UNI basketball welcomes (another) Lohaus, McCloud

CEDAR FALLS — The Northern Iowa men's basketball team has a tradition of family under Coach Ben Jacobson, and that continued Wednesday on Signing Day for college hoops' early period.

The Panthers officially welcomed Iowa City West forward Tanner Lohaus and Germantown, Wis. (Germantown H.S.) guard Juwan McCloud into the fold, and Jacobson was clearly excited about what the two will bring for the future.

Lohaus joins his older brother Wyatt, making them the second set of brothers to (eventually) get to play together for UNI, following Adam and Jake Koch. He marks yet another in a long line of former Iowa Barnstormers, as well as former Trojans to end up in Cedar Falls.

'We obviously saw him when he was young at Iowa City West and coming up through the Barnstormers program. And then we got to know Wyatt and their family through the recruiting process with him, which gives us a better start to that recruiting relationship,' Jacobson said. 'But a bigger part was just getting to see him play. Just watching him develop and watching his game improve.

'As a freshman and sophomore, he was 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3 at that time, and now he's 6-foot-7. He worked hard and got better at basketball, and his body changed. He's a different guy than he was a couple years ago, and that excites us.'

The two Lohauses may be from the same family and may have won a state championship together in 2013-14 for the Trojans, but their games have become very different.

Tanner's size and ability come together to make him more diverse defensively than his older brother, in that he can play in different spots on the floor. That, in combination with his skill, was ultimately what convinced Jacobson and his staff.

As for McCloud, who will be one of now two Wisconsin kids on the roster, the way he was described by his future coach sounds a lot like the Panthers' current point guard.

'Tanner's versatility at both ends of the floor really caught our attention. I feel like his development is going to be really fun to be a part of. I like the fact that he can guard three or four positions and that he can impact the game on offense in a number of different ways,' Jacobson said. 'Juwan is a true point guard. He's got a great sense and a great feel for the flow of the game. He's got great timing when it comes to passing. He's got the ability to make the game easier for his teammates. And he can get his own shot. When he's got the ball in his hands, it just feels like something good is about to happen.

'We're excited about both those guys.'

As a junior, Lohaus averaged 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists and earned second-team all-Mississippi Valley Conference honors. McCloud led Germantown H.S. to the Division I state championship game as a junior. He averaged 16.7 points per game as Germantown posted a mark of 27-1.

The two signees will be on campus for their first year in the 2016-17 school year, which will be UNI's first season without Wes Washpun, Matt Bohannon and Paul Jesperson. The Panthers are obviously still young as a roster, but both Tanner Lohaus and McCloud will be helping fill some vital roles on the team.

It's hard to tell specifically what those will be, but based on potential, Jacobson said their roles should be big.

'It's that way with most, if not all young guys in terms of their best basketball being ahead of them, but both of these guys, when you look at them, they have that tall, rangy body type. Those are the guys, as they start to get stronger and start to get older, they'll both have a high skill level,' Jacobson said. 'They can change a lot in terms of improvement and the way they impact the game. Both Juwan and Tanner are going to have a tremendous impact on our program.'

Tanner also is a rising star for Iowa City West on the baseball diamond, and baseball interest has picked up on the senior as well.

Jacobson isn't at all nervous about that at this point, but said if a situation arose where Lohaus got a call from the MLB Draft, they'd discuss it. He's not concerned, though, because he believes Lohaus is all-in on the Panthers.

'Tanner has made the decision and has obviously been real up front with us that he's committed to playing basketball and that this is what he wants to do,' Jacobson said. 'If there was something down the road that happened, we'd sit down and Tanner and I would talk about it. But he's told us he's 100 percent committed to playing basketball, and I know that he is.'

Thrilled to officially welcome November 11, 2015

Thrilled to officially welcome @juwanmccloud & @T_Buckets33 to the Panther Hoops Family! pic.twitter.com/dx2oU8V9La

— Ben Jacobson (@CoachJake_UNI)

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