Lickliter says he'll return to practice today

Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter will return to practice today, nine days after a stent was surgically inserted into his carotid artery at University of Iowa Hospitals.

"I'll go back and be involved in practice at the energy level I can," Lickliter said this morning in the Big Ten Coaches Teleconference. "I think I'm fine, and we'll just ease back into it and go from there. I think I'll be back for Drake game; that's what the doctors suggested. So that's the plan right now."

Lickliter, 54, had surgery Dec. 5 after experiencing several migraine-type headaches. He has missed the last three games, including two losses last week against in-state rivals Northern Iowa and Iowa State.

Iowa (3-7) doesn't have a game until Saturday because of semester exams. Iowa plays host to Drake.

Lickliter had to fight the urge to return more quickly, but his doctors convinced him to rest.

"Once I decided to do the procedure I said 'OK, I'll do whatever the doctors tell me to at that point,'" Lickliter said. "It didn't make sense for me to decide on things. They say, 'Hey you need a week to rest and stay away. It's not an easy thing, just to sit around, to be quite honest with you.

"I watched the games; that wasn't easy, either. To sit around and watch them on TV, that's not easy either."