Early injury
It took only two days for the Iowa basketball program to suffer its first significant injury of the 2009-10 season.
Junior college transfer Devon Archie injured his right shoulder during the Hawkeyes’ second workout of the season and will miss 4-to-7 weeks, coach Todd Lickliter announced today. That could lead to a return to the court as soon as Iowa’s Nov. 15 season opener or it could keep the 6-foot-9 Archie on the bench for as many as eight games.
An Indianapolis native, Archie’s strength lies in his shot-blocking ability, something Iowa lacked a year ago and something he hopes to add to the mix during the upcoming season. He averaged 6.8 points, 6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks last season at Vincennes.
The timing of Archie’s injury should allow him ample time to return prior to start of Big Ten play and Iowa’s depth is slightly improved over where it has been in recent years although this probably puts additional pressure on Brennan Cougill to perform early in his freshman season.
The Hawkeyes’ first public appearance is Oct. 31, when Iowa holds a scrimmage approximately 30 minutes after the Iowa-Indiana football game. That game at Kinnick Stadium is now scheduled for an 11 a.m. kickoff and will be televised by ESPN or ESPN2.
Iowa also announced a pair of interesting ticket packages on Monday, hoping to coax some fans back into the stands at Carver-Hawkeye.
One is a six-game weekend package for $120 that includes games with Drake, Minnesota, Michigan State, Penn State and Indiana and a choice of one of three non-conference games.
The other is essentially a seven-game package and is priced at $90. The weekday package includes tickets for games with Virginia Tech, Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois, Northwestern and Michigan in addition to a “free” ticket to one of two other non-conference games.
Director of athletics Gary Barta spoke at a luncheon in Davenport earlier today and he said season ticket sales for basketball have been steady. Iowa students have purchased 1,400 season tickets, up from 900 a year ago. Barta is hopeful that growth in tickets sold late last season will carry over to the 2009-10 ticket base. Iowa saw a slight increase in average attendance last year after six years of lower numbers.
