Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball

It's been argued that taking a break from your passion from time to time is a good thing.

A break can help bring new clarity, new enthusiasm, new hope. It can refresh the mind and re-energize the body. 

Well, that's the theory anyway.

The nine-day break wasn't a good thing for the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team. Rather than provide some much-needed rest for the young players, it appeared the break allowed the dust to collect and the pace to drastically slow. 

"You'd think we'd be ready to go," Iowa sophomore guard Matt Gatens told reporters after the Hawkeyes loss to the Wildcats. That's what a lot of fans thought, too.

Gatens combined with Eric May to miss 13 three-point shots in Iowa's loss to Northwestern. For a team that lives or dies by the three, that's a signed death certificate.

So much for that theory about breaks.

Aaron Fuller fouled out of yet another game, which didn't help the Hawkeyes' chances at survival much either.

Northwestern played stellar defense and had a hard time missing the basket on offense.

As the Chicago Tribune pointed out, "Iowa was so over-matched that at one point the Hawkeyes had 6-foot-5 Eric May guard the 6-11 Mirkovic and 6-1 Cully Payne on 6-9 Davide Curletti."

John Shurna had 29 points, 12 of those points coming in less than three minutes during a stretch in the first half of the game. Shurna looks like he should be collecting comic books for a living, not having a near-career game against the Hawkeyes on national television.

No offense meant to Shurna. He is good, real good. He just doesn't look like he should be.

The loss puts Iowa at 9-19 overall and 3-12 in the Big Ten. The loss also tied the school record for most losses ever in a season. 

With three games left, two of those being road games, it looks as though the Hawkeyes will set the school record...and then some. They started the season with the worst start in 80 years, so it's only fitting they end on a record-breaking note.

It also looks like the Iowa football team will record more wins than the basketball team this year.

That's fantastic.

The Iowa Hawkeyes Men's Basketball team has had a tough year.  After Tuesday night's loss to Michigan 80-78 in overtime, Iowa's record is 9-18.  Their 3-11 record in Big Ten play is good for 10th best in the conference, only beating Penn State's win less conference record to this point.  They have looked bad early in games as well as late in games.  They have lost games to schools like Texas-San Antonio and Duquense this year.  If you look at the season as a whole, words like "disappointing" and "bad" are the first things that probably come to mind.

Have no fear Hawks fans, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Do not get me wrong.  I am not saying the Hawks will win the rest of their games and shock everyone by winning the Big Ten Tournament.  That will not happen.  It is much more likely they finish the season with just 10 or 11 wins.  And you heard it here first--their season will be over on the first day of the Big Ten Tournament. 

After watching them in person last night, I have to say that I was impressed, despite the loss.  This is a very young Iowa team (just one senior and one junior on the roster), but they fight hard.  They fell down by nine or ten points a few different times in the first half, but instead of looking at the score and giving up, they fought back to tie the game at half time.

They lost last night because of the things that all young teams struggle with.  With 13 seconds left in regulation, Cully Payne had a chance to put the game out of reach if he could make two free throws.  Payne was only able to hit one of the two, and that allowed DeShawn Sims to hit a three-pointer at the end of regulation to send it to overtime.  They had trouble rebounding, and they committed costly turnovers at bad times.

But if you look at where this team is today compared with where they were in November, it is easy to see all the progress this team has made.  Yes, they still get blown out on occasion (the 63-40 loss to Purdue on Feb 13th being the most recent example), but they are generally competitive in almost every game.  They still have a bad 3-11 record in conference play, but after watching this team play at the beginning of the season, those three conference wins are three more than a lot of people thought they would end up with.

The Hawkeyes still have a long way to go to compete every year with the likes of Michigan State, Purdue, and Ohio State, but they are moving in the right direction.  Todd Lickliter has this team looking more and more like the teams he had at Butler.  They will never be the most athletic team out there, but they will be a good shooting team with a high basketball IQ.  If Todd Lickliter is still in Iowa City two years from now, his Iowa Hawkeyes will be challengers for the Big Ten championship.  You heard it here first.

Well, there is good news and there's bad news in Iowa Hawkeyes basketball. 

First, the good news. 

The Iowa men's basketball team is idle for the next eight days. That means they can go a whole eight days without losing another conference game, something all Hawkeye fans, writers, bloggers, and tweeters will appreciate. 

The good news doesn't stop there, though.

Fans can now follow the progress on the revitalization of the award-winning Carver-Hawkeye Arena, as the university now provides video on a website for all to see. Hawkeye nation can watch the construction happen and hope the Iowa basketball program has rebuilt itself by the time the doors open.

Now for the bad news.

With three of Iowa's next four regular season games being on the road, it appears as though the basketball team will fail to equal the win total of Iowa's football team. Sad, considering that the basketball team plays three times the number of games the football team does.

It's even sadder when considering that the team heads into the home stretch for the season having just blown an overtime game with the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan overcame a five-point deficit late in the game to force the extra period and then took complete control in overtime.

Some might think a career game from Aaron Fuller would have sparked a victory for the Hawkeyes. Fuller battled for 30 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to help Iowa come out on top.

Neither were Matt Gatens' 21 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Neither were Cully Payne's 13 points and seven assists.

Fuller, Gatens, and Payne all had great nights for the Hawkeyes, and all showed promise of awesome things to come in the future. But Iowa just didn't have what it takes down the stretch in other areas.

It didn't help that Jarryd Cole fouled out of the game with almost three minutes left in the second half. With Cole in foul trouble for the second straight game, Iowa looked to Andrew Brommer for help, which helps explain why DeShawn Sims had such a big game.

Sims scored 21 of his 27 points after halftime and erased a five-point Iowa lead in the final seconds of regulation. His natural three-point play off a Brommer foul with 15 seconds remaining, plus his three-point basket with six seconds left, tied the game at 66-66 and sent it to overtime.

It was Iowa's first overtime of the year, and they didn't handle it well. When Devan Bawinkel, John Lickliter, and Brommer are on the court at the same time for Iowa, players like Sims and Manny Harris take advantage.

Brennan Cougill might have helped Iowa's cause, but no one really knows the story on why he didn't play. He very well could have been the deciding factor in this game. Coach Todd Lickliter was asked after the game whether Cougill was hurt. Lickliter responded, "Maybe his feelings."

Iowa now has a few days to brush the dirt off their wounds.

The Hawkeyes visit the Northwestern Wildcats on Feb. 25. The Hawks Nest, Iowa's student section, will be traveling with the team to show support. 

Let's hope they can cheer them into double digits in the win column.

The 15,500-seat, multi-purpose indoor arena at the University of Iowa is an architectural masterpiece. 

Named after a wealthy Midwest industrialist, Roy J. Carver, Carver-Hawkeye Arena (CHA) serves as home to Hawkeye basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, and volleyball, in addition to numerous concerts, commencements, sports camps, and various student events. It is one of the 15 largest university-owned facilities in the nation.

Out of 24 varsity sports sponsored by the university, 20 of them call Carver-Hawkeye Arena home.

In 1984, the building won a design award from the American Institute of Architects , due in part to the unobstructed view from each of the theatre seats. The court at Carver is dug 42 rows into the ground and has no center court scoreboard, a very unique feature that fans appreciate.

This masterpiece took awhile to come to fruition, though. And it took a coaching legend to make it happen.

The men's basketball program at Iowa was in need of help when Lute Olson became the head coach in 1974. After a few years, the Hawkeyes were a force in the Big Ten and ticket sales benefited. That's when Olson started to campaign for a new arena.

In 1979, his team earned a share of the Big Ten championship.  In 1980, his team made a run at the national championship.  That's when Olson's campaign became a reality, and the board of regents at Iowa approved a new arena.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena came with a price tag of just over $18 million. It opened the doors in January of 1983 with a wrestling meet between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Oklahoma Sooners, a match Iowa won 35-7. 

The first basketball game at Carver ended with a 61-59 loss to the Michigan State Spartans on Jan. 5, 1983. As the university says, capacity crowds have been the rule, rather than the exception, almost every year since.

Over the years, Carver-Hawkeye Arena has hosted the Big Ten and NCAA wrestling championships and gymnastics championships. It also hosted the 1984 U.S. Olympic wrestling trials and the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team exhibition contest.

The student section at CHA, known as the Hawks Nest , provides UI students the opportunity to unite and organize in support of the Hawkeyes.  Their mission is to become one of the largest, most comprehensive student sections in the nation.

The students will soon have more room for their cause, too.

Workers recently began a $47 million renovation and expansion project on Carver-Hawkeye Arena, a 24-month construction project planned for completion in time for the 2011-12 athletic year.  The men's and women's basketball teams will see the most benefit from the renovation, as will women's volleyball.

Plans include a new practice gym complex for men's and women's basketball and volleyball, a state-of-the-art, 8,000-square-foot strength and conditioning center, a renovation and expansion of the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex, and new locker rooms for several teams.

Until construction began, Iowa was one of two Big Ten schools without a basketball practice facility in place.  Unlike other Big Ten institutions, the basketball and volleyball teams have no dedicated practice facilities and must share the main court at CHA as their primary practice facility. Not for much longer, though.

Fans can now follow the progress on the revitalization of the UI's award-winning Carver-Hawkeye Arena LIVE.  The university now provides the most current information on the progress of the project through video, photography and editorial content.

The "House that Lute Built " is a landmark in the state of Iowa and continues to be a place where fans can cheer on the Iowa Hawkeyes.

And another one bites the dust.

Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter announced Friday that guard Anthony Tucker was granted a release from his scholarship.

Lickliter said that he met with Tucker and his mother on Thursday, where they informed the coach that is was in the player's best interest to move on from the program. They asked for his release.

It seems the sophomore needs a change of scenery. 

Having been arrested in Iowa City twice over the past two years might have something to do with that.

Tucker was first arrested, and subsequently suspended, in December 2008 after being found in a drunken coma in an alley behind a local bar. Then, he was ruled academically ineligible for the rest of the 2008-09 season.

He returned to action this season, averaging almost 12 points a game until another alcohol-related arrest in December lead to an indefinite suspension. Tucker pleaded guilty to public intoxication after being arrested following an incident with a taxi driver.

According to the recent announcement, Tucker will remain on scholarship for the rest of the semester when he plans to transfer to a yet-unknown school. The university placed no restrictions on his scholarship.

Tucker denied rumors earlier in the season about a possible transfer. In an interview, Tucker told reporters that he is often wrongly perceived because he rarely shows any emotion on the court.

Something evidently changed his mind. It appeared as though Tucker was working his way back to playing time when he asked to be released from the team. 

"It's a situation where, I think we can all understand that we're playing good basketball right now. And when you're out, which Anthony was, that your team continues to move on and develop," Lickliter explained. "I like our rotations. I like the way we're playing, and we're going to continue to move forward."

In his two years as an Iowa Hawkeye, Tucker played in 25 games, starting 19.  He averaged 11 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

It might be time to get all Avon Barksdale up in Iowa City.

Barksdale is a character in the HBO drama The Wire that was known for sending quick and violent warnings to the other crews in the drug game on the streets of Baltimore. If someone tried to sneak in on one of his corners, or tried to make him look like a punk, they were dealt with swiftly.

Metaphorically speaking, someone needs to get dealt with in Iowa City.

If you haven't been following Iowa basketball lately, let me fill you in. This past Wednesday night, a group of about 150 Illinois fans known as the “Orange Krush” invaded Carver Hawkeye Arena before Iowa's game against Illinois (video here). The Orange Krush is the nickname for the Illini's student section in Assembly Hall.

The Hawks Nest, Iowa's student section, got Krushed.

That didn't seem to bother Coach Lickliter much. "Did they pay? OK, good."

It bothered athletic director Gary Barta, though. "When they showed themselves in their orange gear, the fan in me got riled up. I didn't like it," Barta said. "We've got to take offense to it as fans, and I'm including myself, we've got to fill up the house so there aren’t tickets available."

Opponents tickets are usually spread out, a standard practice in the Big Ten. Barta was quick to explain that the group used Iowa addresses to purchase the tickets together.

If this were Iowa football, heads would roll.

If this were Baltimore, Avon Barksdale would get even.

How did Iowa basketball get to this point? How did fans become so lethargic that something like this could happen?

It started when the University of Iowa opted not to renew Dr. Tom Davis' contract. Davis, a proven and consistent winner, took his act elsewhere and Iowa welcomed the Steve Alford Era.

It didn't take long before Captain Hair Gel's charm started to rub everyone the wrong way. Hawkeye fans let him know it, and he took his mildly successful, yet highly annoying act elsewhere, too. Iowa then welcomed the Todd Lickliter Era, an era known more for it's record-setting losing than anything else.

Because I am a nerd, let me put all of that into mathematical terms...

Iowa Basketball - Dr. Tom - (Steve Alford * [Player Arrests/Big Ten Tourney Championship] - Captain Hair Gel Attitude) - (Todd Lickliter * (Player Transfers + Three Losing Seasons))

The equation simply means that fans are tired of the steady decline of the basketball program. Patience has finally worn thin and many fans have given up hope. Actual attendance now hovers below 5,000.

The lack of support leads to complacency. It opens the opportunity to get Punk'd by an opposing team's student section. It also leads to contempt.

Not only are other schools invading our turf, now local news broadcasts in the state are starting to poke fun at players.

WHO-TV in Des Moines has a Sunday sports show called SoundOFF, and recently aired a video titled "Little Lick, Lotta Bite ." The video ridiculed a player, John Lickliter. Lickliter is the son of coach Todd Lickliter and walked onto the team this year after the team suffered several injuries and transfers.

Labeling it a cheap shot is an understatement. Sure, he is the son of a coach on a losing team, but when a basketball team needed someone to step up and help out like Iowa did, Little Lick did just that. 

He isn't on an athletic scholarship. He isn't playing for a chance at the NBA. He is helping his school, his team, and his dad.

John Lickliter might not be "pro" material, but he has done nothing deserving of ridicule by a television station; in fact, the opposite.

If this were Baltimore, Avon Barksdale would declare all-out war.

Someone would get dealt with.

Iowa guard Anthony Tucker returned to practice on Monday, but Coach Todd Lickliter still doesn't know what the future holds for him.

Tucker was suspended indefinitely after being arrested and pleading guilty to a public intoxication incident in late December. It was the second such arrest in the last year for the 20-year-old. 

"As far as the university goes, he’d be eligible to play," Lickliter said at his weekly press conference. "I'm not comfortable with it. I wouldn’t rule it out, but I haven’t made that decision yet."

Lickliter hinted that Tucker might have some life issues to deal with before jumping back onto the court again. "Anthony is going to have to pull himself out of this."

The team has moved on since Tucker's suspension and seem to be finding a groove without him in the lineup. The Hawkeyes have won three of their last four. 

Of course, having the second leading scorer back in the mix might help the trend continue. But, for now, it seems Lickliter is content just having Tucker help out in practice.

One thing Lickliter would like a little bit more than having Tucker back...fan attendance.

Attendance at Iowa basketball games has been paltry at best this year. Years of drama and losing have started taking their toll on fans, causing some to lose faith. Attendance has been hovering around the 4,500 mark, a startling figure for anyone who remembers Iowa basketball in the 1990s. 

According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Iowa ranked in the top 25 nationally in attendance from 1978 through 2006. This year, Iowa ranks ninth among Big Ten schools, averaging just over 9,000 tickets a game. Iowa has yet to have a sellout this year.

To help the cause, Iowa cut ticket prices by 20 percent. They are also offering up some games to students for free.

University of Iowa students will be admitted for free to the upcoming Ohio State game, something Hawks Nest president Tim McLaughlin says is a step in the right direction.

McLaughlin and the Hawks Nest want to help increase student participation at games and would like to see the school offer up free tickets to students for the rest of the season.

The Tucker-less Hawkeyes will need all the help they can get when Ohio State's Evan Turner and company come to Carver Hawkeye Area for Iowa's next game.

Despite 20 turnovers, the Iowa Hawkeyes managed to completely dominate the Indiana Hoosiers in Assembly Hall tonight, 58-43.

It was a much-needed win for the Hawkeyes, who had not won a Big Ten road game since March of 2008. This victory also ended a school-record 15-game road losing streak, dating back to November 2008.

The last time Iowa won in Assembly Hall was Feb. 11, 2006.

Does the victory mean there is a small beam of light starting to form at the end of the losing tunnel in Hawkeye basketball? 

The Hawkeye faithful sure hope so. So does Todd Lickliter.

Indiana (9-10, 3-4) had won its last two games before heading into Sunday's game against Iowa (8-12, 2-5). Those wins included an overtime win against Minnesota and a road victory at Penn State, causing some to think Indiana would come into the battle for last place in the conference with a little more confidence.

They thought wrong. 

The guard-centric Hawkeyes changed things up a bit, going inside to Aaron Fuller and Jarryd Cole. Fuller was the leading scorer in the game with 13 points. Cole added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Fuller and Cole got some help from Eric May and Brennan Cougill, too.  Iowa outscored the Hoosiers in the paint, 34-16. They also out-rebounded Indiana 39-23, with 18 of those coming on the offensive end.

Iowa has now won three of its last four games, all without guard Anthony Tucker, who was suspended back in December after an arrest for a public intoxication charge.

That's good news, considering Tucker returns to practice on Monday. Tucker averaged almost 12 points a game before his suspension.

"It looks like he’ll start practicing when we get back (from Indiana) on Monday," Lickliter told reporters earlier in the week. "I just got notice that everything isn’t complete, but everything is set in motion and all that he could complete to date is. So we’ll see how that goes, but we’ll make practice available to him and give him an opportunity."

Iowa's next game is back in Iowa City against No. 25 Ohio State on Wednesday. The Hawkeyes hope they can keep the spark going.

The Buckeyes are 2-5 on the road this year, so anything's possible.

It seems like a recent memory, but it's been 17 years since the worst night in the history of Iowa Hawkeye basketball.

Jan. 19, 1993 started off like a normal winter day in the state of Iowa.  The temperatures were cold, and the snow was unavoidable.

The day would end on a far different note than anyone could have possibly imagined.

Chris Street, a 6'8" junior from Indianola, Iowa, one of the most popular Hawkeyes ever to step foot in Carver Hawkeye Arena, was struck and killed by a Johnson County snowplow as he left a team dinner.

His sudden and tragic death left the entire state of Iowa in mourning.  Three million Iowans lost a brother that day. 

The Iowa House of Representatives observed his death and honored him with a moment of silence.

Street wasn't just another basketball player; he embodied everything it meant to be a Hawkeye.  In victory or defeat, he made every Iowan proud.  To say he is one of the greatest Hawkeyes of all time is an extreme understatement.

"To me, I think Chris represented the intensity of life, the openness of the Midwest," remembered Coach Tom Davis.

The University of Iowa meant the world to Street, and everyone knew it.  He made an unwritten commitment to the university as a high school sophomore, a full 15 months before the earliest signing deadline. 

His family made sure that Street was buried in his gold Iowa uniform, warm-up jacket and all.  

He left a lasting impact on the program, and even set a record for most consecutive free throws in his last game as an Iowa Hawkeye.  His 34 consecutive free throws are a school record that still stands to this day.

Street's No. 40 was forever retired by the school.  No other number has been retired since.

Seventeen years later, I still get a little choked up thinking about it.

CMS 40

It has been excruciatingly painful to watch Iowa basketball this year. 

And by excruciatingly painful, I mean it has been comparable to what I would imagine it feels like to have hot lava poured directly on my eyes.

The recent loss to Michigan State is Iowa's third straight home loss and fourth straight Big Ten defeat. They are 5-11 overall and in sole possession of last place in the conference.  They have lost all of their conference games by double-digit margins.

The loss also brings Iowa's all-time Big Ten record (695-695) an inch away from going into the negative.

"This has been a nightmare for Todd Lickliter," sighed Gary Dolphin during his radio broadcast of the game. What he really meant was that this has been a nightmare for the entire Hawkeye nation.

"I worry about my staff, I worry about the team, I worry about the fans," Coach Lickliter told reporters before the game against MSU. "As I said before, the idea is to compete and be successful. If that's not happening, absolutely it's going to hurt."

That's the idea, anyway.  The reality of the situation is far different for Iowa.

And it doesn't just hurt; it's excruciatingly painful.

As a result, attendance at games continues to drop.  Attendance at the Michigan State game might have been why Coach Tom Izzo felt the need to comment on the situation after the game.

"I look at this program and I look at Todd personally, he was three and a half hours from us down at Butler, and I saw the job he did there. I know the respect people have for him. This system is going to work.  In fairness to him, he’s got to keep guys. And some of the guys that left, there were other reasons. It wasn’t Todd. It wasn’t Iowa’s program.

"Be patient with him. He's got to just keep getting young guys older and add a few more bodies. He'll be a winner here. It's not his fault what happened. It really isn't."

The vote of confidence from Izzo is nice to hear, but does little to change the fact that Iowa's basketball program is in shambles, something that doesn't look to improve anytime soon.

Hawkeye fans are patient, but the endless loop of rebuilding and losing is wearing their patience very thin. 

Attendance isn't dropping because the economy is bad.  It's dropping because some people are not as patient as others.

We can only handle so much hot lava poured in our eyes.