Washpun into the forefront as MVC Player of the Week

CEDAR FALLS — At least for the time being, it's Wes Washpun's world, and we're all just living in it.

The Cedar Rapids Washington grad and Northern Iowa point guard was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Monday morning. It set in ink how good his 28 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds were in the Panthers' 81-79 win against Iowa State in the Big Four Classic.

After the game, Washpun only offered, 'to be honest, I don't feel like I sent a message either way.'

Well, the Missouri Valley Conference sent it for him, then.

Washpun affected the game against the Cyclones in every phase he could. He was 9 of 14 from the field, 2 of 4 from 3-point range and 8 of 10 from the free throw line. Of those 14 field goals he attempted, 10 were jump shots and four were layups attacking the rim. In the first half, he only went to the rim once for a shot, and was fouled — on a shot that very nearly turned into an and-1.

His drive and kicks resulted in assists on seven 3-pointers by teammates, which is the exact flow of offense the Panthers (7-3) — who are receiving votes in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches polls — want to get. He only came off the court for roughly 30 seconds of game time Saturday night, and of those 39.5 minutes he played, he held the ball well more than half the time UNI had offensive possession.

At least when asked by media, Washpun prefers to defer to his teammates and coaches when asked about what he's able to do on the court, and how he affects the game in different ways.

But his coach, Ben Jacobson, was more than happy to heap praise on the fifth-year senior for his work on becoming a more well-rounded player for UNI. He was far from a good jump shooter at Washington, but has come a long, long way.

'He put in a ton of time. Our guys have got all kinds of freedom to play offense, and therefore they play with confidence,' Jacobson said. 'This summer and fall, Wes put in a lot of time shooting jump shots so he could have a first half like he had (against Iowa State). He knows the way people are going to guard him, and they aren't going to want him driving to the front of the rim. He put in a lot of time shooting jump shots, and it paid off for him.'

Saturday obviously wasn't the first time Washpun took over a game for UNI, and it wasn't the first time he was the catalyst to the Panthers' success. He has seemingly saved his best for UNI's biggest.

Washpun was pretty important in the first upset of a top-five team, scoring 21 points and adding eight assists in the 71-67 win against then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 21. He was pretty important with 16 points last season in a win at home against then-No. 12 Wichita State.

He's also transformed into a leader and person his teammates and coaches can rely on.

'Just the way he is approaching his preparation and the way he's leading our team (is vital),' Jacobson said. 'He's always been able to do things with the basketball, but now he's doing everything else.'

Maybe the MVC Player of the Week honor is enough to assure everyone how talented a point guard Washpun is.

Maybe holding one of the best point guards in the country, Monte Morris, to eight points on 3 of 10 shooting is enough.

It's not all perfect — Washpun had six turnovers against the Cyclones, and averages 3.3 turnovers per game — and his coach won't let him sit idle. For Jacobson, all the proof needed is in Washpun's 16.5 points, 6.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.

'I think the way he's played so far through 10 games would go more towards answering that question (of if he sent a message),' Jacobson said. 'He had a big performance against North Carolina, he had a big performance (against ISU). He's got some things he needs to clean up, so I think he can still play better.'

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