In 2008-09, Coach Lickliter will be entering his second season as the man in charge of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Expectations are a little higher within the Iowa communiy thanks to the flood of talented freshmen entering the program, but with the departure of star senior guard Tony Freeman, the pre-season hype for next year is significantly lower. The Freeman departure will be sure to create all kinds of controversy and debate all across the state of Iowa, seeing as Tony basically came out and said Lickliter didn't want him on the team. As more facts and more stories have come out about the ordeal, Freeman's biased take on the events seem a little farther away from the real truth. Freeman did have loads of talent with a Big Ten body and the best shot on the team, one of the few players who could create his own shot, but his frenetic, fast-paced, shoot-1st ask questions later style clashed with the team-first, slow-pace that Lickliter wanted to play at. Freeman didn't want to change his game or adapt to Lickliter's ways, so he was told his playing time would be reduced because there would be more bodies coming in for depth next season. Freeman didn't like it, so he's leaving. It's a tough loss and I have a hard time wondering why Lickliter couldn't keep such a skilled player on the team for his senior year, and I do feel sorry for Tony and his admittedly big ego because he obviously had intentions of coming back, but this decision will be best for the team's future if not for next season. Like the move or not, Lickliter is putting his stamp on the program and letting it be known that he is doing things his way and not bowing down to the players. His system is a fun one to watch and effective as any when it is run correctly, but he is still getting the players he needs to build it. Getting rid of Freeman gets him one step closer to that goal. Last year was a tough rebuilding season expected of a 1st-year coach with a less-than-stellar crop of talent left; players left, and we had to rely on average bench players and freshman to carry the team. We kind of lived or died by Freeman and his shooting theatrics for most of the season as he recovered from an ankle injury in the nonconference, but as the year went on we found some options in hardworking post player Cyrus Tate and the smooth, skilled freshman Jake Kelly. Their continued development is key for next year's success. Our defense was pretty fantastic all year long in '07-'08, but scoring was the major problem. We never really ran any semblance of a consistent offense and moving without the ball appeared to be a foreign term to our boys. We never fed the ball inside enough and our best players took threes 70 percent of the time they had the ball. And most of the time, these weren't good threes. Tough to score more than 50 a game when that's all you shoot. We also just didn't have enough scorers or players who could take their man off the trouble, and Lickliter's 7-man rotation left him forced to play the same scrubs even when they messed up. The players got tired, and as the year wore on, disinterested with all the losing. The last few games were fairly uninspired efforts, and it was obvious they were ready to get next season on the road. Besides the painful loss of Freeman, we lose three seniors in Seth Gorney, Kurt Looby, and Justin Johnson along with walk-on junior Dan Bohall, who is also leaving the program. Gorney was a fairly soft big man with a pretty but inconsistent shot; he rarely played tough inside though, especially for a 7-footer, but his size will be missed. Looby was an athletic highlight reel, a long-armed jet back who would rise for crowd pleasing alley-oops and blocks. He never put on much strength or fine-tuned his raw game though, and Lickliter refused to play him consistently this season. Johnson could shoot threes; leave him open and I'd put my money on him any day of the week. But his role should have been spot-up shooter, not big-time scorer, which is what he was expected to be this past year. He never had much of a handle or couldn't take shots off the dribble, relied on for too much offense, but as a shooter he was great. Bohall played a lot in the nonconference with the injury to Freeman, but his shaky handle and D-2 speed left him more and more on the bench as the year wore on, especially after his public intoxication charge. He slowly got back into favor with Lickliter and played against Northwestern and Penn State, earning minutes with hard play and tough defense. He was going to be hard pressed for playing time with the new bodies coming in though, and leaving is probably a good choice for him.

Coming up soon, I will be going over all the players returning and coming in, and analyzing the things the Hawkeyes need to do better to win next year and what the players can do to provide it.

The most important player we have coming back is going to be Jeff Peterson, who will have to take over the point guard duties full time as a sophmore after a roller coaster last season where he started strong but finished the season barely getting any minutes. Jeff has a quick 1st step and does a fantastic job getting into the lane, but he struggled to find a balance between passing and creating his own shot, and he left his feet way too often. Towards the end of the season, turnovers became a huge problem as well, and he wasn't finishing with as much explosiveness as he was at the beginning of the year. Lickliter couldn't afford to keep him on the floor for long periods of time and it was obvious the freshman's confidence started on a steep decline...with Freeman's absence and the job of point guard thrust soley on Jeff's shoulders, I think he will get his mojo back, improving his decision making and outside shot to become the surprise Hawkeye star this year. We will need him to play major minutes, because there is really no depth at all for the point position besides an incoming freshman or two, so Peterson needs to be the man. Cyrus Tate and Jaryyd Cole will both be back as team captains to control the low post, and will be counted on for a lot of scoring and essentially all of our points in the paint and rebounding. Tate emerged as our best player towards the end of the Big Ten season last year, using his strength and crafty finishing around the rim to get a 20 and 10 almost every game; he was our hardest worker night in and night out, often the only Hawkeye on the floor playing with any semblance of energy. Cole started as a freshman, and Tate ironically didn't emerge until after Cole tore his ACL late in the nonconference. Now both will be playing together, and only good can come from that. Cole was a great athlete and powerful finisher who also played with a reckless energy on the floor, grabbing offensive boards and showing his toughness and Big Ten body. He needs to improve his free throw shooting and outside touch, but his inside skills and energy make him a valuable post player. Jake Kelly needs to get stronger and more confident with his driving and decision making, but his bevy of offensive skills, outside shot, and impressive length make him a versatile scorer and skilled player, often leading the Hawkeyes in scoring last season. J.R. Angle and David Palmer both return as well; neither of them got many minutes last season and that doesn't figure to change with 6 new bodies coming into the program for 2008-09. Angle is a good shooter and good passer, but he doesn't have the athleticism or the handle to get many minutes, while Palmer was never in great shape and apparently didn't impress Lickiter with his practice habits enough to get some burn in the post, where we were woefully thin last year. Both of these guys will probably ride the pine again.

The 6 incoming recruits are creating an immense amount of hype in and around the university. Three Mr. Basketballs for their respective states is usually quite the class in itself, but when you add two Juco transfers and an ever-improving 6 foot 10 big man that just creates the potential for this class to be special. The first guy that comes to mind for me is Matt Gatens, a 6 foot 5 guard from Iowa City High who has been generating hype for years and playing in the Prime Time League since he was an 8th grader. He recently was named Mr. Iowa Basketball, the highest honor a senior baller can acheive, and his team won the state championship. Gatens brings a lot of intangibles to the court, along with great size, unselfish play, and a great overall ability and knowledge of the game. He has been a Hawkeye since berth and his committment was never a question; I have no doubt in my mind that he will play the game the "Lickliter way" and be an immediate contributor. Anthony Tucker was named Mr. Basketball for the Minnesota Metro-Cities area, and his team also won the state championship. If Lickliter were still at Butler, Tucker would definitely be a player he would go after, and there was concern at the beginning of the recruiting process of whether Tucker was a big time player or not, but after his huge performance in the state tournament, there is no doubt in anybody's mind of whether or not he's capable of performing at the Big Ten level or not. Tucker is a similar player to Gatens, a 6 foot 5 combo guard who can play both the 1 and the 2. He's unselfish but can also take over a game with his shooting and scoring, and proved that he can be a leader and a star player with his high school team last season. Tubby Smith is going to be disappointed he let this guy slip out of his backyard. Aaron Fuller was Mr. Arizona Basketball this past year, leading Mesa High in just about every statistical category. Major schools didn't start recruiting him until late because they considered him a tweener, a 6 foot 7 post player who didn't excell on the wing as much. But Fuller put up monster scoring statistics and showed off his athleticism and versatility all year long, proving that he could play for any big program in the nation. Iowa jumped on him early, before Lute Olson and Arizona did, and many people are saying this guy is one of the biggest sleepers of the entire Big Ten recruiting class. The two junior college transfers, Jermain Davis from Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids and Devan Bawinkel from Illinois, will contribute immediately with outside shooting, a consistent problem overall last year, and with guard depth, which we need with the loss of Freeman. Bawinkel originally started at West Virginia before Bob Huggins got there, and proved that he has the outside touch to compete at this big time level. And finally, there is Andrew Brommer, a strong post man from Minnesota. Brommer was mostly an afterthought in this class, an average big man who needed to put on some strength and get more skills before he became a real contributor. But word on the street is that he's grown an inch or two and added some serious muscle, so if this is true Brommer could really come in and contribute right away seeing as we lack any semblance of post depth. John Lickliter, the coach's son, will also be coming to Iowa next year as a walk-on. John led City High to that Iowa state championship last year as the team's point guard, and while he looks like an underdeveloped 8th grader he makes up for that with his shooting, ball-handling, and passing.

So the main questions are, how much better will we be than last year and how will these guys help? I think a moderate improvement should be expected; at least a couple wins better and potentially an NIT berth, especially with the painfully easy nonconference schedule we have lined up. Besides the Las Vegas Invitational, where we will go up against the likes of Kansas State and Kentucky, and the typical in-state rivals, there are no opponents that seem too intimidating and double-digit wins before the Big Ten season is a realistic expectation. There are bound to be some growing pains with all the young players, and Jeff Peterson is going to have to step up and be a leader at the point guard spot, which is a question mark, but I think the players will definitely be more in tune to Coach Lickliter and his system so you will see the offense run with much more fluidity and precision. Not so much one and one play and poor shot selection, but unselfish passing and open looks from three. We have shooters than we did last season, along with established leaders in the post, so with more of a committment to get the ball inside and better outside shooters that, some of our offensive woes should be cured. It will be hard to get a grip on this team until the Big Ten season comes around with so much inexperience, but the influx of fresh and exciting new talent is already causing Hawkeye fans to get a little amped up.