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Post by austinace on Jan 21, 2020 23:53:32 GMT -6
Evansville Basketball @ueathletics_MBB 1h “It’s not how I would want this job, but it’s exactly the job I would want and exactly the guys I would want to try to lead.” - Coach Lickliter twitter.com/i/status/1219838574083833856
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Post by E-Villan on Jan 22, 2020 0:10:25 GMT -6
Looks like he got a hit in his first at bat.
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Post by sect3purple on Jan 22, 2020 0:14:58 GMT -6
If Lick can get Hall down on the low block instead of hanging out at the three line, we might be ok. I've been saying this for weeks now...wake John up by putting him under the basket and make him work...totally wasted standing around waiting to shoot 3's, which seldom go through the nets. I think he'd actually be a beast there blocking shots, rebounding, and scoring underneath.
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Post by austinace on Jan 22, 2020 0:19:24 GMT -6
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Post by Ace78 on Jan 22, 2020 0:21:14 GMT -6
Looks like he got a hit in his first at bat. That was heartfelt and well said. Impressed with how he expressed his thoughts.
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Post by kyace1 on Jan 22, 2020 4:30:25 GMT -6
I like the hire, considering where we are. 1) He positioned Butler to become the Butler they are today. This has been held up as a model of what Evansville could be. 2) While he did not have a great record at Iowa, coaching in a power 5 is a much different game than coaching in a mid major. 3) I also think some relationship with current players gives him a chance at hanging on to a majority of the roster. 4). An immediate change gives us a chance to build toward next season. Who knows how much worse it could have gotten. Player defections, attendance continue to plummet, recruit decommitments. These could still happen, but this may give us a chance to avoid some or all of them. 5) He is a good x and o guy.
Negatives - with responses 1) long term contract... do we have details? If it is only 2-3 years, I see this as a positive. Stabilize the ship with a known commodity. 2) old, not hungry... he is 64, and would surely want to finish strong. I can’t see him going to 70. He has proven he can groom good young assistants.
Maybe this is all wishful thinking, but I feel better about being a UE fan today than I did yesterday. Improving Morale is a good starting point for positive change.
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Post by acepurple84 on Jan 22, 2020 5:54:48 GMT -6
I love the hire. Brings continuity to the program. remember he only left right before the team left for the European trip. Probably saw writing on the walls and made a good decision. Anyway I think they made a good choice. Now if they could talk Graves into coming back.
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Post by purpleredbird on Jan 22, 2020 7:36:06 GMT -6
I love the hire as well and was shocked to see this quick of a move. Great to see in my opinion.
It's not like UE is giving a complete unknown a multi-year contract. TL Knows the University from his year there. TL knows the players. TL has a great reputation. I love the quote from earlier in the thread that "I feel better as a UE fan today than I did yesterday". While I know no details have really come out yet, I'm happy on how the University handled this situation.
Now if TL can just help bring back old Ace Purple....and get rid of that generic new mascot.
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Post by indymoon on Jan 22, 2020 7:37:32 GMT -6
I respectfully disagree. It is the best choice UE could make, given the disastrous circumstances the former coach put this team in.
This isn't Lickliter's first rodeo. He knows this team and he knows what it takes. I TRUST this coach.
Evilleway, Have you paused to think that this had probably been in the works for some time? Lickliter had to be aware of the issues with Walter last year and Spencer likely reached out to him around the time of Walter's suspension. In fact, that probably happened prior to the suspension because UE already had enough info to fire Walter but the situation required completing an investigation. So there's a handshake deal in place contingent upon the results of the investigation. That stability may have contributed to Samari Curtis's decision to join the Aces during what appears to be a time of turmoil.
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Post by acefamily on Jan 22, 2020 8:11:07 GMT -6
I agree with most on this thread. This was a good hire. This will be a three year situation at the most. Coach is a great guy with a proven track record who is in his mid 60s. In addition to his college resume already spelled out, he has NBA ties as he worked for Stevens in Boston. That was one of the big selling points of our previous coach. They key to all of this is who will he bring in as assistants because one of them will more than likely be the head coach by 2023.
In all honesty...forget all the ridiculousness off the court...our previous coach was one of the craziest hires ever. No head coaching experience. Part of a coaching tree who has had major issues with rules and compliance. Came from a “national coaching search” that included three candidates from Evansville. All accounts I heard was that practices were a joke. Players cussing at coaches and each other. I realize Coach Lickliter left because of health issues, but I truly wonder why Coach Graves left as well. Some will say more money or to be an assistant in the Big East. But I’m not so sure about that.
Looking forward to stability and growth throughout the rest of the season...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2020 8:16:54 GMT -6
This hire is perfectly acceptable.
UE needs a strong stable presence. The players will come to UE and the wins will return. I will settle for the sort of team I expected to see in January -- capable of beating anybody on their schedule.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2020 8:30:44 GMT -6
I can appreciate your opinion on this but your argument is based on emotions instead of facts. You haven't presented any real evidence that this hiring isn't well rehearsed. As far as Lickliter's matchup with the players, the whole roster could change next year. Parts of it are already irrelevant. And there isn't any evidence they didn't do a national search -- whatever one of those is supposed to include. You can't recruit coaches who are actively employed. That's called tampering. How many available people are out there who you can interview in the 'national' search? Unless you just want to ride it out with Bennie, who didn't exactly show he can handle the job. Hiring a guy for 3 years isn't rare and it's not a bad idea. You backload the contract and get guarantees. It also lets the coach have something of a plan in case he wants to -- you know -- be like everyone and actually find a home in the town where he works. Those 1-year leases are hard to get.
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Post by lawrencevgibson on Jan 22, 2020 8:36:05 GMT -6
I’m hoping this hire can right the ship. This is probably the best move .
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Post by purpleorange on Jan 22, 2020 8:36:47 GMT -6
First and foremost I hope Coach Lickliter can be a uniter and bring this group back together. My first reaction was one of complete surprise that a decision was made so quickly......that the season wouldn't be played out and a search take place after the season is over.
That initial surprise and frustration has passed and I am less skeptical. Personally I will judge Coach at the start of next season....this season is not lost necessarily but even with the familiarity from last season, tonight is Day 1 for Coach with the 2019-20 Aces. It will be a different voice, a new way of going about it, much like we saw with Coach Seltzer. And it's not just as simple as a different voice as Coach will have ideas and try to put his spin on this group. Change is never easy and these guys have been in turmoil for a solid month now.
The biggest things I want to see from the Aces moving forward is a joy in playing the game. A group that finds a sense of togetherness that hopefully will take the first steps now that a conclusion has been reached.
I watched highlights from the UK game...was that really only a few months ago?? Anyhow the attitude reflected on the floor, get knocked down and just get back down the floor, guys coming together at every dead ball stoppage, a belief in each other that manifested in the way we moved the ball, made the extra pass and looked to attack. Ball movement that is passing around the perimeter 25-30 feet out is just window dressing. Chances are it won't happen overnight and it may be too late to completely overhaul the concepts and schemes.
I also want to say something about Coach Seltzer. He was put in a no win situation and did the best he could. I admire that he stuck true to his principles up at Indiana State in benching Sam after his T. He didn't ask to be put in the head chair under the circumstance but although we couldn't get a win during his interim tenure, I admire the message he was portraying during this difficult stretch. It's not as if he doesn't know the game, the same way Coach Lickliter didn't lose knowledge when we moved from Butler to Iowa and didn't have the same success.
Ultimately we hired a stable presence that can guide the program into the next phase, regardless of what the roster composition may look like down the line. I'm good with that. My hope is the connections he built with the players and staff last season can help get this thing going again.
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Post by ytele on Jan 22, 2020 8:55:14 GMT -6
I can appreciate your opinion on this but your argument is based on emotions instead of facts. You haven't presented any real evidence that this hiring isn't well rehearsed. As far as Lickliter's matchup with the players, the whole roster could change next year. Parts of it are already irrelevant. And there isn't any evidence they didn't do a national search -- whatever one of those is supposed to include. You can't recruit coaches who are actively employed. That's called tampering. How many available people are out there who you can interview in the 'national' search? Unless you just want to ride it out with Bennie, who didn't exactly show he can handle the job. Hiring a guy for 3 years isn't rare and it's not a bad idea. You backload the contract and get guarantees. It also lets the coach have something of a plan in case he wants to -- you know -- be like everyone and actually find a home in the town where he works. Those 1-year leases are hard to get. Acceptable/adequate is about as much as I can muster for this. Could it have been worse? Sure. He's 64 years old and outside of one season he hasn't really led a team he built to any real success. He was handed the keys to well oiled machine at Butler that had been to 4 NCAA tournaments in 5 years that had an average record of 23-9. He was handed a team full of higher level JRs and seniors with some pretty good sophomores. His first S16 team was entirely lead by seniors from the Collier/Mata recruiting classes. Once he had to deal with a roster that was his recruits he instantly dropped to below .500. He got back to the S16 on the back of transfers - 3 of the top 5 players on that team were transfers and would be gone after that season. He bolted before he had to try to build again, which I can't fault him for in terms of the pay he got. He took over an Iowa team that had been to the NCAA tournament 2 of the previous 3 years and only a win or two away from making the NCAA tournament the year before he got there and had finished 4th in the B10. His years at Iowa were an unmitigated disaster. You think Marty playing his son was neoptism and proof of recruiting issues? Todd did that with his son, who wasn't even as good as Blake, at Iowa because he couldn't recruit. Marian was in the S16 the year before Todd took over. They went back to 17-13 and then under .500 in his first two seasons. Since Todd left they needed a year to start to rebuild and have been in the Final 4 and Elite 8 of NAIA since. If it's a 3 years deal, which means 2.5, it's hard to recruit. He isn't going to be around longer than that deal. Hard to recruit kids when they, their family, know you won't be around passed their sophomore season. That's a lot of uncertainty to deal with. I mean a ton. However, if they were of the belief that a full time HC was needed right now, Todd is about as good as you can get. That doesn't make him a great hire. If he wasn't on this staff last year we wouldn't see as many fans excited about him being here. None of the above makes him a bad hire. He is acceptable for now. I would also guess he is the complete opposite of Walter. A shot was taken on a splash hire after Marty. It bit the admin in the ass, hard. It's going to be "safe" hires for a while, across the entire athletic department.
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