Nicholas Baer's 'immeasurable' influence on display again for Iowa

DES MOINES — It's easy to appreciate the way Nicholas Baer plays basketball.

It's not flashy. It doesn't necessarily fill the highlight reel — save for his one-handed dunk against Stetson. It's not what teams would presumably have to focus on in terms of game-planning against.

It does get the job done. It does fill the stat sheet. It does provide something vital and tangible off the bench for an Iowa team that has, at many times this season, needed a driving force to do the dirty work.

In the Hawkeyes' 69-46 stifling of Northern Iowa on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena, Baer showed again why he's endeared himself so well to his coaches, his teammates and Iowa fans. He finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds (four offensive), three assists and two blocks.

'He's just an incredibly valuable person, in so many ways, that manifests itself on the floor,' Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said after Saturday's game. 'You want Nicholas Baer to influence young guys. Everybody in that locker room respects what he does and the way that influences the confidence level of everyone else is immeasurable. I'm just glad he plays for us.'

Baer, as a redshirt sophomore, has been around long enough to have a role as a leader in the locker room, and McCaffery's point about what he does in that regard is well taken by his teammates. The Bettendorf grad raises the level of play for the Hawkeyes (6-5) in that 'if he's doing that, I can too,' kind of way.

He's every bit apart of what Iowa hopes to bring to the floor, even if he's not the one on which they most rely.

His teammates know what they're getting in Baer every day, every game. Having that kind of consistency and effect is what earned him playing time in the first place, and eventually his scholarship.

'We understand that he's going to bring it when he's on the floor,' Cordell Pemsl said. 'He's never not going 100 percent. He kind of makes us want to go harder, too. He shows us that we have another notch. When he gets an offensive board or a steal or a breakaway layup, that just gets the entire bench, the entire team going.'

Every player would love to start the game, and those who say differently probably aren't telling the 100 percent truth.

Like anyone with a chance to come in the game, Baer relishes a chance to come in and pick up wherever the guy he replaced left off. Baer said after the game that 'all championship-level teams play defense and they rebound,' and all those teams have one or two guys who go after the loose balls or dive out of bounds with no regard to personal safety.

Maybe it's a cliché, but Baer is that guy.

'I don't think I change my mentality, starting or coming off the bench. I just know whenever I go into the game I try to impact the game with my energy,' Baer said. 'I try to be a good teammate for everyone on the floor.'

His play and its impact on what Iowa is able to do force him onto the floor. Baer's player efficiency rating and plus/minus are routinely among the top three players for the Hawkeyes every game out.

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McCaffery has said as much about a few different players in the past, but not a ton. His regard for what Baer brings to the game is clear.

Baer's game came up big again Saturday night.

'Every time he's on the bench, I'm thinking, 'How can I get him back in?'' McCaffery said. 'We've all seen him go to exhaustion and that's why we have to take him out. He has an incredible ability to come off the bench and have an impact right away. A lot of guys need touches, they need to get up and down; they need to bang around a little bit. He goes right in and executes.'

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