New Hire

Kind of interesting to hire the Division I Coach of the Year, even more so when he is, at best, your third choice. But that's just what the University of Iowa got, hiring former Butler coach Todd Lickliter to replace the departed Steve Alford. After talking to Dana Altman, who's now leaving Creighton to take the Arkansas job, and being turned down by Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings, Iowa found their man in Lickliter, who was voted as the Coach of the Year this season by the National Association of Basketball Coaches after leading the Bulldogs to a Horizon League record 29 wins and a Sweet 16 appearance before falling to the eventual champion Florida Gators. Here's to hoping the Lickliter era is smoother and more successful than the Alford era. (Although I also hope the Alford era at New Mexico is smoother & more successful than it was at Iowa.)

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Update:
Upon further review, Dana Altman has changed his mind and is returning to Creighton:

The coach apologized to Razorbacks fans "with deep regret" and said returning to Creighton was in his family's best interest.

And here I thought that he would have talked to his family before taking the Arkansas job in the first place. What really surprises me is how often this happens. It seems like almost every year a coach goes through a press conference with his new school before deciding to return to his original school.