Lickliter looks at the season ahead for Iowa basketball

Todd Lickliter knows what the magazines say without reading them. The Web sites and newspaper columns will shower Iowa will predictions of doom.

Lickliter, Iowa's men's basketball coach, sees the predictions of last-place finishes as opportunities, not harbingers of the future. He understands expectations are low with consecutive losing seasons, a 10th-place Big Ten finish and losing three primary starters. But that's not stopping him from projecting strength as the team enters the upcoming season.

“I think that we'll be predicted by the experts at the bottom of the Big Ten this year,” Lickliter said. “We look at that as just a great challenge, because we've got great confidence in our team and in ourselves.

“You know, some of my favorite stories are ones where the ones that the non-favorites are the ones that came out on top.”

Lickliter invoked “Seabiscuit” as an example of an underdog who overcame long odds to become a champion. This year's Iowa team will face similar skeptics based on past performance and inexperience. Iowa finished 15-17 - its second straight losing season - and now are 11-25 in the Big Ten under Lickliter, the most league losses in a two-year period in school history.

Iowa lost its leading scorer (Jake Kelly) and two-year starter at point guard (Jeff Peterson) to transfer. The Hawkeyes recruited three freshman to play key roles in the upcoming season. The Big Ten returns all of the league's first-team players and many other second- and third-teamers.

Lickliter ignores opinions that Iowa can't win this year. In fact, he takes an unusual approach to the predictions. He's not placing them on the team as a motivational chip like a football coach. He sets the predictions aside and worries only about the present.

“If the favorite always won, I don't know that the sporting event would be so enjoyable,” he said. “Yet, there will be times when we're the favorite, and we'll have to perform well. Our emphasis should be on playing good basketball, representing ourselves and Iowa in a first-class manner. Win with integrity and that should be our emphasis and not worry about any of the other things.”

The players filling out Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Monday echoed Lickliter's sentiments. They have bought into Lickliter's philosophy and become a cohesive unit. Their bond was forged when four players with eligibility transferred two weeks following last season and they faced questions about the team's future, Lickliter and the program's direction.

“We were under a magnifying glass,” Iowa sophomore Anthony Tucker said. “Everyone was kind of looking in, trying to figure out what was going on. People kind of came at us and wanted explanations and figure what happened.

“We had no choice but to stick together and defend what was going on here and explain what was going on. I think that was big for us.”

Iowa's players stuck together. They went to movies and bowling alleys. They traveled to Europe on a basketball trip. They welcomed the newcomers and showed them the system.

“We've definitely got that core going on right now, and it's something we can build in the future,” Iowa sophomore Matt Gatens said.

“People in this locker room believe in what this team can do and just avoid what the outsiders say.”

The team picked last by everyone picks themselves every day.