Jesperson returns to form for UNI

CEDAR FALLS - Missouri Valley Conference play hadn't been kind to Paul Jesperson before Tuesday night's 63-52 win at Bradley.

He hadn't shot well, and his minutes had dwindled as a result.

But Tuesday night was a return to what Northern Iowa fans had gotten used to seeing from the 6-foot-6 red-shirt junior. He was back in the regular rotation and finished 3 of 4 from the field - all 3 pointers - for nine points and added two rebounds in 18 minutes.

'It feels pretty good just to see the ball go in the hoop a couple times,” Jesperson said. 'Deon (Mitchell) and Wes (Washpun) did a tremendous job of getting in the lane and finding people, so I had the easy part of just knocking them down.

'Hopefully they keep going in like that, it's a good feeling.”

It wasn't just a food feeling for Jesperson, either.

After he hit his first 3-pointer in the first half, Coach Ben Jacobson gave a hearty fist pump and a wide smile for a young man who'd had by far his roughest stretch in his first season as a Panther. His teammates, too, stood and cheered him, clearly excited for him to get back to the role he's been tasked to fill.

Since a 4 of 8 shooting, 10-point performance on Dec. 28 against South Dakota State, Jesperson had been a combined 0 of 5 with no points in the first four MVC games. A 75 percent shooting day was enough to erase that and restore some of the confidence he might've lost.

'It certainly lifts a guy up, there's no question,” Jacobson said. 'In Paul's case, after the first four league games, where he'd played so well in the non-league games, to have a game like this I think will really lift him up.”

It's impossible to go through a stretch like that and not have doubt enter a person's mind.

Jesperson felt that, but didn't let it get him down completely. Instead, it drove him.

'Obviously it's something that always tries to creep up in the back of your mind, but I just tried to get up a ton of shots and get with the coaches to get some extra work and watch some film,” Jesperson said. 'That stuff helps a lot. Tonight that was a reflection of the hard work.”

Jacobson saw the work firsthand, even after games on gameday.

The No. 22 Panthers' (15-2, 4-1 MVC) head coach told a story in postgame media availability about just such an occasion.

He hadn't talked about Jesperson's struggles extensively during the stretch, and maintained his notion that the guard was going to be vital for UNI as the conference season goes on.

'After one of our games - I might've been the Drake game on Saturday. We got back, I ran into do something real quick on the floor, and I was getting ready to leave and he came in with his basketball and one of the managers at probably 6 o'clock, 7 o'clock - whenever we got back from Drake - drug the manager in there. I don't know how long he spent in there, but he was in there working,” Jacobson said. 'He's just like that. He's built that way. I'm proud of him that he's played less minutes, but it hasn't changed his routine and being ready. He's important for our team and he showed that again (against Bradley).”

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