Since the crushing loss in the first round of the NCAA Tourney to NW State, the Iowa Basketball program has been in a constant and consistent state of decline. So much so, that its starting to get noticed nationally. Ouch...
I think there are steps that need to be taken to rebuild the infrastructure, and bring this program back to where it belongs. Having been a LONG TIME Iowa Hawkeye fan, and having seen negative and negative, I'm hoping this thread could be thoughtful discussion and one that might provide some hope...
- Facilities... This one is being currently addressed. Once the additions and upgrades are complete at Carver-Hawkeye, I hope its sending a message of a commitment in to building the basketball program - and that the era of neglect has come to an end.
- Facilities 2... The newfound commitment needs to come with consistency, and as with the football program, the Iowa athletic department has to be committed to the gradual upgrades that will keep this Iowa Basketball competitive. This foundational oversite, IMHO, has been the over-arching 'elephant in the room.' I truly believe this is one of the biggest reasons why were in this mess right now.
- Marketing... The athletic department has been doing better, but they need to consistently and completely evaluate the sales and publicity tactics of the program at all times. We need the look and feel of the tenth all-time basketball program, and start utilizing all the sales tools that are out there... We need to being our past 'success inventory' to the forefront.
- Coaching... I'm not a Lickliter detractor in the least. I think he's a really smart guy, loves the game of basketball and is a great representative of the University. At the same time, I'm not sure if his personality is meshing with the challenges needed to rebuild this program. To me, the Iowa Basketball coach has to have an affable personality about him... SELL THE PROGRAM AND YOUR VISION. At Iowa, you not only have to sell the program to recruits, but you have to sell it to the supporters, fans, media and university. Its not all about the X and O's exclusively, and I also think style of play can help sell the program as well.
- Recruiting... Having said that, one of the biggest keys in getting Iowa Basketball back to respectibility are the players. If you can't get the players, you aren't going to be competitive. But to say you can't recruit to Iowa because its... well... Iowa, is a convenient excuse. You can recruit to Iowa, you just need a loaded toolbox to do it.
Right now, we need to be patient and hope we can build some sort of foundation. Since the Top 50 recruits will be hard to come by for a while - due to the state of the program - there needs to be a foundation of Juniors and Seniors that can win some games. This has been a challenge recently.
I would love to hear everyone's thoughts. At this point, I'm indifferent on Lickliter and hope he succeeds here... but at the same time, I do believe he may not be the match that we need to rebuild the program. I do think Iowa is rectifying some of the problems of the past, but there's obviously more than needs to be done.
BTW, this is NOT my second post ever on an Iowa message board.
I think there are steps that need to be taken to rebuild the infrastructure, and bring this program back to where it belongs. Having been a LONG TIME Iowa Hawkeye fan, and having seen negative and negative, I'm hoping this thread could be thoughtful discussion and one that might provide some hope...
- Facilities... This one is being currently addressed. Once the additions and upgrades are complete at Carver-Hawkeye, I hope its sending a message of a commitment in to building the basketball program - and that the era of neglect has come to an end.
- Facilities 2... The newfound commitment needs to come with consistency, and as with the football program, the Iowa athletic department has to be committed to the gradual upgrades that will keep this Iowa Basketball competitive. This foundational oversite, IMHO, has been the over-arching 'elephant in the room.' I truly believe this is one of the biggest reasons why were in this mess right now.
- Marketing... The athletic department has been doing better, but they need to consistently and completely evaluate the sales and publicity tactics of the program at all times. We need the look and feel of the tenth all-time basketball program, and start utilizing all the sales tools that are out there... We need to being our past 'success inventory' to the forefront.
- Coaching... I'm not a Lickliter detractor in the least. I think he's a really smart guy, loves the game of basketball and is a great representative of the University. At the same time, I'm not sure if his personality is meshing with the challenges needed to rebuild this program. To me, the Iowa Basketball coach has to have an affable personality about him... SELL THE PROGRAM AND YOUR VISION. At Iowa, you not only have to sell the program to recruits, but you have to sell it to the supporters, fans, media and university. Its not all about the X and O's exclusively, and I also think style of play can help sell the program as well.
- Recruiting... Having said that, one of the biggest keys in getting Iowa Basketball back to respectibility are the players. If you can't get the players, you aren't going to be competitive. But to say you can't recruit to Iowa because its... well... Iowa, is a convenient excuse. You can recruit to Iowa, you just need a loaded toolbox to do it.
Right now, we need to be patient and hope we can build some sort of foundation. Since the Top 50 recruits will be hard to come by for a while - due to the state of the program - there needs to be a foundation of Juniors and Seniors that can win some games. This has been a challenge recently.
I would love to hear everyone's thoughts. At this point, I'm indifferent on Lickliter and hope he succeeds here... but at the same time, I do believe he may not be the match that we need to rebuild the program. I do think Iowa is rectifying some of the problems of the past, but there's obviously more than needs to be done.
BTW, this is NOT my second post ever on an Iowa message board.
