Fine ESPN.com story on Jake Kelly that reflects very well on Todd Lickliter

There's usually a lot more to stories than meet the eye. Time and distance often allow stories to get told that can't be fully expressed or fully understood at the time.

It was very easy to believe Jake Kelly was leaving the Iowa men's basketball team for Indiana State for basketball-related reasons even though we knew the personal tragedy he had endured while a Hawkeye.

After all, Tyler Smith (who also left Iowa for a very legitimate personal reason) and Tony Freeman departed Todd Lickliter's Iowa program early, and three other members of last season's Hawkeyes squad transferred out.

Well, Dana O'Neil has a piece on espn.com (click here for the story) that puts some humanity in the Kelly story. It also speaks very well of Lickliter. This particular passage in O'Neil's story speaks volumes:

But when Kelly explained why he was leaving, Lickliter did an extraordinary thing: He helped. Not only did he give Kelly his release without question, but he also wrote a letter to the NCAA on Kelly's behalf, arguing that Kelly should be able to play immediately.

"Sure, it was a difficult thing to do. We would have loved to have Jake as a Hawkeye," Lickliter said. "But I don't think you don't do what's right because you're feeling sorry for yourself or you're going through a rough time. I trusted him. I believed him and I could see nothing gained by making him suffer more."

Good for Lickliter. We hear these high-powered, high-paid coaches say they're all about the players, and sometimes we shake our heads and wonder if it's really so. In the cases of Smith and Kelly, people need not wonder about Lickliter.