Saturday, December 29, 2001
Five questions with Butler coach Todd Lickliter
By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Butler has been a strong mid-major program, winning 20 games each of the past five seasons, but this winter is something else altogether. The Bulldogs entered play Friday night in the Hoosier Classic with an 11-0 mark, their best start in 110 years of basketball, and at No. 23 they hold their first Associated Press ranking in 53 years. Having already beaten Ball State, they face a matchup today with Indiana — trying to rank unquestionably as the top team in the state.
At the head of all this is Todd Lickliter, a 46-year-old rookie head coach. Lickliter is the school's third head coach in as many seasons, following Barry Collier (who went to Nebraska) and Thad Matta (to Xavier). Lickliter, an Indianapolis native, played at Butler (graduating in 1979) and served three separate stints as an assistant there, including the past two seasons. Matta was a Butler player during one of Lickliter's previous tenures as an assistant.
Lickliter took time Thursday to answer five questions from the Enquirer's Neil Schmidt.
1. What's the feeling like of being an undefeated rookie head coach?
A. I'm not sure; I don't have anything to compare it to. The (won-loss) record isn't something we spend much time thinking about. We try to focus on the game at hand and when that's over, there's another game to turn our attention to. I really haven't spent much time reflecting on what we've done.
2. ESPN.com's Andy Katz has written that if you win your games this weekend, you could go undefeated. What's your reaction to that?
A. With all due respect to Andy Katz, this weekend's games are just the next two of many big hurdles we have to clear. I think every coach in the country would tell you how tough things get when you get into conference play, because every team you face knows you so well.
Every team in our (Horizon) Conference has a winning record at home and five of the teams are currently unbeaten at home. It's such a long season and there are so many variables involved that it's really unrealistic to talk about teams going undefeated.
3. You spent the 1993-94 season in Saudi Arabia as coach of the Ah Ahli Sports Club-Jeddah. How did that come to pass; and what was it like?
A. The opportunity came about through my association with the Five Star Basketball Camp and (camp director) Howard Garfinkle. It turned out to be a very enjoyable year in that I had total control over player and team development.
It was such a different experience from anything I had done in coaching, and I really enjoyed being exposed to a different culture and to the people of Saudi Arabi. The players worked very hard and really tried to learn the things we were teaching. And I loved the food!
4. Thad Matta describes you and he as being close friends. Talk about your relationship.
A. I've asked Thad not to say that to anyone. (Laughs.) Actually, I consider Thad to be one of my closest friends. We've seen our relationship grow from player-coach to coaching peers. I respect his coaching insights and we share coaching philosophies and ideas. We've stayed in very close contact.
5. Mike Marshall, a St. Xavier High alum and former Butler standout, is one of your assistants. Another St. X grad, Joel Cornette, is your starting forward, averaging 6.5 points and 5.6 rebounds. Moeller grad Mike Monserez is a reserve guard, averaging 7.1 points. Talk about your Cincinnati pipeline.
A. Cincinnati has been very good for Butler basketball. I'll take as many players like Mike Marshall, Joel Cornette and Mike Monserez as I can find. They make coaching fun. Those three are what Butler basketball is all about and they epitomize what we are.
When you look at Mike, Joel and Mike you see outstanding character, true student-athletes, unselfish players, skilled athletes and intense competitors. We wouldn't be where we are without them. We were smart enough to keep Mike Marshall as a coach, and we're excited to have both Joel and Mike Monserez together as players. I don't know if it's the Skyline Chili or what that makes these guys such special athletes, but we've been fortunate to have some great ones out of Cincinnati.
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Five questions with Butler coach Todd Lickliter
