Ending still raw for UNI’s Tuttle

INDIANAPOLIS - Seth Tuttle was all smiles Friday afternoon, holding his 4-year-old niece, Charlee, and wearing a college basketball uniform once again.

Tuttle, a 6-foot-8 Northern Iowa senior center, participated in a college all-star game at Lucas Oil Stadium. He scored five points in a 109-87 win by his West squad. Tuttle's family surprised him with their appearance and his niece's Panthers' sweat shirt put a bow on the day.

'The season's long, it's a grind,” Tuttle said. 'To come out here and hang with these guys, it was a blast.”

It was a better ending for Tuttle than in UNI's final outing this season, a 66-53 loss to Louisville in the NCAA tournament. The Panthers arrived in Cedar Falls about 5:30 a.m. the next day. None of Tuttle's emotions that poured from the dais subsided by the time he reached his home.

'I was extremely emotional and so were a lot of the guys on our team, the coaching staff, everybody who came with us,” Tuttle said.

The scars from that loss figuratively remain visible for Tuttle. He said it hurts to watch the rest of the tournament and turned off the television when Louisville played. He has no plans to stay in Indianapolis for the Final Four and instead will head to back to Iowa to work out.

Disappointment aside, Tuttle remains proud of UNI's accomplishments. Northern Iowa earned its first top-10 ranking this year and set a school record with 31 victories. Tuttle, a Sheffield native, was named a second-team All-American after leading the Panthers in scoring (15.3), rebounds (6.8), assists (3.3) and field-goal percentage (61.6).

'I'm just trying to enjoy what we did accomplish and what I have coming up in the near future,” he said.

Next weekend Tuttle and Iowa's Gabe Olaseni are among 64 seniors slated to compete at the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational, which serves as a pre-draft camp for NBA scouts. Tuttle is sifting through possible agents and hopes to receive an invitation for the pre-NBA camp in Chicago.

'I'm going to shoot high,” he said. 'I'm going to shoot to try to make the NBA, and if I don't quite make it, I'll fall overseas. I just want to keep playing basketball wherever I can go.”

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com