he doesn't succeed, his boss's job could also be on the line.
Click to expand...
+1 good points freddy, couldn't have said it better myself.
 
Georgia changed most of their Football staff because the administration wanted it done this year

and they are good almost every year
 
Last edited:
DuffMan said:
No division one coach would (nor should they) ever let administration determin who is on thier staff, ever.
Click to expand...


That's a popular myth, and nothing more. It happens all the time, as it would in any business. It just isn't publicized in most instances.
 
blkngoldUofI said:
+1 good points freddy, couldn't have said it better myself.
Click to expand...

Nailed it freddy. None of this has to be in the public like the last time...which was a pure pander to the fan base.

I would even be more specific on the minimal acceptable performance next year....NIT or NCAA or bust, unless there is very extenuating circumstances. And for year 5, NCAA is the minimum standard.

As for assistants,..I think I would make it clear that recruiting is expected to be better,so if that takes a change in recruiter..fine,. if not, then he better win now.
 
Extreme Makeover: Hawkeye Edition

1. Renovate Carver Hawkeye Arena. Somehow make it less cavernous--maybe put up giant curtain things to close off the top 20 rows. Somehow put more fans closer to the court. And make it extra loud.

2. Free student admission, with giveaways for students that show up.

3. Reduced pricing for families. Kids under 12 get in free.

4. Free parking for season ticket holders, and reduced prices for season tickets.

5. Ultimatum for Lickliter: get above .500 next season, or you're gone.
 
I would be talking to Lick NOW as his future lies in what product he puts on the court next year. Simply put you have to win games no matter what the style of game you play. You can change your staff, style of play ,whatever but results must be seen on the cour next year or your done.
I would have also done exit surveys in private of all players leaving and use that info to direct and decide if Lick is worth retaining.
 
I think he lays down the law in a few weeks when the season is over....in private that is and clearly states noticeable improvement needs to be made next year or a shakeup is coming
 
DuffMan said:
No division one coach would (nor should they) ever let administration determin who is on thier staff, ever.
Click to expand...
Do you really think its a choice in most cases?
Not everyone is a good coach or has thing work out for them. And all administrations should be involved at some point because it likely will affect their job as well if things aren't working.
 
anyone think that SA shoved Sam,and Lansing and Jones out the door totally on his own? I think BB pushed him to make changes...thankfully.
 
I don't get as worked up about possible transfers as much as some folks. Let's say you make the decision to keep TL for next year and May transfers (not trying to flame just using the transfer which would upset fans the most). I don't think the athletic director can then change course and fire TL because a player leaves. Just like you should not hesitate to can a coach because a player might leave if you do.

That being said, I agree that next year TL has to be told he must show significant improvement including at least 8 Big Ten wins. I don't care how they play, who he plays, who is on his staff. He has to reach that criteria. If he balks, show him the door.
 
To improve CHA attendance:

1) Cross-promote with Women's Basketball and/or Wrestling. Buying a ticket to men's B-ball game will also get you a ticket to the next home women's B-Ball game or wrestling meet.

2) First 500 students free, the rest either $3 or $5 each.

3) Kids tickets 1/2 price with paying adult.

4) Work with local employers to offer cheap (say $6) tickets to their employees.

5) Offer ticket discount for wearing certain colors for some games (IE - "white out" - 1/2 price tickets if wearing white). Not only for team colors (black, white, gold) but also for special events (such as the pink/red for breast cancer awareness).


CHA improvements:

1) Widen seats (at least in closest and perhaps furthest rows) by a couple of inches. One could charge a bit more for the sections where the seats are wider.

2) Work with food vendor to improve food quality/choice.

3) Move students back to mid-court, behind home team.



Practice Facility Improvements:

Now that they have gotten started, I thnk they are actually doing a decent job here, but...

1) Continue to make the facility improvements are "public" as possible. Keep reminding everyone that they are going on and when they will be done.

2) Start looking at competing schools to see where the next improvements have to come. We need to get proactive on this, and make the other schools try to catch up with us.



Coaching:

1) I do my homework on other schools/coaches that are having the kinds of success that I am looking for (at this point, winning seasons and NCAA tourny bids). I especially focus on situations where the school is approx the same size as Iowa and faces some of the same difficulties (conference, facilities, environment, etc).

1) Have the very frank discussion with Lick about where the current program appears to be failing (retention, recruiting, excitement), including the compositon of his staff, use of scholarships, etc. I share some of the results that I have found from looking at the other schools/coaches constructive suggestions can be made. Make sure that the expectations are very clear (we must have more wins, team must be competitive, etc).

2) Give Lick 30 days to come up with a plan to improve the areas that are failing and meet the stated expectations. This plan must include a sellable "wow" factor (something that generates excitement and gives fans/recruits hope that things are changing for the better - such as new assistants, changes in offensive philosophy, etc). If Lick sells me (and my associate AD's, etc) on the new plan, he gets a lock-solid two years to implement it. If not, it is time for him to go and I start looking for his replacement. It should be noted that Barta should be prepared to pony up a bit more cash so Lick can hire better assistants.


Basically, as far as coaching is concerned, I think it is getting to be "fish or cut bait" time with Lick. We want Lick to succeed, but at this point, he has to convince us that he understands where things are failing (and how) and that he has a plan to fix them. If he can't, we need to find a guy that can.
 
As much as I think Lick is likely to fail, barring a transfer from an Iowa boy like May, Gatens or Cougill, I'd give him one more year to have a .500 Big Ten record. The real reason for doing that is we have 4 key recruits coming in this fall and if we fired him this year we'd probably lose at least one if not more. Once they are here, they are more likely to stick with a coaching change and we only have 1 scholarship to give this fall, so it likely won't be a huge loss if we lose that 1 recruit. There really is no reason why he shouldn't finish at least .500 in the Big Ten by his 4th year.
 
I agree on the transfers, any more than the two listed and he is gone. If I were Barta I would try to discreetly find out if any high profile coaches were available. I would suggest to Lick he might want to replace a coach with someone with recruiting ties. I would explain to Lick that we need to fill the arena to pay his salary, and that he needs to get to at lest the NIT next year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top