In my experience as an educator, I found people (students) write like the talk, and talk like they were taught. Could be a bright kid, just need a little translation or analogy. My daughter is still trying to teach me the nuances of IM, text, etc. My brain and fingers don't want to cooperate. More importantly, lets wee what young Mr. Marble and his family have to say once everything is process. A presence or abscence will speak volumes more that 140 characters in a Tweet.

So you aren't really a Hawk Fan. Just a fair weather Hawk Fan. You will get excited (maybe) over the new coach, then at the first loss cry here we go again. Lickliter only got three years to prove ahis point. The new coach gets two, max. My advice to the new coach is really play the severence pay card hard. More than likely he will need it.

p.s. 12 season ticket holder; bounced around several times; still wondering where the student section really is. Of all the arenas in all the states, Iowa has one of the worst student placed sections of all

Great commentary. Focus on the things that are needed and work hard to make them reality. The new boathouse came about through private donations. There are other potential donors that could be hit up for other things as well - just have to make them sexy enough to draw interest. If "big money" had a say in today's decision, then they can pony up to make the facilities/salaries a reality.

I don't think he hade any one coach in mind. The best bet is to scout through the tournament to see who is set to move up or moving on. There is always moving and shaking at the tourney.

I'm bothered by the idea that players would tell Barta they would leave if Lickliter stayed. To me this is the tail wagging the dog. If this indeed it true, then, regardless of who the new coach is, my expectations of improved player performance next year have risen significantly. To the player(s) involved: Play up or shut up. If you are on scholarship you are basically paid to play basketball, not go though the motions and whine if the coach rubs you the wrong way.

The most important clause in a coaching contract is the severence clause. Smart coaches/agents would not only agree to a great annual salary but also a tremendous severence clause. They learn from corporate America and their golden parachutes.

3 years was not enough time in this case. Year one was spent trying to clean up after Alford. Year two was trying to get his own house in order and this year was spent trying to establish stability. We still need to shore up the house with a true point guard and a true center. That is a year of two away - hence the 4 or 5 year time period needed to evaluate a coach who comes into a situation like this.

Listened to some of the press conference on the radio. Still disappointed that Lickliter was not given more than 3 years on a 7 year contract. Unless there is evidence of wrong-doing a coach needs 4 to 5 years to prove him/her self. Regardless of who comes in the pressure on new players to perform will still be huge. Hawk fans have demonstrated they are fickle and at the first sign of losing or poor play they will bail faster than they did with Lickliter. Right now I would be very wary of coming to Iowa as a coach or as a player. As a coach I would ask very specific and pointed questions about this firing. If answers are evasive as in the press conference, I would not agree to come here. As a player, I would want a guarantee that the coach who recruited me would be the coach I graduated with. If the answer is obtuse, I would not come here to play. I know that these are things that cannot be "guaranteed", but in Iowa's case they have to make a stronger commitment to both the coach and players.