'Scared To Death': How Former Iowa Coaches Deal With The Unknowns
Greg Lansing said what a lot of people in college sports are thinking.
Asked during Tuesday's Missouri Valley Conference video call how concerned he is about what could happen with the upcoming college basketball season, Lansing — the former Iowa assistant who is heading into his 11th season as Indiana State's coach — said, "Scared to death, I think, like everybody else. I can't even imagine not having a season."
The COVID-19 pandemic took away the NCAA's winter championships and the remaining spring seasons, and is threatening the start of the fall seasons, including football. And any disruptions could trickle into the winter seasons.
"You know, it's what my life has been about every day, being a coach's kid. So I'm scared to death of it. I'm paying close attention to what other teams are doing, other leagues, pro sports, all of that.
"It's not just that. I've got a good life. There's people who have been devastated. There have been a lot of deaths. People have been devastated, businesses, families — and your heart goes out to all of them. You want things to get back to normal, but it's not."
It's been a challenging summer for Todd Lickliter, who was Iowa's head coach for three seasons from 2007-10. Lickliter took over as Evansville's head coach for the final six weeks of last season after the firing of Walter McCarty. The Purple Aces lost their last 19 games, including 13 after Lickliter took over.
"I don't think you could overstate how unique our situation was, having six weeks with our team," Lickliter said. "We're familiar with one another, and it was great. ... Obviously the outcomes were difficult to deal with.
"They should be commended, the players, the way they adapted. They really give you great hope."
But building on that hope is something that has been virtually impossible to do since everything shut down because of the pandemic.
Instead of having a spring and summer to work with his team, and get on the road recruiting, Lickliter has had to adjust. Players aren't back on campus, so there's no ability for workouts.
"I don't foresee having anyone on campus. And we'll work through that," Lickliter said. "Whatever time we do have, we'll use it wisely. ... We've got a really strong group coming back.
"I'm not in any way pushing. I'm just listening, adhering to the recommendations, and we'll make it work."
Lansing, an assistant under Steve Alford at Iowa from 1999-2006, also has had to adjust.
"I feel like we're doing as best as we can, during this time," he said. "You try to take advantage of every chance you get, doing some educational things on Zoom meetings, FaceTiming them individually, having them in groups."
Lansing has six new players to go with a returning group from a team that went 18-12 last season.
The teams with veteran players, Lansing said, will be the ones who have an advantage during this unpredictable time.
"If you're building a team, you've got to do it face-to-face," Lansing said. "You can't do it on FaceTime, Zoom, the way you would like to. It's getting in the gym, getting that sweat going, and work with them."
Lansing and Lickliter also have assistant coaching jobs to fill, but can't because of hiring freezes on their campuses.
All they can do now is coach from afar, and hope for the best.
"The guys, it's not a big shock to them," Lickliter said. "They know what we're about."
