Offseason Guide: Northern Iowa Men’s Basketball
The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat. After a whirlwind trip to the 2016 NCAA Tournament, the Northern Iowa Panthers will continue to follow a blueprint for success into next season.
Ben Jacobson has never had a losing season as head coach of the UNI Panthers. His teams have averaged 22 wins per season, have made it to the NCAA Tournament four times and have consistently boasted in-state talent. So it should be to no one’s surprise that despite a meltdown against Texas A&M in March, Jacobson and company will be up to their old tricks in 2016–17.
The Numbers
If there’s one thing the Panthers have done well is create an identity: Play a slower pace (346th in adjusted tempo in 2016, 348th in 2015, 197th in 2014 and 288th in 2013 per KenPom), take high-percentage shots (usually created by ball movement from a high post game. Think Seth Tuttle, Adam Koch or Klint Carlson.) and mix in a dose of isolations that open up a lane to the basket, create separation for a jump shot or a kick out to one of several three-point shooters.
Exhibit A (from 2015): Wes Washpun brings the ball up the court, and before Seth Tuttle even sets the screen, Washpun is exploding to the hoop for a dunk.
Exhibit B: Wes Washpun’s game-winner during the Missouri Valley Conference Championship this year. It’s rather clear that it’s Washpun’s shot to take, and he has the quickness to keep the defense just a step back on their heels that creates the necessary space to get a shot up.
Jacobson often puts his faith in point guards, whether it’s Washpun, Ali Farokhmanesh or Brooks McKowen, Northern Iowa point guards don’t tend to turn the ball over or take ill-advised shots.
UNI trends towards the top of the Missouri Valley Conference in both offense and defense. This past year, they were second in points allowed per game, second in three-point field goal percentage (but first in three-pointers made per game), third in assist-to-turnover ratio and first in free throw percentage. So while the Panthers aren’t the tops in every category, they are in the bottom of very few.
The Panthers also had top-50 offenses in 2014 and 2015 before sliding down to 100th in the KenPom standings this past year.
The Squad
Washpun, Paul Jesperson and Matt Bohannon will leave the biggest holes on the Panther’s roster, but expect Wyatt Lohaus to play increased minutes at the point. Klint Carlson had himself a nice NCCA Tournament, average 14 points and shooting 58 percent from the field in two games. Jeremy Morgan, a 40 percent three-point shooter last year who averaged 11 points and five rebounds per game, will also be back. During the second overtime against Texas A&M, we saw Morgan’s role drastically increase with Jesperson and Wasphun fouled out, and Bohannon on the bench with an injury. Morgan played 49 of 50 minutes in the loss and tallied a double-double with 36 points and 12 rebounds.
Bennett Koch also looks to find his minutes jump, as the 6'9" forward averaged over 3.5 rebounds in less than 20 minutes played per game. A Koch-Carlson-Morgan frontcourt with Lohaus and Knar (presumably) in the backcourt is nothing to glaze over.
While I don’t anticipate incoming freshman Juwan McCloud to play many minutes (a bit of a slight frame at the moment Robert Knar a soon-to-be junior), it’s a good pickup (verbal commit) for the Panthers. McCloud had offers from Drake and Milwaukee.
The other guys coming to Cedar Falls are Tanner Lohaus (signed LOI and brother of Wyatt) and Isaiah Brown (verbal commit).
The Verdict
Structurally, nothing will change for the Panthers in the 2016–17 season. Even though Jacobson has been pondered by people covering Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh and even Wisconsin, the North Dakota native won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. And with Wichita State and Evansville losing some key seniors, as well as Drake at one of its lowest places in recent memory, the Panthers look to carry the torch for the Missouri Valley Conference with no signs of turning back.
