IOWA CITY -- Iowa coach Todd Lickliter knows the Hawkeyes have been picked to occupy the Big Ten basement this season.
The eternally optimistic coach, however, is choosing instead to think of a well-known story about a down-and-out thoroughbred that defied the odds.
"Some of my favorite stories are ones where the ones that the non-favorites are the ones that came out on top," Lickliter said as the Hawkeyes prepared for the season this month. "The movie 'Seabiscuit' comes to mind. What a talented, talented horse. But he wasn't chosen to win like he did, and that made it special."
It's fair to wonder, though, if Lickliter has the horses to pull off his own Hollywood ending.
Four Iowa players transferred last spring, including starting point guard Jeff Peterson and emerging star Jake Kelly. Their departures were a stunning blow to a program that's strung together back-to-back losing seasons, and Lickliter will attempt to get back over .500 with a team that has just two upperclassmen.
Iowa finished 15-17 last season and 5-13
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"We look at that as just a great challenge, because we've got great confidence in our team and in ourselves. We see it as an opportunity," Lickliter said.
Though the Hawkeyes are very young, there is talent in Iowa City. And Iowa's fortunes will depend in large part on promising sophomores Matt Gatens and Anthony Tucker.
Gatens made the league's all-freshman team in 2008-09, averaging 10.4 points a game and 40.3 percent from 3-point range while playing about every position but center.
Tucker, a guard, opened last season on fire before an alcohol-related suspension and an academic one cut his freshman season short. Tucker averaged 10.4 points a game last season and shot 42.7 percent from 3-point range.
The point guard job will likely go to true freshman Cully Payne, a first-team all-state pick last season from Schaumburg, Ill.
Iowa's frontcourt is where the questions marks really begin.
Junior forward Jarryd Cole, now completely healthy after an ACL tear in a knee derailed his freshman season and hampered him last year, will be looked upon to give the Hawkeyes a bruising presence in the paint.
Lickliter brought in junior college transfer Devon Archie for reinforcement, but a shoulder injury could keep the 6-foot-9 power forward from playing until late November. Sophomore forwards Andrew Brommer and Aaron Fuller and freshman Brennan Cougill will likely all see significant minutes in the paint.
This will be Lickliter's third season in Iowa City, and the magic he worked in guiding upstart Butler to the round of 16 in 2007 seems like it happened ages ago.
Iowa's average home attendance has dipped below 11,000 during his tenure, and Lickliter is hoping Hawkeyes fans will be patient with him as he attempts to yet again build the program from scratch.
Of course, Seabiscuit wasn't much of a draw either -- until he started winning races.
"I think that we've got the talent and we've got the philosophy," Lickliter said. "There is enjoyment, I think, in possibly proving the predictors wrong."
