Carlson’s contributions key for UNI

CEDAR FALLS — The Northern Iowa men's basketball team was always going to have to be a bit patient with its inside game this season.

After losing Seth Tuttle, Marvin Singleton and Nate Buss, the experience gap was wide between them and Bennett Koch, Ted Friedman and Klint Carlson. The latter three have had their ups and downs this season, but the more and more each play, the more confidence and ability grow.

That's been most evident through 17 games with Carlson. His 7.3 points per game leads the big men, as do his 3.8 rebounds. He's played his way onto the floor through consistency and by affecting the game in multiple ways. As UNI tries to string two wins together Wednesday night against Indiana State, Carlson's increasing influence on the floor could play a pivotal role.

'He's got a lot of versatility, so we can play him at the power forward and keep Bennett or Ted in the game,' said Coach Ben Jacobson. 'And then we can play him at the five and spread the floor a little more and he can do some things — make a shot or drive it — at the center position that will allow us to spread the floor. He's got some toughness to him. He's got a chip on his shoulder.

'That's good for our defense, that's good for our rebounding — regardless of what spot he's at — he brings that to the table. Both of those things are good for us.'

The chip on Carlson's shoulder has almost everything to do with where he comes from, he said.

The Waverly native's Class 3A roots aren't shared by a ton of Division I players. So many come from cities or metropolitan areas, therefore are often considered more battle-tested and often are higher ranked in recruiting circles. Carlson feeds off that underdog status and it's accelerated his growth.

'A bunch of these guys that I play and then some of my teammates, they're from 4A schools. I'm from Waverly(-Shell Rock) — not as big, but still a great program. I just want to show these big city guys that I can play well,' Carlson said. 'I'm getting more minutes, so obviously the more comfortable I get. This is really the first year since high school I've played a lot of minutes. It's also that my teammates, they believe in me. They're giving me confidence and talking me up. They're giving me the ball; they trust me and I trust them. It's going well right now.'

Carlson is fifth on the team in scoring and average minutes, though he's played in three less games than the other key contributors for the Panthers.

His three-game suspension that began the season after an off-season OWI charge also has played a part in the product Carlson has become. As much as he has a chip on his shoulder from proving to everyone someone from a smaller school can be just as effective as anyone, he also got the memo on how he needs to carry himself if he's going to have a chance to prove it.

'I made that big mistake in the off-season, so I really had to sit down and look at myself — look at myself in the mirror and ask what type of guy I want to be; what type of player I want to be on and off the court,' Carlson said. 'Those first couple games I had to sit out, they're just eating at my soul. I'm sitting there watching my teammates go out there and battle, and I couldn't do anything but practice. That really made me think about who I want to be.

'With more playing time, I've just got to keep it going, how I want to be. That's walking around with a little more confidence, not getting down on myself so easily, knowing if I make a bad play that I can come back and be a player my teammates need me to be and the coaching staff needs me to be.'

What the Panthers (10-7, 2-2 Missouri Valley Conference) need him to be is someone who can score from multiple parts of the floor and rebound with effectiveness.

Jacobson said Monday he wants to see Koch capitalize on good things as they happen, building on his condfience; that he wants Friedman to be more physical and aggressive — 'I said, 'Well go ahead and get (an offensive foul),'' Jacobson said about Friedman — and for Carlson to shoot a little more.

Carlson is just 3 for 16 from 3-point range this season, but Jacobson said he wants to see Carlson shoot more from beyond the arc because of what he's seen from the sophomore in practice.

Whatever the contributions, UNI needs them from the big men — and Carlson specifically — to beat Indiana State and turn around an uneven start to MVC play.

'Lately I've been getting the ball inside and I've been rolling with it. It's not so much that I feel like I need to step inside because I know Ted and Bennett can do what we need them to do in there,' Carlson said. 'In the preseason I was shooting the ball a lot in practice. But now, I don't know what it is. I guess I'm going back to how I played in high school. I didn't really shoot that many 3s in high school. I like to get to the rim and build that confidence putting the ball in the hoop. Even dishing out to our shooters.

'My stroke feels good. Maybe if Coach Jake says I need to shoot more, maybe I will.'

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