Thursday, April 16, 2009

Touring the Local Newspapers

--Tuesday's edition of the Iowa City Press-Citizen included a Pat Harty article detailing why David Palmer decided to leave the team. Palmer said that his inconsistent role led him to transfer, but the most fascinating thing he said was the following:

"I'm just surprised that those were the only four that left after the talk that I was hearing," Palmer said. "But I knew that us four were going to leave."

That doesn't sound good. Todd Lickliter has to hope that he has a roster of players committed to being Hawkeyes and turning this program around. Apparently discontent ran deeper than we ever knew.


--Several local papers and Internet sites covered point guard Cully Payne's official signing on Wednesday. Tom Kakert of Hawkeyereport.com nabbed some great material from Payne. Here's what Payne had to say in Kakert's piece, "Payne makes it official":

"I guess you could say that there is a sense of relief to finally have it over with. But, more importantly I am excited about the opportunity that Iowa is providing me. I really feel like it is a privilege to be a Hawkeye and to be on scholarship," said the 6-foot-1 point guard.

In addition, Lickliter commented on Payne's arrival in an announcement on Wednesday.

"Cully is a true point guard, although he can play the two position as well," Lickliter said. "He is a very effective point guard and shoots the ball well.


--Steve Batterson of the Quad City Times got the scoop on Devon Archie. The 6-foot-9 Archie, who didn't sign his letter of intent Wednesday, is expected to do so in the next couple of days.

According to the article, Archie's junior college coach believes Iowa is getting a nice sleeper with potential for growth.

“Iowa is getting a late bloomer who is just beginning to blossom as he gains an understanding of what he is capable of accomplishing,” Vincennes coach David Ragland said. “His best basketball is ahead of him.”



Iowa State got top 100 point guard Chris Colvin, Iowa got Payne and Drake got David Smith of Lake Forest Academy.

Also in Brown's work, Payne's father assured Hawkeye fans that his son is very excited to wear the black and gold.

"To make a long story short, it certainly is a tremendous opportunity," Kent Payne said. "Cully is head over heels in love with the opportunity to play at Iowa, play for Coach Lickliter and play in the Big Ten."
--Finally, Scott Dochterman of the Cedar Rapids Gazette wrote that Lickliter is still looking for additional recruits. Chipola juco Malcolm Armstead canceled his visit to Iowa City which was initially set for this weekend. Instead, Armstead will visit St. John's in New York.
Also in Dochterman's article, Lickliter provided more insight on Payne while at an I-Club event.
“(Payne) plays at a great pace,” Lickliter said. “He’s very competitive. He’s a very capable scorer, but he’s not defined by that. He doesn’t have to score to feel like he’s successful. So I think he’s somebody who gives us a lot of poise in the backcourt, and our other guys are working extremely hard."
*Mugshot of David Palmer from Hawkeyesports.com

5 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. When I saw Peterson, Angle, and Tate out the night of the Big Ten tournament, it sounded like EVERYONE was disgusted by Lick. Quote from Peterson and Angle "No one on the team likes Lick" and "we don't respect him" as well. Now that was those two speaking, but I just have to believe that this is the way those players all feel.

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  3. Hmmmm. I just wonder what Lickliter is doing differently. It was reported that Lick got the Butler job after Thad Matta left, in part because the players lobbied for him. I think Lick is a good coach but it's pretty difficult to get a team to play well when no one likes you. That's particularly concerning. That's gotta be why Peterson left because nothing else makes sense.

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  4. I don't think Coach Lickliter is that big of a pain. I met with him a few times one on one and he was really nice, very respectful, and even though I was the one interviewing he wanted to know more about me. David Palmer is awful and shot way too much which is why he saw his time disappear. Peterson on the other hand always seemed pretty content and happy to be at Iowa so he must have not seen eye to eye on something with Lickliter. But, he didn't have these problems at Butler so I am fine getting rid of a couple of quitters (not Jake Kelly, he obviously had a good reason). I understand that Palmer and Jermain saw inconsistent playing time so if they want to see more than sure, transfer, but I like Peterson but I think he straight up just quit on the team. I don't see any more players (except maybe the bench) leaving the team and I think they will get back on track in the next few years. Also, I agree with you that Butler could play in the Big Ten. They always play well in the tournament so how couldn't they do well in the Big Ten? Yeah the Big Ten is a defensive battle but it is a pretty winnable league.

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