Lickliter = Savior

Iowa basketball is back!

ESPN reports that Todd Lickliter is the new coach of the Hawkeye men’s basketball team. Tonight, both Lickliter and Iowa athletic director Gary Barta are headed to Iowa City from Atlanta for an afternoon press conference to introduce the savior of Iowa basketball.

Lickliter (what an awesome name) is fresh off a 29 win season at Butler and was named the Division I basketball coach of the year Monday. He had a 131-61 record with the Bulldogs over the last six years. He led Butler to the Sweet 16 this year, where they lost to Florida. Not too shabby. By comparison, Alford’s record at Iowa was 151-106. Lickliter won twice as many tournament games this year than Alford did in eight years leading the Hawkeyes.

This is huge. Iowa now has a coach who has proven success in the top flight of college basketball, and a coach who has the ability to recruit. We need that. For years we were starved by Steve-o’s impotence. If he couldn’t land players from Indiana with his reputation, he drove Interstate 380 and took whoever the standout player was at Waterloo East.

This is an exciting time to be an Iowa basketball fan. I want to be in Iowa City tonight and tomorrow night (I swear I'm not copying my post when Alford left). I'd feed a five dollar bill into the jukebox at the Foxhead and drink Pabst all night long. I'd carve my initials into the wooden tables along with the date. I'd be at Carver for Lickliter's public introduction, cheering along to welcome him and his family to the Hawkeye Nation.

Iowa basketball is back, baby!

Comments

Popular Posts