Lickliter regrets leaving Butler for Iowa

HawkeyeHypnosis

HawkeyeHypnosis

Well-Known Member
From article:

“I would be dishonest if I said I didn’t regret it,â€￾ Lickliter told the Star about leaving Butler. “I enjoyed it so much. But I was so happy for them and so thankful that I had been a part of it. What I regretted more than leaving was that I didn’t have the time to duplicate it (at Iowa).â€￾


- See more at: Lickliter regrets leaving Butler for Iowa | TheGazette
 
HawkeyeHypnosis said:
From article:

“I would be dishonest if I said I didn’t regret it,â€￾ Lickliter told the Star about leaving Butler. “I enjoyed it so much. But I was so happy for them and so thankful that I had been a part of it. What I regretted more than leaving was that I didn’t have the time to duplicate it (at Iowa).â€￾


- See more at: Lickliter regrets leaving Butler for Iowa | TheGazette
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Not as much as I regret him leaving Butler for Iowa!
 
Didn't have the time? How much more time would he had needed? Heck they gave him 3 years (96 games) and only won 38 games the entire time he was here. With the player defections he had Iowa may have been down to walk ons.

I don't blame him for regretting leaving Butler, obviously his system worked there.
 
HawkeyeHypnosis said:
From article:

“I would be dishonest if I said I didn’t regret it,” Lickliter told the Star about leaving Butler. “I enjoyed it so much. But I was so happy for them and so thankful that I had been a part of it. What I regretted more than leaving was that I didn’t have the time to duplicate it (at Iowa).”

Also, what the heck is he talking about "duplicating"? It's not like he orchestrated Butler's success. He merely was able to sustain what Doc Sadler and Thad Matta had built up. In hindsight, we didn't need a sustainer, we needed a builder. And Fran was the perfect hire. Talk about "duplicating". This is a guy who had rebuilt multiple programs, so he had a history and a knowhow to duplicate.

Good God, just thinking of those 40 and 50 point totals for an entire game gives me the heeby-jeebies!


- See more at: Lickliter regrets leaving Butler for Iowa | TheGazette
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I know it's not a popular viewpoint, but I feel for him. Always have.

This grape's scorn has eyes only for the Buttcut.
 
wundergrape said:
I know it's not a popular viewpoint, but I feel for him. Always have.

This grape's scorn has eyes only for the Buttcut.
Click to expand...

I felt for him for awhile as well....simply because he seems like a genuinely nice guy.

But then I look at ALL of the player defections he had and the near revolt that took place his last year and figure there must have been something about him that continued to drive player after player away. So it's hard, in the end, for me to feel for him much since it was he and he alone that drove those players away.

Not to mention, he was INSANE with the level of assistants he brought in. Those guys were suited for NAIA ball, not big-time D1, B1G ball.
 
SpiderRico said:
I felt for him for awhile as well....simply because he seems like a genuinely nice guy.

But then I look at ALL of the player defections he had and the near revolt that took place his last year and figure there must have been something about him that continued to drive player after player away. So it's hard, in the end, for me to feel for him much since it was he and he alone that drove those players away.

Not to mention, he was INSANE with the level of assistants he brought in. Those guys were suited for NAIA ball, not big-time D1, B1G ball.
Click to expand...


I hear that, but I still blame Barta. You go to Long John Silvers, you expect to spend the afternoon on the toilet.
 
He is a good coach but even good coaches don't fit in certain places. Belichick (sp?) wasn't a fit for Cleveland but does well now in New England. Lickliter fit at butler and won, he seems to fit at Marian and wins...he didn't fit at Iowa and therefore lost. No ill will to the guy as he knows basketball and he did what most do, they try to see if they can do the same on a bigger stage. It is the same reason deandre Kane is at isu to see if he can do it just as well on the big stage as he did at Marshall. It is working for Kane as a player, it didn't work for lickliter as a coach.
 
Hmmmm. Let's see. Butler got better after Lick left. Iowa got worse after Lick came. Iowa got better after Lick left. I think there is plenty of regret to go around.
 
Biggusblockus said:
Hmmmm. Let's see. Butler got better after Lick left. Iowa got worse after Lick came. Iowa got better after Lick left. I think there is plenty of regret to go around.
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This. Iowa hired the wrong Butler coach. Though, we would probably be looking for a new HC if we had hired Brad Stevens.
 
I see a bitter guy here in this article basically saying (between the lines) it was not my fault. Good riddance to the slow ball, 1950s Lick/Butler system. Alford killed the program and Lickliter buried it. Fran has resurrected it.
 
I'm not looking to throw dirt on the guy's grave, but what's pretty interesting to me is that he went from the head coach of an average Big Ten program (arguably the best conference in the country) all the way to NAIA Division II?!?!?!

There are a lot - a lot - of NCAA division III jobs, junior college jobs, and even high school jobs that are better gigs than NAIA Division II. And it's not like he committed a major crime or NCAA infractions that scared those hundreds (thousands?) of potential employers away.

Mind-boggling.
 
Wasn't he an assistant at Miami (OH) after leaving Iowa? My guess is he wanted to coach at home. I would imagine that anyone with major conference coaching experience could find something better than Marian if they really wanted to.
 
bcl20 said:
Wasn't he an assistant at Miami (OH) after leaving Iowa? My guess is he wanted to coach at home. I would imagine that anyone with major conference coaching experience could find something better than Marian if they really wanted to.
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Yes he was. I agree he seems like location was and is the main reason for leaving Miami and staying at Marian.
 
I don't harbor much ill will towards Lickliter. Alfraud occupies most of it. What Lickliter should regret is not bringing in assistants that could recruit (once Stephens wasn't coming with). What he should regret is spending too much time on his fat arse in his office, rather than taking an active role in recruiting.
 
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