Lickliter preaches ‘team ego’ concept

Iowa basketball coach Todd Lickliter.

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Todd Lickliter said his philosophy of Iowa basketball could be compared to the meal prepared at the Elks Lodge meal Tuesday night for the Southwest Iowa I-Club event. A crowd of approximately 200 was served a buffet-style meal before a panel of speakers including Lickliter, former wrestling coach Dan Gable and others from the Hawkeye athletic staff in the ballroom. Lickliter, former national coach of the year at Butler, is building a program that suffered through a 13-19 campaign in his first year on the job. He said Creston’s Phil Tyler of the I-Club Board of Directors sat with him at dinner and talked about the local Elks’ Lodge. “The way we want to do it is exactly the way that wonderful meal was prepared here tonight,” Lickliter said. “Phil was explaining how it’s done here by volunteers at the Elks. There wasn’t anybody who stood up and said, ‘I cooked that meal.’ No one. Phil was talking about everybody pitching in, and when they start, and how they work together. And no one was claiming any credit. They did it, handed it to us, and it was perfect. “That’s how we want to do it at Iowa,” Lickliter continued. “We’re going to pitch in. We don’t care who gets the credit. It’s going to be a team all the way.” Lickliter, the son of an Indiana high school basketball coach, is telling Hawkeye boosters on the I-Club circuit that he insists on playing the game with a “team vision.” He calls it a team ego. “It means doing what is right and making sacrifices,” Lickliter said. “They know their strengths and their teammates’ strengths.” Forming a team Iowa has six newcomers joining the program next season, and Lickliter said his staff isn’t caught up in bringing in “five-star” players identified by the scouting services. “They look at talent and rate them and they do a good job,” Lickliter said. “But the difference is, they are looking at the individual, one set of skills. Not how that individual fits with the next one, and with the next one. We’ll complement one another.” Matt Gatens of Class 4A state champion Iowa City High, Iowa’s Mr. Basketball, is a prime example, Lickliter said. “I watched his team play all year because my son was on the team,” Lickliter said. “He doesn’t care if he scores two points or 20 points, as long as his team wins the game.” Freeman leaving One player who won’t be fitting into the system is guard Tony Freeman, the team’s leading scorer (13.8) with one season remaining. Last week he was released from his scholarship after announcing he would transfer, after a meeting with Lickliter. Freeman indicated in the media that his game “was not compatible” with Lickliter’s system, and that he’d been asked if he ever thought about transferring. When asked about the situation Tuesday prior to the program, Lickliter declined to elaborate. “There are things on all teams, in all families, that ought to stay between the individuals,” Lickliter said. “I want people to be able to talk to me and come to me freely, and for us to protect one another. From my end, I think that’s what I’ll do. It’s not like there’s anything to hide, just a matter of being respectful.” —————— Larry Peterson can be reached at 782-2141, ext. 232 or lpeterson@crestonnews.com