Keady likes what he sees in Lickliter

Former Purdue men's basketball coach Gene Keady seems impressed with the steps Todd Lickliter has taken with the Iowa basketball program.

"He's always going to have teams that play hard, so I always enjoy that," Keady said Sunday at Big Ten Media Day. "I've always had a lot of respect for him when he was the coach at Butler."

Keady, who coached Purdue from 1980 through 2005, squared off against Lickliter once. Lickliter's Butler team beat Purdue 74-68 in 2001, Lickliter's first season as head coach. Lickliter finished his Butler career 2-0 against Purdue.

"I made some comments last year about I think he should smile more," Keady said. "And (he said), 'You got your nerve to tell people I should smile more the way (you) used to frown. So we had some laughs over that.

"I really enjoy watching him coach. He's going to be OK."