THE MODERATOR: Up next is head
coach Todd Lickliter. Lickliter enters his third
season with the Hawkeyes and returns four
starters from last year's team.
Coach, if you'd like to start with an opening
statement, and then open up to questions.
COACH LICKLITER: Good morning. It's
an exciting time. It's always exciting to start a new
season fresh and have new opportunity.
Without even needing to be said, it's an
incredible league. We have I think 22 out of the
top 30 scorers back, we've got the All-Conference
team, All-Members back from the First Team. The
systems are incredible.
And the coaching is fantastic. It's a terrific
challenge and one that really, if you love the game,
you appreciate it. So we're excited about the
opportunity. This year our veterans are still young,
but it's fun.
At least we have individuals that have a
good understanding and a true commitment that is
necessary. I can see the results of their work in
the off-season just by the strength they've gained,
and we have terrific leadership.
And you have to have leadership. And
those leaders have to have an understanding of
what you want. And Jarryd Cole and Devan Bawinkel, Jarryd's a junior and Devan's a senior, I
think will provide the leadership we need. And the
sophomores we have returning that have a lot of
game experience will actually be veterans, and
we've added to that a good recruiting class.
So we're excited about the opportunities.
We know that the expectations are low, but if
predictions always came true, then there would be
no need to play the games. And so that's the
beauty of the sport. So we're looking forward to
the season and to the opportunities ahead.
Q. Tom Izzo has said that the best
thing for basketball in the Big Ten is for
football programs to do well, that's why he's
been such a fan of Spartan football. How much
does Kirk Ferentz' 8-0 start help getting kids
excited about Iowa basketball?
COACH LICKLITER: I love it because Kirk
Ferentz does things. He's a great coach, great
program, and he makes you proud to be a
Hawkeye. I think our players appreciate the way
they play, and so there's definitely excitement and
we just keep pulling for them. Keep playing. I just
love their approach.
So I don't know that it helps as far as the
way we're going to play or anything. Although, it
gives you a vision of what needs to be done,
there's no question about that.
If we could emulate their approach, I'd
gladly do that.
Q. Last year IU (Indiana) got its only
Big Ten win against you guys, and obviously
you guys did a little bit better. What do you
expect from that match-up this year?
COACH LICKLITER: I think every
match-up is something that is so demanding, and I
told time last year I was really impressed with the
way that his kids just continued to fight and play.
And you knew they were dangerous.
We were a team that had very little margin
of error. We won a few close ones. But we had to
play at a very -- at our highest level to be able to
compete. And so I give Indiana a lot of credit for
the way they played that night. They were a better
team, without question.
I think there were other games that they
were in that they were very dangerous. So I
thought Tom did a great job with them. I think that
that's a game that we see it as just another
challenge, just like the rest of the opportunities in Big Ten.
Q. I was wondering about Devon Archie. First, exactly how did he hurt his
shoulder and how is his progress and how
does this kind of prevent him from grasping
your system?
COACH LICKLITER: Well, it's too bad,
because you're always disappointed when
somebody's injured. It's so frustrating for them.
And you're thankful that it's not more serious,
obviously.
It goes to show how fragile it was.
Because it was really a non-contact drill and he
just happened to lose his footing and fell back on
his shoulder and had -- I always hesitate to go into
medical terms or aspects because I don't fully
understand everything that's happened, but the
way I understand it is he dislocated or separated
his clavicle, which is pretty unique.
They had to go back and set it. And now
they've got to watch and make sure that it stays
without having to pin it or anything. And right now
that's the hope, and we don't have any reason to
think it won't happen that way.
Obviously it sets him back. He's going to
be out four to six, maybe seven weeks. But he's
an eager learner, very bright, pays attention. And I
know he'll catch up. And I also know it's
frustrating, disappointing for him. And we miss
him.
But it's something that you deal with, and
we've dealt with a lot of injuries in the last couple of
years, and that's something that I'm hoping this is
the last one for the year. That's for sure.
Q. Is there any thought that you might
have to redshirt him? I mean if this lingers on
past seven weeks?
COACH LICKLITER: You can always --
that's not a decision we have to make right now.
And as long as he doesn't play, it's a decision that
we can make. And we'll just have to evaluate as
we go.
He is a player that his best years are
ahead of him. He just keeps improving every year.
And so an extra year of college would not be
detrimental to him, but we're just going to have to
see how quickly he progresses. And obviously
we'd have to talk with him about it and it's not
something that we made a decision on at this
point.
Q. With the way the Big Ten schedule
falls off, some teams you play twice, some
once. Would you be in favor of just 20 games,
play everyone twice?
COACH LICKLITER: It's not something
that I've done a lot of -- given a lot of thought to,
because it's not pressing. I've got bigger issues, to
be honest with you.
But if we did that, then you've got to look at
your non conference schedule and make sure that
things fit accordingly. But I don't know that that's a
problem. Although I do think with the Big Ten
conference tournament, 18 games, it's a
demanding schedule.
Last year our schedule was
ranked in one ranking 32nd in the nation. When
you're playing the best league, it is demanding.
So it really almost doesn't matter what I
think. If they decide to go to 20, they'll go to 20.
Right now it's 18. And we just accept it and
prepare the best we can. So it's not something I've
given a lot of thought to.