UNI basketball players eager to move past last year's success

NORTH LIBERTY -- From a publicity perspective, last year was a dream season for the Northern Iowa men's basketball program.

The Panthers upset No. 1 seed Kansas last year in the NCAA Tournament. Then came a Sports Illustrated cover featuring Iowa City native and UNI sharpshooter Ali Farokhmanesh. Earlier this month the school won an ESPY for Best Sports Upset at ESPN's annual awards gala.

UNI finished with 30 wins and its first Sweet 16 appearance. Now it's time to look ahead, not behind.

"We had a great run," UNI sophomore Jake Koch said. "The game was on ESPN Classic last week. We all saw it in the locker room, and we watched that joking around. The incoming freshmen, they want to be part of something like that.

"You're never going to forget a run like that. But it's a  new day. You don't live in the past. You've just got to keep working hard toward next year."

Several UNI returnees participate in the Prime Time League alongside Iowa players. Most -- outside of senior guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe and senior post Lucas O'Rear -- have stuck around Cedar Falls this summer for workouts and team-building exercises.

Sophomore guard Marc Sonnen said that developing off-the-court relationships was pivotal to last year's success. That's something  he hopes this year's team will emulate.

"We have a young group of guys, but we're always together," Sonnen said. "A lot of us do workouts two times a day and then basketball workouts on top of that. That bonding is going to help us get together like the core last year."

The Panthers must replace their top two scorers and rebounders in Jordan Eglseder and Adam Koch, and loses its best 3-pointer shooter in Farokhmanesh, the team's fourth-leading scorer. Although those players formed the core of of a team that won two consecutive Missouri Valley Conference titles -- Adam Koch was the league MVP --  the current players believe they can make strides on their own. Ahelegbe was an honorable mention all-MVC selection and O'Rear earned the league's sixth man award.

"A lot of people see that and, 'Oh, they're going to let down a little bit. They're going to bathe in it,'" said sophomore post Austin Pehl. "I think for us, it's given us more juice."

Pehl, a Cedar Falls native, is one of the younger players expect to move into a key role this year. He sat behind Eglseder and O'Rear, played in only six games last year and didn't score. He stands 6-foot-10 and could play either center or power forward. He'll figure to spell either O'Rear or Jake Koch this year.

"I'm looking to play for sure," Pehl said. "We've got some great guys ahead of me. Luke's been there for a while so maybe it's his turn to start, and Jake did really well last year. So wherever they need me, hopefully I can get in there and show them I can help the team."

UNI's unusual method of rotating players last year means more experienced players returning this fall. Six players return that averaged at least 11 minutes a game.

"Toward the end of the year we were just doing line changes, five for five," Jake Koch said. "Getting that experience was really key for the younger players. Even me, I'm going to be a sophomore, it really helped me out."

UNI likely will enter this fall considered a contender but not the automatic MVC favorite. It's a position this group of UNI players relish.

"Last year with the high expectations, we didn't really listen to it," Jake Koch said. "We knew we were a good team; we just were going to go out there and do what we do. This year, with no one really expecting us to do much, it's going to be easier now. We really don't listen to what people are saying."