ESPN Men's Basketball

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- It's been two years since coach Todd Lickliter took over at Iowa, and he's essentially right back where he started.

Lickliter said Friday that starting guards Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson and reserve forward David Palmer plan to transfer. The announcement comes two days after junior Jermain Davis announced that he will to transfer to Minnesota State, a Division II school.

The departures of Kelly and Peterson, who would have been juniors, and Davis and Palmer, both of whom have one year of eligibility left, leave Iowa with just seven players and recruits Eric May and Brennan Cougill.

Iowa finished 15-17 last season, its second straight losing season under Lickliter.

"We're on the right track. Sometimes it's a little dark before the dawn. We're going to get through it and move forward," Lickliter said.

Lickliter said that Peterson, Palmer and Davis are leaving because they desired either a more prominent or different role than the coaching staff could guarantee them. Only Peterson will pursue a spot on a Division I team.

Kelly is leaving because he wants to be closer to his family, Lickliter said. His mother, Julia Kelly, died in a plane crash in Florida last June.

"He wants to be near his family and I can't blame him," Lickliter said. "I would love Jake to stay, to be quite honest with you, but that would be selfish on my part."

Kelly, who averaged 20.4 points over Iowa's last seven regular-season games, is the biggest loss. In the final three weeks of the season, he was the league's player of the week twice.

"Jake Kelly is an individual that emerged as one of the better point guards in the Big Ten, maybe nationally," Lickliter said. "I fully support Jake Kelly."

Peterson spent most of the past two years as Iowa's starting point guard, but he missed the final seven games this past season with a strained hamstring, averaging 10.6 points.

"I just think wanted something fresh," Lickliter said.

Palmer played in 19 games last season, averaging 4.1 points, but had back-to-back games of 19 and 21 points in late January filling in for starting forward Cyrus Tate.

Palmer, like Kelly and Peterson, had committed to Iowa under former coach Steve Alford, who left for New Mexico in 2007.

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta, who lured Lickliter from Butler in 2007 shortly after he was named the national coach of the year, offered his support for Lickliter on Friday.

"I've never questioned his approach, his strategy, the foundation he's building. I continue to fully support him," Barta said. "We had great improvement from year one to year two. Not necessarily in record, but in terms of the team that he's put together, the direction we were headed, and I'm confident that he's going to continue to improve."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press