By Justin VanLaere

Has sophomore guard, Anthony Tucker, played his final game as a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team?  Who’s to blame for what has happened?  Has Todd Lickliter’s rocky tenure at Iowa started its final descent to freefall?

Iowa City Police officers arrested Tucker, 20, at 2:05 a.m. at 100 Hawk Ridge Drive after a dispute with a taxi cabdriver. According to the police complaint, Tucker accused the cabdriver of taking his cell phone and allegedly was beating on the side of the cab. The cabdriver locked his car doors and called police.
The police report described Tucker with bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and a strong smell of alcohol. Tucker swayed when he spoke and “had trouble forming logical, understandable sentences and repeated himself frequently.” Tucker was taken to the Johnson County Jail and was released around 10:30 a.m. Sunday after posting a $325 bond. He pleaded not guilty.

Shortly after the news about Tucker’s arrest was released, the Hawkeye Fan Interweb Investigation Unit (TMZ’s got nuthin’ on them) scoured the Internet for “inside information” on what went down and what was to transpire from these events.  Tucker’s Facebook status read: “Im Outta Here” (a post that has since been removed).  Armed with that information, fans starting making assumptions that such an update meant Tucker had left the program, others (myself included) thought perhaps Anthony wrote that after getting out the clink.  Hours later, another update (GASP!!!), “Im home” was posted, now fans REALLY knew what was happening, right?  Look, I use Facebook, it’s a great tool to communicate between friends and family, but to base decisions on cryptic status updates of a college basketball player is a bit over the top, in my humble opinion.

Let’s look at the options…

• Maybe it’s the coaching staff.  They’re the guys that recruited Tucker.  They’re the guys that need to be watching their players at all times.  So it’s the staff’s fault, isn’t it?  Nope.
• Maybe it’s Tucker’s teammates.  I mean, according to Lickliter’s system, players hold each other accountable.  So it’s on those guys, right?  Wrong.
• Maybe it’s Gary Barta.  He’s the guy that hired Todd Lickliter; he’s the guy that runs the show.  Perhaps it’s Gary Barta’s fault this happened?  Um, no.
• Maybe it’s the alcohol assessors/counselors that Tucker saw after his first incident.  If they did their job correctly, there’s no way this would have happened, yeah?  Wrong again.
• Maybe it’s the bars and places that sell alcohol.  They’ve got to be the ones to take the blame.  If they didn’t provide the alcohol for Tucker, then this wouldn’t have happened, right?  Negative.
• Maybe it’s the breweries’ fault.  If those companies hadn’t made a business that combined barley and hops to provide people with an intoxicating beverage, surely this would have been avoided.  Nah.
• Well, then, it’s society’s fault.  With all the violent video games, mind-warping movies, and cah-razy music, it’s no wonder something like this happened.  It’s just the world we live in.  Society, it’s YOUR fault, isn’t it?  Lord no.

If not any of those people, who’s to blame?  It’s simple.

The blame lies solely on the shoulders of Anthony Tucker.  It’s all about personal accountability. Part of Tuck’s tatoo he had inked on his shoulder says, “My mistakes do not define my character.”  While I can agree with that, what does define you is what you learn from those mistakes.  Mistakes happen to people all the time.  In fact, most successes happen on the heels of multiple mistakes.  You can scour the Internet for quotes on how mistakes make you a better person, how mistakes are necessary for progress, etc…  However, the greatest mistake someone can make is the one where they learned nothing from it.  That’s the case for Anthony.  He was given a second chance to have the privilege to play basketball for the University of Iowa mens basketball team, and get a free education to boot.

One line stands out at me:  “Stay with it even when things are tough because in the end it will work itself out or you will have the self-satisfaction that you stuck to your values.”  I believe this is something that can be applied to Barta’s decision in regards to Lickliter, Lickliter’s decision in regards to Tucker, and Tucker’s decisions from here on out.  Read into that how you will.

While the events surrounding Anthony Tucker aren’t on the same level as those that occurred back in 2002, Todd Lickliter’s decision could create a rift between the fan base a la Alford/Pierce.  There remains a part of the Hawkeye fan base that would prefer to see Tucker shown the door, yet there are others who believe that what occurred does not merit dismissal.  One side says he’s had enough chances, the other side says it’s no big deal because everyone drinks in college  And while it is ultimately up to Lickliter and the Iowa Athletic Department, the decision handed down will not likely be accepted by all who call themselves Iowa fans.

To make matters worse, there is a faction of the fan base that has been calling for Lickliter’s head even before this situation came up.  Now, with this decision lingering for Todd, there is more fuel for the fire to give him the boot.  Personally, I think it’s still premature to look at removing Todd Lickliter from his current position.  He should and will likely get at least until the end of next year to see if he can improve things around Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

I think it’s far too early be calling for Coach Lickliter’s resignation, and an event such as this should not induce a call for his termination.  However, he needs to start showing progress.  This includes progress with his interpersonal relationships with his players and increasing player retention, progress in the area of recruitment, and more importantly, progress in the win column.

According to Lickliter’s system – “Toughness is doing what is right.”  Well, Coach Lickliter and Gary Barta are going to have to decide what is right in this situation.  No matter what decision is made, there will be someone unhappy with it.

It’s never been a secret that I have been pro-Tucker since the day he verballed to Iowa.  Watching him in high school, I had never seen a prep athlete shoot the ball so effortlessly, with such perfect form.  Anthony had the greatest looking shot I had ever witnessed from a prep athlete, and his impressive range and basketball IQ were icing on the cake.  I just hate to see talent like that wasted.

When looking at recruits, here’s what Lickliter’s principles are based around:  “We are in the people business, recruit good people (character).”  Looking at that, you would have to assume the staff felt there were no character issues with Tucker’s recruitment, either.

Let’s face it, I wrote an article on how I thought he would be back and better than ever, having learned from his mistakes.  He didn’t learn from the last one, will he have a chance to learn from his second one?  That’s to be determined.

If Lickliter decides to give Anthony Tucker his third and final chance with the team (the University mandates dismissal after a third alcohol-related infraction), I have no problem with it.  If Anthony Tucker has been asked to leave the University of Iowa for good, I cannot fault the staff for that decision either.  Whatever is handed down, it won’t be an easy one for Coach Lickliter.

I have to wonder, though, if Todd thinks back to the day when his son, John, looked at him and said, “Dad, it’s Iowa.”

Tags: Hawkeye Basketball, Hawkeye Nation, hawkeyenation.com, Justin VanLaere, Todd Lickliter