No, most coaches cannot turn a program around in 3 years. However, fans want to be excited that something good is going to happen with the program. There was no excitement or "feel good" about the program. It would be interesting to see how long he actually thought it was going to take to turn the program into "Butler?" He simply did not know how to rebuild a major conference school nor did he know what to do.
Sure the facilities were not great but that was not the reason he was a complete failure.
He couldn't keep players, the style of bb was very boring, he could not relate to players, attendance had fallen dramatically (AND THAT was his job to keep the place full), and he was not a good recruiter. Iowa would not have Woodbury and Gesell and the rest coming next year. He is made for a mid-major job at best.
He is Iowa's all-time worst coach during his stay. With Lickliter, there was NO light at the end of the tunnel. Not that difficult.
Had he remained this would have been his 5th year and Iowa would still be one of the two worst programs in the conference, if not the worst. Nothing would have changed...