Tiger Hawk Blog » Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball

Basabe is looking at Iowa after being released from Siena

P Murphy — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:37:00 +0000

Melsahn Basabe has been released from his letter of intent to play basketball at Siena. The Albany Times-Union reported today that Basabe, a 6-foot-7 power forward from Glen Cove, N.Y., was granted a full release and now can sign with any school that he wants to. Basabe is planning on visiting Iowa City and has Iowa high on his list. Iowa and McCaffery has extended an offer to him after he was released. tigerhawkblog end

Basabe signed his letter of intent at Siena based on McCaffery and Francis staying at Siena. My opinion is he will join and play at Iowa next season. This is part of McCaffery’s plan to fill the open slots at Iowa before next season.

Iowa Names New Men’s Basketball Coach

P Murphy — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:11:00 +0000

Iowa will name Fran McCaffery the 22nd Men Basketball coach today. tigerhawkblog end

Coach Lickliter is Under Pressure as Iowa’s Coach

P Murphy — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:29:19 +0000

Coach Todd Lickliter is under a lot of pressure going into Friday’s game against Bowling Green. Not just the normal pressure of being a head coach or the pressure the fans are giving him and the team. But the pressure of repeating history over again and the results that followed it. tigerhawkblog end

If Iowa (0-2) shall lose on Friday against Bowling Green (1-1), then this will be the third time in Iowa’s history that they lost the first three games of the season.

Last time this happened was the 1920-1921 season. Iowa finished that season 9-10 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten under head coach James Ashmore. Back then it was good for a sixth place finishing in the conference. At the end of the season, Coach Ashmore was fired after coaching three seasons. His record was 29-28 overall and 17-17 in the Big Ten during his time at Iowa. His best team finished fifth in the Big Ten in his second year.

The only other time Iowa has lost that many games at the beginning of the season was the 1917-1918 season. That year the Hawkeyes lost the first six games of the season. Iowa finished 6-8 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten for ninth place finish. Iowa’s coach was Maury Kent during that season. He suffered the same fate as Ashmore at the end of the season. Kent coached Iowa for five years. His best finish in the Big Ten was seventh place twice. His five year record at Iowa was 42-36 overall and 10-29 in the Big Ten.

Coach Lickliter is also feeling the pressure of finishing the season with a losing record. There was only one other time in history that Iowa had a losing record for three straight seasons. It was under coach Rollie Williams between 1929 and 1932 seasons. This was also Coach Williams first three seasons. He coached Iowa for 14 years and finished second in the Big Ten once. His teams mostly finished on the bottom half of the conference. He also had seven winning seasons in his 14 years with the Hawkeyes.

The bottom line is that this season as well as future seasons will be horrible unless coach Lickliter can change things around. He really needs to have his first winning season be this season. Lickliter has been focusing on the team’s defensive playing. It goes back to defenses will win the game. I believe this in some sports like football and soccer. In basketball, you need to have good scorers on the team if you want a chance to win.

The Butler coaching style is starting to show why it doesn’t work in the Big Ten. The Big Ten is not the Horizon league.

Currently the Big Ten has six top 25 teams in the nation and is a tougher conference than the Horizon. I don’t see Coach Lickliter staying around much more than a few more seasons before he is replaced.

Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball Overview ’09-’10 Season

P Murphy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:01:26 +0000

Conference View

The Big Ten conference sent seven teams to the NCAA tournament last year as well as two teams to the NIT tournament. This includes sending Michigan State to the NCAA finals as well as sending Penn State to the NIT finals. tigerhawkblog end

This year the Big Ten is expected to do the same as last year with six teams in the top 25 pre-season AP poll. The conference has a good shot of sending even eight teams to the NCAA tournament.

Hawkeyes Overview

Coach: Todd Lickliter (third season, 28-36 at Iowa, 159-97 overall).
Last season’s record: 15 – 17 overall, 5 – 13 in Big Ten (tenth in league).
Postseason: None.
Last time they made the NCAA field: 2005-2006 season.
Returning starters: 2.

The Hawkeyes are coming off their second consecutive losing season. Last two years, Iowa has a combined 11 – 25 record in Big Ten play and a combined 28 – 36 overall record. Iowa hasn’t had back to back losing seasons since before Tom Davis was head coach of the Hawkeyes.

Todd Lickliter has a lot of rebuilding to do this year after losing four players due to them transferring out of Iowa and going to other schools. They are Jake Kelly (Indiana State), Jeff Peterson (Arkansas), Jermain Davis (Minnesota State) and David Palmer (NKU).

Iowa was well on its way to becoming a Big Ten contender in a couple years, but now the program is in ruins due to all of the transfers. This can be a make or break season for Coach Lickliter as well as Iowa basketball program. Iowa will need to finish with a winning record and out of the conference basement for Todd Lickliter to avoid the hot seat and keep his job safe.

Iowa is picked by everyone to finish in last place in the Big Ten Conference. Rivals have Iowa ranked at No. 134 and CollegeHoops.net has them at a ranking of 123. Iowa is currently ranked 121st in the RPI heading into this season.

Roster Breakdown:

Projected Starting Five:
Matt Gatens, Sophomore, Guard, 10.8 points per game
Anthony Tucker, Sophomore, Guard, 10.4 points per game
Cully Payne, 6-1, Freshman, Guard
Aaron Fuller, Sophomore, Forward, 4.0 points per game
Jarryd Cole, Junior, Forward, 3.7 points per game

Iowa only has six players returning from last year’s team that has any game time experience. With that said, there are a lot of questions that will need to be answered before the start of Big Ten play. Since four players transferred out, there are holes that will need to be filled by existing players or by last year’s recruiting class.

If Iowa can answer most of their questions, then they will have a team that has two inside players that can block shots, rebound, and score as well as having four outside threats that can hit the long ball.
Senior guard Devan Bawinkel and Redshirt Freshmen guard John Lickliter can drain the three point shot as well as Gatens and Tucker. Junior forward Devon Archie could be one of Lickliter’s best recruits last year and could help them in blocking shots as well as scoring and rebounding.

Iowa is also battling the injury bug early this year. Forward Devon Archie injured his shoulder in practice and is out 4 to 7 weeks. He will return before the start of Big Ten play. Freshman Cully Payne is fighting through a sprain ankle that he got during last weekend’s Black and Gold scrimmage. Anthony Tucker is also dealing with a hurt back at the beginning of this season.

List of incoming freshman and JUCO players.
F Devon Archie, 6-9, jr., Indianapolis;
F Brennan Cougill, 6-9, fr., Sioux City, Iowa;
G John Lickliter, 5-11, redshirt fr., Iowa City;
G Eric May, 6-5, fr., Dubuque, Iowa;
G Nick Neari, 6-2, fr., St. Charles, Ill.;
G Cully Payne, 6-1, fr., Schaumburg, Ill.

Schedule Breakdown:

The Hawkeyes have a decent schedule this year. Iowa plays non-conference teams like third ranked Texas and Pittsburgh in the CBE tournament as well as playing at Northern Iowa.

They also play all six pre-season ranked Big Ten Teams this year at home and on the road. They are second ranked Michigan State, seventh ranked Purdue, 15th ranked Michigan, 16th ranked Ohio State, 23rd ranked Illinois, and 25th ranked Minnesota.

Season Outlook:

There will be too many questions for Iowa to answer this year. Iowa will get their first winning season under Coach Lickliter, but they are still going to be in the lower half of the conference standings.

The Hawkeyes will need to get an inside person to score and rebound as well as block shots. If this happens then Iowa will become a wildcard in the Big ten Conference with a chance to make it to a post-season tournament. Iowa can score on the outside if they are open, but needs help inside to help win the rebounding game.

A 7-11 finish in conference is my prediction, with a small chance of making any tournament in the post-season, and a 17-15 overall record.

Glance at 2009 – 2010 Iowa Men’s Basketball Team

P Murphy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:55:43 +0000

Here is a look at Iowa’s basketball team in the pre-season. Todd Lickliter is entering his third year as Iowa’s Coach with a 28-36 record at Iowa and a 159-97 overall record. In 2008-09 season, he led Iowa to a 10th place finish in the Big Ten with a 15-17 overall record and a 5-13 Big ten record. tigerhawkblog end

This is a small improvement since his first year. He led Iowa to a 8th place finish in 2007-08 season with a 13-19 overall and a 6-12 Big Ten record in his first year.

This year both Lindy’s and Athlon magazines picked Iowa to finish last in the Big Ten Conference. This is hard to believe after ESPN recently released a book that has Jeff Sagarin’s list of best college programs of all time where Iowa is ranked the 10th best program in the country. The list is based on wins and losses as well as margin of victory. Iowa is one of eight Big ten teams in the top 20.

Iowa has a lot of growing to do since most of the team is made up with freshman and sophomore players with one senior and two juniors. Iowa is still a very young team that has at least a couple more years before they are taken seriously in the Big Ten Conference. First the Hawkeyes will need to find a way to keep their players longer than one or two years. Iowa has lost 4 players since last season to transfers. They are Jake Kelly (Indiana State), Jeff Peterson (Arkansas), Jermain Davis (Minnesota State) and David Palmer (NKU).

Iowa is starting to battle the injury bug early this year. Newcomer Devin Archie injured his right shoulder during the second practice of the season last Saturday. His injury also hurts the team as well. Future of Iowa’s shot blocking was resting on his shoulders. The injury will cause Archie to miss the first four to seven weeks of the season. The Hawkeyes are in high hopes of having him back at the start of the Big Ten Conference play.

Here is the list of players that will be on the team this year as well as the schedule for the 2009 – 2010 season.

Good Luck Hawkeyes.

Returning players:
G Devan Bawinkel, 6-5, sr., 4.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg;
F Jarryd Cole, 6-7, jr. 3.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg);
F Aaron Fuller, 6-6, soph., 4.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg;
G Matt Gatens, 6-5, soph., 10.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg

F Andrew Brommer, 6-9, soph., 1.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg;
G Anthony Tucker, 6-4, soph., 10.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg

Newcomers:
F Devon Archie, 6-9, jr., Indianapolis;
F Brennan Cougill, 6-9, fr., Sioux City, Iowa;
G John Lickliter, 5-11, redshirt fr., Iowa City;
G Eric May, 6-5, fr., Dubuque, Iowa;
G Nick Neari, 6-2, fr., St. Charles, Ill.;
G Cully Payne, 6-1, fr., Schaumburg, Ill.

2009-10 schedule

November – 8, Marian (exhibition), 12:30 p.m.; 15, Texas-San Antonio, 5 p.m.; 17, Duquesne, 8 p.m.; 20, Bowling Green, 8 p.m.; 23, vs. Texas at CBE Classic, 8:45 p.m.; 24, vs. Pittsburgh or Wichita State at CBE Classic, 6:45 or 9 p.m.; 28, North Carolina Central, 12:30 p.m.

December – 1, Virginia Tech, 8:30 p.m.; 5, Prairie View A&M, 3 p.m.; 8, at Northern Iowa, 7 p.m.; 11, at Iowa State, 7 p.m.; 19, Drake, 5:30 p.m.; 21, South Carolina State, 7:30 p.m.; 29, Purdue, 6 p.m.

January – 2, Minnesota, 3 p.m.; 5, at Illinois, 8 p.m.; 9, Michigan State, 4:30 p.m.; 12, Tennessee State, 8 p.m.; 16, Penn State, noon; 20, at Michigan State, 5:30 p.m.; 24, at Indiana, 4 p.m.; 27, Ohio State, 7:30 p.m.; 30, at Michigan, 3:30 p.m.

February – 3, Illinois, 7:30 p.m.; 7, at Ohio State, 11 a.m.; 10, Northwestern, 7:30 p.m.; 13, at Purdue, 3:30 p.m.; 16, Michigan, 8 p.m.; 25, at Northwestern, 6 p.m.; 28, Indiana, 5 p.m.

March – 2, 3 or 4, at Wisconsin, TBA; 7, at Minnesota, 5 p.m.; 11-14, at Big Ten Tournament at Indianapolis, TBA