Evansville Rebuilding on the Fly

Lickliter Building on the Fly

(St. Louis, MO) – As Evansville basketball fans celebrated Christmas they were excited about the current season. The Purple Aces had just defeated defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Murray State. They were 9-and-4 with wins over nationally ranked Kentucky and several other significant non-conference foes.

By New Year’s Day it would all come crashing down. On December 26, head coach Walter McCarty had been placed on a leave of absence for Title IX violations, on New Year’s Eve they lost their Missouri Valley opener and by 13 points. Then things got worse.

After navigating the loss of their coach, then one game later, leading scorer and rebounder DeAndre Williams went out with an injury.

The wheels fell completely off. New coach Todd Lickliter is trying to remake the Aces on the fly.

Struggling to Survive

Evansville would lose their next six Valley games under interim head coach Bennie Seltzer and on January 26^th UE administration announced the re-hiring of former assistant Todd Lickliter. The former Butler and Iowa head coach was glad to return to a program he believes can be truly special.

During our long conversation, the 64-year-old Lickliter described his reasons for ‘retiring’ from Evansville and his excitement about returning. For parts of that interview head to midmajormadness.com.

UE has dropped eight straight under Lickliter, but he and others believe there are signs of life. Thursday’s game was not their best effort, but prior to the double-digit loss at Southern Illinois, the Aces were improving on a number of fronts.

Pieces to Build Around

While the team waited for Williams’ return they were extremely undersized and struggling to rebound or score in the paint. Lickliter hoped for the 6’9 sophomore’s return but truly wanted the Texas native to be 100% healthy before he returned.

Lickliter says Williams is a game changing type of player and his return may not be smooth, but he will fit right in.

 

 

(Editor: Williams returned Thursday night, but got in early foul trouble and finished with eight points and seven rebounds)

K.J. Riley has been a model citizen and player at Evansville. Thursday he eclipsed the 1,000 point mark. His relentless work-ethic, foul producing drives to the basket and willingness to play any role has endeared him to many. Lickliter is at the top of that fan club.

 

 

Riley is second to Williams in scoring (12.6 ppg) and leads the team in assists, steals and is among the national leaders in free throws attempted and made.

 

Adjusting On The Fly

Evansville players and coaches are still adjusting. At the beginning of the season, McCarty had added transfers Sam Cunliffe and Art Labinowicz and Williams had become eligible. While early season success turned into a free-fall, Lickliter knew he couldn’t completely start over.

 

 

Veteran Evan Kuhlman has seen his playing time increase. His fundamentals and court awareness have made Evansville better.

 

 

After playing around 15 minutes per game, Kuhlman has become a rotation player and found himself in the starting rotation lately. The 6’8 junior scored 46 points in the team’s first 20 games, he has contributed 69 in the last seven.

Midseason recruiting is always a competitive task, but Lickliter says Evansville has a great deal to sell potential recruits. He loves the university, the community, the rich tradition and the emphasis on education.

The upbeat coach is looking for a way to breakthrough with some late season success, but he also believes there are great long term possibilities at Evansville.

Do Good

 

For our entire interview with coach Lickliter, head to Valley Hoops Insider Podcast.