HAWKEYE HOOPS TALK

So 25 games into the Todd Lickliter era and the Hawkeye men's basketball team sits at a miserable 11-14 record (4-8 in the Big-10). So I pose the question.......when will enough be enough? It's time for someone to buy the domain for firetoddlickliter.com. Of course, I'm kidding.....

Saturday's loss at Minnesota was a bit disheartening. Not because Iowa lost, but how they lost. They looked disinterested, unemotional, and not into the game after a solid week with a win over Ohio State and a close loss to Wisconsin. Minnesota has more talent and experience than Iowa, but way too many unforced errors led to this loss. As bad as Iowa played, had they just been able to finish the last 8 minutes of the game strong they would have won. The fact that Iowa lost by double digits to a team that played a truly pathetic ballgame is the most disappointing aspect of this game. 8 minutes to play, Iowa was right there with the Gophers despite turning the ball over what seemed like every other possession. But, as usual, an Iowa basketball team lacks the mental focus to pull out a game like this.

And that brings me to my next point.......STEVE ALFORD

Steve, you were hired by Iowa in 1999 because of one thing...... you could recruit. Tom Davis was the worst recruiter in the history of intercollegiate athletics. Well, until you became the coach at Iowa. Or is that "freakin' Iowa"? I never thought a guy could coach at a quality Big-10 conference program and actually recruit players that had less ability than guys like Greg Helmers, Jim Bartels, and Jason Bauer. But props to you, Coach Alford, you managed to prove me wrong.

Your players were not mentally tough, you could not coach them on fundamentals and that is showing proof this year because our new coach is having to teach them the game of basketball. It didn't matter who was on the team, in the 8 years Steve Alfraud was the coach at Iowa the result on the court was pretty much the same except for the 2005-2006 squad. Steve, it was not the fan's fault you couldn't recruit. It wasn't the fault of a small recruiting base at a school in a remote location. If that was true, Nebraska football wouldn't be what it is today.......well, okay, what it was a few years ago!

The problem, Steve, was you. You had a big name, you had a fan base that drooled all over you and sold out basically every game your first few years. But you simply could not win consistently because you were not a good enough coach. You brought in players that lacked mental toughness and you did not develop players as well as the previous coach did. Iowa will never get Top 10 recruiting classes, but blaming the small recruiting base for the players you brought in is beyond lame. A good coach would have done better. And quite frankly, Steve, you are not a good coach. Period.

Now onto the years team and the future of the Hawkeye basketball program.......

There have been a lot of positives from this season, along with negatives of course. The negatives are that Alford left a stinch around Iowa City that probably won't go away for a couple of years. The positive is we have a coach that is showing why he was hired.......to develop players. This team is improving, and individuals are improving, but it will take Lickliter some time to bring in his own players.

Rumor has it that UNI forward Jordan Engleseder will be transferring to Iowa and that would be a decent pick-up for the 2009 class along with Sioux City's Brennan Cougill. Next years recruiting class looks promising with Iowa City's Matt Gatens coming in along with a quality point guard recruit from Minnesota (Anthony Tucker). After seeing Gatens play a few times last year and once this year, I can say that he is as good of a high school prospect as this state has ever had. He has size, athleticism, an ability to shoot anywhere on the court, and mental toughness. He makes big shots down the stretch of games. He will be the type of player that can create shots for his teamates and himself. I expect him to step in next year and be an immediate contributor.

I do like our 3 freshman from this year (Kelly, Peterson, Cole). They've all shown flashes of being very good Big-10 players but they are all projects, and a coach like Todd Lickliter should be able to develop them. Unfortunately, Jarryd Cole went down with an ACL tear in December because we was really becoming a force down low. Hopefully, he'll be back in full strength next season. Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson have also shown signs of life at times this year, but like most freshmen, they are inconsistent. I expect major improvements from them next year.

Seth Gorney also has improved this year, especially on defense. In the past, he was inept defensively, but now he has become a quality defensive big man to go along with his decent offensive skills. Cyrus Tate at times has shown improvements as well. Unlike Gorney, he will be back next year. He doesn't make the boneheaded mistakes he made last year much anymore, but he still lacks offensive consistency.

Tony Freeman is becoming a great leader for this team, and next year he'll be even more improved with Gatens coming in. I fully expect Tony to get a lot better looks on the wing with Gatens' ability to drive the lane.

Although Iowa stands at 11-14 right now, this team has a very good opportunity to finish at .500 or better with the remaining schedule being much lighter than it has been the last month or so. 5 of the next 6 games very well could be victories for the Hawkeyes. That would put the Hawks at 16-15 overall and 9-9 in the Big-10. If that happens, Todd Lickliter deserves a lot of credit.

GO HAWKS!