Lohaus’ competitiveness solidifies role at UNI

CEDAR FALLS - As the only true freshman on the Northern Iowa men's basketball team, former Iowa City West standout Wyatt Lohaus had a lot to prove to his team, his coach and himself if he wanted to see the floor right away.

From the time he stepped on campus to now, he went from prepared but unproven to a solid contributor for the Panthers (11-2, 0-1 Missouri Valley Conference).

'He came in here as ready as any of the freshmen we've had here,” said Coach Ben Jacobson. 'From a competitive standpoint, he does everything at such a high level that he has himself prepared for all situations. I think that's the main reason why he's been able to impact our team this year as a true freshman, because he prepares himself so well.”

Lohaus hasn't seen consistent minutes all season coming off the bench, but as performed well when given extended time.

He's averaging 4.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game while playing the fewest minutes of the regular rotation players. His 11 points in the second game against Stephen F. Austin are his season and career high, but he's brought more than points or rebounds to the team.

He isn't sweating the minutes situation, either. That's the product of a deep and talented bench, he said. And he knows his time could - and likely will - come down the road where he's playing 35-40 minutes per night as the go-to player.

'All of us guys know this is what happens when you play on a deep team,” Lohaus said. 'Some nights you might get more minutes, other nights other guys are hot or playing well and you might not get as many minutes. But that's part of it. That's what comes with being on a good team. I wouldn't trade more minutes for a worse team. I'm happy with what we have. We just have to trust (Jacobson) and trust each other. I think that's something we're doing really well right now.”

His contributions in practice, Jacobson said, are more than a 'do your job”-type role. The competitiveness that helped guide the Trojans to those three straight state titles came with him to Cedar Falls and has helped him legitimize himself with his teammates and coaches.

Lohaus obviously still has room to improve, but his coach believes that chief quality will bring everything else along much quicker than it might for others.

'He approaches every drill at practice in the same manner he approaches everything on game night. It's had a real impact on the rest of our guys and on our team,” Jacobson said. 'From that standpoint he's had the biggest impact. The rest of it, he's one of those guys who just has to get out there and play. He's one of those guys where he's going to pick things up and do things a little better with game experience.

'I love what he's doing at both ends of the floor and how he competes. Now it's just a matter of him playing games and getting experience.”

Lohaus said 'it took a little while, and more so in practice than in games,” for him to get comfortable with the college game.

He got to campus in the summer, and both he and Jacobson said his first 30 or so days weren't great. But after that, he settled in and got adjusted. His level of confidence inside Jacobson's system and his confidence as the youngest guy on the roster improved steadily, and much like how Jacobson hopes he'll improve going forward, only time made his confidence and comfortability improve.

His and his teammates confidence will need a rebound after the 52-49 conference-opening loss to Evansville on Thursday. It's going to take that dose of fire and determination he's shown so far to help the Panthers get back on the winning track.

'The best thing he can do is what he's done to this point in terms of being competitive and highly aggressive,” Jacobson said. 'And in that, with being young, he's going to make some mistakes, but his best quality is his competitiveness and an aggressive spirit. That's going to do him and his teammates a lot of good going forward.”

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