Familiarity breeds respect for Iowa, UNI

IOWA CITY - Iowa's familiarity with the Northern Iowa men's basketball program breeds nothing but respect.

Players from both squads compete five weeks each summer in the North Liberty-based Prime Time League, and the teams are mixed with Hawkeyes and Panthers. Some of the players were friends in high school or played AAU team basketball together in Eastern Iowa. But that won't make Tuesday's game any less competitive.

“We get to know each other a little bit more, on the same team at times,” Iowa senior guard Matt Gatens said. “I played with (Matt) Morrison a couple of times, (Johnny) Moran last year. It's fun to get to know them.

“But for those 40 minutes you strap it on, you're not thinking about that. You just want to beat them.”

The teams' familiarity extends beyond the PTL as well. Iowa freshman guard Josh Oglesby (Cedar Rapids Washington) and UNI freshman forward Seth Tuttle (West Fork) played with one another on the Iowa Barnstormers' AAU basketball team. Tuttle has raised eyebrows with his play this year, averaging 8.1 points and grabbing a team-high 5.3 rebounds a game. Oglesby has provided a lift off the Iowa bench with 7.9 points a game and hitting 42.4 percent from 3-point range. UNI red-shirt freshmen Max Martino (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) and Nate Buss (Charles City) also were Barnstormers.

UNI freshman guard Matt Bohannon and Iowa red-shirt walk-on Darius Stokes were teammates at Linn-Mar. Morrison, a sophomore, led Solon to a state title in basketball, one year after Gatens did it 10 miles south at Iowa City High.

“With a lot of Iowa guys, (there's) a lot of pride on the line, especially with a team like UNI that has had a lot of success,” Gatens said. “It's a big deal, not only for myself but this team.

“You know them pretty well; they know us pretty well. It's going to be fun.”

While the players know one another personally and some of their tendencies on the court, it will have little to do with who wins at Cedar Falls. Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said each team's scouting report is so detailed that neither team will need to rely on PTL data during the game.

“Whenever we play anybody, there's so much tape on our team,” McCaffery said. “Nobody comes into a game not knowing exactly what our players do, and we don't go into any game not knowing exactly what they do. So the fact they play against each other in the summer, I don't think has any bearing.”

McCaffery is more concerned with stopping UNI guard Anthony James, who leads the Panthers with 14 points a game. James is second on the team in assists and third in rebounding.

“He can really score,” McCaffery said. “He can do it in a variety of different ways. He can get his own. He can do screens. He can shoot the 3. He can hit the pull-up. He can get it to the rim. He's got explosive athletic ability. He's crafty. He's a handful. He's a guy that I think when you look at that team, you'd better pay attention to him.”