Iowa basketball coach Todd Lickliter believes the Hawkeyes have enough talent to compete in the Big Ten. The Hawks were 15-17 in Lickliter’s second season at the helm but top scorer Jake Kelly and point guard Jeff Peterson were two of four players that left the program at the end of last season.
Lickliter says he won’t predict and won’t sell a team short. He says they will just try to get better every day and will compete in the league. Iowa will be expected to finish at or near the bottom of the Big Ten race but Lickliter feels the Hawks are better than that. Lickliter says that’s why they play the games, to find out how they will compete against the other teams.
There is only one senior on the roster but Lickliter says the program is headed in the right direction. “It’s not wishful, I believe, I think we’ve turned the corner, I am excited, I like where we are going,” Lickliter says. He says no one is happy with where they have been and they won’t be happy until they are competing for championships.
Iowa opens the season at home on November 15th against Texas-San Antonio.