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#29 Northern Iowa
Panthers
Missouri Valley
Conference
2004-05: 21-11, 11-7,
4th
2004-05 postseason:
NCAA
By
Joel Welser
All five starters
return for Northern Iowa,
but John Little is the lone returning experienced threat off the
bench. However, there is talent coming in and a few players who
spent last year way down on the depth chart are talented enough
to make an impact.
Who’s Out:
Chris Foster was usually the first off the bench and averaged
5.8 points and a team high 2.9 assists. Foster didn’t start most
of the time but did earn more minutes per game than the starting
point guard Brooks McKowen, so Foster’s absence will be felt.
The backcourt also loses Pete Schmit who averaged 6.3 minutes in
26 contests. Jon Godfread was a decent option off the bench last
year under the basket. Godfread averaged 1.8 points and 1.5
boards during his senior campaign. Little used Tyler Griffin and
Vince Polakovic have also wrapped up their careers in Cedar
Falls.
Who’s In:
There aren’t any highly touted
newcomers, but they all have the ability to fill a role for
Coach Greg McDermott’s squad. Point guard Michael Williams will
be a suitable replacement for the departing Chris Foster. The
5-9 transfer from Hutchinson (KS) Community College has the
experience to step in off the bench and immediately contribute.
Freshmen Travis Brown, Mason Stewart and Brian Haak will find it
difficult to find too many minutes in the talented backcourt.
Who to Watch:
All the starters will be a joy to
watch. The frontcourt has Erik Coleman and Grant Stout who both
had surprising campaigns last year and should continue to
improve. The only question is the health of Coleman, who had
elbow surgery over the offseason. The elbow will be fine, but it
might affect the sophomore’s development. The backcourt has a
solid playmaker in Brooks McKowen and the dynamic scoring duo of
Erik Crawford and Ben Jacobson. It is Jacobson who will once
again lead the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament. Jacobson
averaged 17.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals
per contest last year and will only get better for his final
season at UNI. The 6-3 Sioux City native is a tremendous outside
shooter hitting over 45% of his shots from beyond the arc.
Projected
Conference Rank:
Creighton and Southern Illinois
will have something to say about it, but Northern Iowa is ready
to take over the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference. A 1st
place finish in the MVC will earn the Panthers a nice seed on
Selection Sunday and they have the talent to make some noise
come tourney time. The only issue is the depth, but the
newcomers should have that worked out relatively soon. If they
don’t, the end of the year could be very tiresome for the
Panthers and their fans.
Projected
Post-season Tournament:
NCAA
Projected Starting
Five:
Brooks McKowen,
Junior, Guard, 3.4 points per game
Ben Jacobson, Senior,
Guard, 17.9 points per game
Erik Crawford, Senior,
Guard, 13.3 points per game
Grant Stout, Junior,
Forward, 11.2 points per game
Eric Coleman,
Sophomore, Center, 10.7 points per game
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