Northern Iowa Panthers
Overall Rank: #75
Conference Rank: #4 Missouri Valley
Northern Iowa Team Page
2010-11: 20-14, 10-8
2010-11 postseason: CIT
Coach: Ben Jacobson (109-57 at Northern Iowa, 109-57 overall)
Northern Iowa had a little rebuilding to do after their Sweet Sixteen run in 2010. The result was an average season by UNI standards. A trip to the CIT is not what Panther fans have come to expect. Things should get a little better this year, but this is a very young team. The only senior on the roster is Johnny Moran. Moran is expected to develop into a leader on and off the court. He will run the show and Coach Ben Jacobson will ask him to continue to be a consistent scoring threat. Most of Moran’s offense comes from beyond the arc, but he has to start attacking the basket more often this year and either finishing himself or finding one of his teammates.
Who’s Out:
The Panthers lose three major contributors from last year’s team, including leading scorer Kwadzo Ahelegbe. Ahelegbe would take nearly all of the big shots and was a fine passer and a pretty good rebounder for a guard. Others can take over his scoring, but maybe not his leadership. Kerwin Dunham was a key bench player last season. He never really found his stroke from outside, but he occasionally would provide a nice spark to the backcourt. The big loss up front is Lucas O’Rear. He may not have put up great numbers, but he was tough as old boots. O’Rear would battle with anybody in the paint and always did the dirty work. His numbers are replaceable, but the rest of the team will certainly miss all the little things that O’Rear did for UNI.
Who’s In:
The youth movement is in full effect with eight freshmen on the roster. Deon Mitchell and Jevon Lyle are a couple point guards who will have some time to learn on the job. Mitchell is the more likely candidate to step into the regular rotation as a freshman. Shooting guard Matt Bohannon could make the biggest impact as a freshman. He is a great spot up shooter with enough size to shoot over smaller defenders. Max Martino and Marvin Singleton will add depth on the wing. Singleton is physically ready to make an impact, but Coach Jacobson should have the luxury of working with him for a while before he needs him to make a contribution. However, he is a good athlete who can help out on the glass right away if needed. The frontcourt adds Nate Buss, Chris Olivier and Seth Tuttle. Buss is a versatile 6-8 forward who is deceptively quick and has the ability to knock down some long balls. Olivier is a raw talent, but a talent nonetheless. How long it takes him to get game ready remains to be seen. In the end, Tuttle could be the newcomer in the frontcourt that sees the most action. He needs to add strength, but he is ready to be a backup power forward.
Who to Watch:
The freshmen will have to battle it out for playing time off of the bench. Anthony James, Marc Sonnen and Chip Rank will take up a majority of the minutes on the wings. James had a superb sophomore season in which he averaged 12.4 points per game and connected on 41.3 percent of his attempts from long range. The starting job up for grabs appears to be between Sonnen and Rank at the three spot. Sonnen is a 6-3 guard who can hit the glass and do a little bit of scoring. Rank is a more traditional small forward at 6-6 and is coming off of a very promising freshman campaign. Coach Jacobson will have the luxury of playing smaller or bigger with those two and both will see plenty of action no matter who starts.
Final Projection:
Jake Koch will miss O’Rear the most, but he is certainly talented enough to do plenty of scoring without O’Rear creating space under the basket. Koch is a dynamic forward who can score inside and out. He shot over 35 percent from long range last year and averaged 9.8 points and 5.0 rebounds. He even ranked second on the team in assists…not bad at all for a 6-9, 245 pounder. Austin Pehl, a 6-10 junior, figures to be the new starter in the frontcourt. He did start ten games last season, but only averaged 10.2 minutes per contest. Pehl may not score too much, but he is a quality rebounder and a big body. If he can play closer to 20 minutes per game it will take the pressure off of the newcomers to perform right away and give the Panthers a true big man that they lacked last season. That may be the difference between another middle of the table finish and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
Projected Starting Five:
Johnny Moran, Senior, Guard, 9.6 points per game
Anthony James, Junior, Guard, 12.4 points per game
Marc Sonnen, Junior, Guard, 4.8 points per game
Jake Koch, Junior, Forward, 9.8 points per game
Austin Pehl, Junior, Center, 2.0 points per game
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