Matta says Lickliter will return to coaching

Ohio State men's basketball coach Thad Matta said former Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter is "doing very well" after talking to him several times this off-season.

Lickliter was fired March 15 after three seasons at Iowa. The Hawkeyes were 38-58 under Lickliter and set a school record with 22 losses last year. Iowa hired Fran McCaffery two weeks later.

Lickliter coached uner Matta at Butler and later took over when Matta left. Lickliter took Butler to the Sweet Sixteen in 2007 and was named National Coach of the Year by the NABC.

"He wants to get back into coaching," Matta said at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago. "I think hopefully he can find the right situation, and the sabbatical year off will hopefully be good for him. I've always said I wouldn't mind taking one myself now and then. I think he's in good shape."

Lickliter was fired with four years remaining on his original seven-year deal. Lickliter's severance package is $2.4 million.

When asked if Lickliter got a raw deal, Matta shrugged.

"It is what it is," Matta said. "We're coaches. Every time a coaching friend or somebody I know ... like I sit my two kids down at the table and, 'Now, this guy got fired. He's not a bad person; it just didn't work out.' That's kind of what we do. There's not a lot of us or coaches that have left on their own goodwill."