Spring break shields Iowa players from the gore

Spring break shielded Iowa basketball players from standing in the back of the room Monday and playing the role of bystander.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta announced his decision to fire men's basketball coach Todd Lickliter on Monday afternoon. Lickliter finished his three seasons at Iowa with a 38-58 record, including 10-22 this season, the worst season in Iowa history.

After Iowa's exit from the Big Ten tournament last Thursday, freshman point guard Cully Payne was the only Hawkeye who said he might leave the program if Lickliter, 54, was fired.

"I don't know, to be honest," Payne said. "It would kind of depend on what happens. I would not like for Coach to get fired, my personal opinion. I'm behind him."

Payne's father, Kent, said Monday that Cully was in Florida with family for spring break. He said he hadn't talked to his son.

"I think it's just way too early," said Kent Payne, who, coincidentally, is athletics director Elgin (Ill.) Community College. "There's some shock today, just gathering information. I don't think he'd have any thought process in any direction right now."

Matt Gatens and Aaron Fuller didn't return phone calls Monday.

After Iowa's 59-52 loss to Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, Matt Gatens, Aaron Fuller and Andrew Brommer, Eric May and Brennan Cougill said they were staying regardless of the coach.

"I plan to come back next year," Fuller said. "If coach is here, great, if he's not, it's unfortunate. I hope the best for him. Our program is not where it needs to be at, and it's not my choice whether he stays or goes."

Gatens, the team's leading scorer and an Iowa City native, reiterated his intention to stay.

"I'm here. I'm a Hawkeye," he said. "Obviously, I'll see what happens and go from there. I have no idea what's going on."

Barta said Monday that "still believes strongly in this group" of players.

"If this group will stay together, the current student-athletes and the group committed to coming to Iowa," Barta said, "for the first time in my tenure, arriving in 2006, I really believe we have a chance to compete in the Big Ten Conference."

Barta lauded Payne, Gatens, Fuller, Jaryd Cole and freshman Eric May.

"Cully Payne, his 25-point performance (against Michigan in the Big Ten tournament), he's proven to be a leader," Barta said. "Matt Gatens, he's a go-to guy night in and night out. . . . Aaron Fuller, the dramatic improvement from freshman to sophomore year. . . . He's proven to be a Big Ten scorer.

"Eric May has the potential to be one of the best athletes in the Big Ten. Jaryd Cole, a senior and a leader. His perseverance to come back from injury."

For various reasons during Lickliter's three seasons at Iowa, player retention has been an issue. Nine scholarship athletes have transferred, including two who left the program within weeks of his hiring in April 2007. Four players with eligibility bolted after last season, including leading scorer Jake Kelly and starting point guard Jeff Peterson.

Barta was asked how much player retention played into his decision to fire Lickliter, who'll receive three $800,000 payments for a total buyout package of $2.4 million.

"I'm not going to speculate," Barta said. "I know that in order to climb out of all these areas where we haven't been performing at the highest level (record, attendance, revenue), we need all things to be working appropriately and to the best of our ability, so we're going to look at all those things."

As an AD, albeit on a smaller level, Kent Payne understood the decision Barta had to make.

"At that level, it's just a tough business anyway you look at it," he said. "There are a lot of great things to it, but at the end of the day, it's a tough business. And that's what it is, it's a business."