Basketball webcast

Yes, in this webcast the name I throw you is UNI's Ben Jacobson. My reasons are he's smart and he's a winner. The caveats I'd throw out there are salesmanship and recruiting, which, I know, is a dealbreaker for a lot of you.

Let's face it, Iowa's next basketball coach is going to have to be somewhat of a realtor. He's going to have to sell you the program before you're willing to plant yourself into season tickets. And there's recruiting, which, arguably, was a boulder in the avalanche that led to Todd Lickliter's dismissal.

I like Jacobson, but I also like UTEP's Tony Barbee and Providence's Keno Davis.

Look at the program. Iowa has had three straight losing seasons and hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2006. Iowa's last tourney win was 2001 over Creighton.

During the news conference to announce Lickliter's firing yesterday, Iowa AD Gary Barta listed attendance and revenue as challenges that led to Lickliter's ouster.

Ask yourself how attractive this job is right now and try to be objective. The truth is when Barta emerges from the bunker, the man standing next to him on the dias could very well be a no-name.

Here's our webcast discussion from this afternoon. KCRG's John Campbell hosted with Scott Dochterman and me.