Hlas column: O'Rear always in gear for Panthers

ST. LOUIS - You can't manufacture fan-favorites. The public decides who deserves its affection.

On a 27-4 Northern Iowa men's basketball team full of players beloved to their followers, the people's choice is Lucas O'Rear.

Not everyone who likes this sport can realistically picture themselves dunking, or routinely drilling 3-pointers. But it's easy to connect with the guy who plays with passion every moment he's on the court. Don't we all think that's how we'd play if given the chance?

O'Rear played his typical high-energy game Saturday. He was a big part of a huge effort by the Panthers' bench in their 57-40 dismantling of Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament semifinals.

The purple-clads weren't booing in the Scotttrade Center were chanting “Luuuuuuke,” just like they do so often in UNI's McLeod Center.

It was nothing new, but O'Rear's wresting of loose balls produced smiles from the UNI players on the sideline Saturday. Starting center Jordan Eglseder clearly takes delight watching the performance of his backup.

O'Rear's fairly modest numbers (4.3 points, 4.6 rebounds a game) don't suggest award-winning of any kind, but he's the two-time MVC Sixth Man Award winner. You watch UNI play, and you realize the voters got it right. This 6-foot-6, 255-pound junior quickly wins you over with his passion and basketball smarts.

O'Rear had steals on two consecutive Bradley possessions in the second half. I asked him later if steals is his favorite statistic. Not even close. His stat of choice isn't even a stat, other than on a coach's chart.

“Screens,” O'Rear said. “Oh yeah. You can hit somebody and you don't get a foul for it as long as they're not set.”

Last month, Panther point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe said he felt sorry for the players who guard him because they have to deal with running into O'Rear. Saturday, UNI guard Ali Farokhmanesh offered this:

“It's really fun playing with Lucas. You know if you're setting up a ball screen, you're probably going to get open.

“Also, you know he's going to give his A-effort every night. Night in and night out. Doesn't matter what's going on, he's always going to be there. He's a guy you can definitely trust on a basketball court.”

The man with a green shamrock tattooed on a forearm and mutton chop sideburns doesn't look at setting picks as a necessary chore, but as something to savor.

“It takes a lot of practice,” O'Rear said. “It doesn't come natural.

“Getting a guy open is what I want first of all. Planting somebody is just a bonus.”

But don't pigeonhole this guy as a burly brute. He's a good passer. He has 35 assists and just 21 turnovers, a great ratio for a big guy. He has keen instincts and reflexes, and he's a lot quicker than you'd guess by just looking at him.

No single play was a backbreaker for Bradley Saturday. UNI scored four seconds into the game and quickly tore away, thanks in large part to a bench that scored 25 points and defended at a first-team level.

But a moment that stuck out was when the Panthers were playing for the last shot of the first-half and O'Rear had the ball near center-court, dribbling. His teammates cleared out of the way. An isolation play for the big guy? Really? Really.

O'Rear worked the clock down, then drove for a score with nine-tenths of a second left in the half for a 36-19 Panthers lead.

“He played so hard and without any fear,” UNI Coach Ben Jacobson said.

“I don't know if I know everything that motivates that guy. ... He's tuned in all the time and cranked up all the time.”

For the second-straight year, UNI can have a championship Sunday here and on CBS. Maybe O'Rear can get an “Oh my!” out of Dick Enberg today. You know he'll try.