Lickliter doesn't expect transfers, but it wouldn't surprise him, either

IOWA CITY - Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter doesn't expect any of his current players with eligibility to leave the squad after the season, but it wouldn't surprise him, either.

“Ultimately it's on the individual whether they decide to persevere and endure it and continue to invest with the vision that we have or not,” Lickliter said Tuesday during a news conference. “I don't foresee any of these guys not doing that, but I said this a while back, I've been in it long enough that nothing surprises me anymore.”

Nine scholarship athletes have transferred during Lickliter's three-year tenure, including two who left the program within weeks of his hiring in April 2007. Last year four players with eligibility bolted following the season, including leading scorer Jake Kelly and starting point guard Jeff Peterson.

Looking back, Lickliter said he doesn't recall his thoughts of when the players decided to leave.

“You hear things,” he said. “I can only answer you with how I feel about this group right now. I feel really good about them.”

Sophomores Aaron Fuller and Matt Gatens went through the transfer spell last year as freshmen. Both said it was tough to build a core within the team with players leaving.

“Obviously when you have guys leaving left and right, it's tough to have things intact and going in the right direction,” Gatens said. “It's tough to put in a system like coach is trying to do. It's tough when you have guys leaving. I think definitely if those guys could have kept the group together, it would have been a lot easier.”

Both players have been subject to numerous transfer rumors. Gatens, an Iowa City native, laughs them off when people in town ask if he's leaving.

“You can't really blame you guys for thinking that because of what's happened the last two or three years,” he said. “It's you guys' job to ask it and get it figured out. There's always rumors swirling around stuff.”

Fuller, who hails from Mesa, Ariz, said he's tied to Iowa despite the team's 10-21 record.

“I do feel like we're committed,” he said. “I think there's a strong sense of togetherness. I kind of feel like last year we weren't quite there as a team.”

Lickliter was asked about how potential transfers would impact his perception among Iowa fans, given the team's changes last year.

“That would require some speculation,” he said. “I'd rather not speculate on what could happen.

“I don't label anybody that changes direction a quitter. I don't see that. I think people have to make changes at times.”