Proud papa
Todd Lickliter got his wish.
Because his Iowa basketball team was traveling to Penn State on Tuesday night, the first-year Hawkeye coach knew he wouldn’t be able to watch his son, John, take the court with his Iowa City High teammates in an Iowa Class 4A substate game against Iowa City West at Cedar Rapids.
“Hopefully, there will be another game after that. It’s great for any parent to get a chance to see their child play in the state tournament. I’d like to be there to watch my son play his final high school game,” Lickliter said. “It would be tough to miss out on that.”
The Iowa coach will get that wish. City High won a seven-point game over its crosstown rival and will advance to next week’s Class 4A state tourney.
The Big Ten schedule makers will even give Lickliter a chance to be a proud parent in the stands at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Iowa plays its only game next week on Tuesday night at Northwestern, allowing Lickliter to watch the Little Hawks in any state tourney game they play.
John Lickliter intends to walk-on to the Iowa program next season while City High’s Matt Gatens is one of four recruits who signed letters of intent to play for the Hawkeyes during the November signing period.
