UNI returns to the Prime Time League

IOWA CITY - After a two-year absence, Northern Iowa men's basketball players will return to the Prime Time League this summer.

The benefits of competition coupled with a few scheduling alterations helped UNI Coach Ben Jacobson to recommit to the league.

The PTL will play on Thursdays for seven consecutive weeks beginning June 19 and ending July 31. On two different Thursdays - June 26 and July 17 - games will be held at Waterloo's Cedar Valley Sportsplex, while the remainder will be staged at the North Liberty Recreation Center. Those changes were vital for Jacobson.

'For me it was most important that we were only playing one game a week,” Jacobson said. 'That was the most important part, where our guys were making the drives just once a week as opposed to sometimes twice a week. Once it was one time a week, then we talked about the new sports plex in Waterloo. It's a great facility. It would be a great opportunity for people in our community to be able to come out and watch the Prime Time games.”

Northern Iowa players usually car pool to games in North Liberty. With tip-offs held at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., the players often left home by 4 p.m. and arrived back around 11 p.m.

The league now will field six teams. Only two current players from the same college roster can compete on the same summer squad. But new players such as freshmen and transfers can filter to any roster.

Prime Time League Director Randy Larson said UNI returning to the PTL adds value.

'No doubt about it,” Larson said. 'Because, No. 1, their players always play the right way. No. 2, they're very talented players.

'I noticed the last couple of years there was no lack of interest from the fans because every game had two or three Hawks against two or three Hawks. That's what people are coming to see. But there's no doubt what I enjoy and the fans enjoyed is Iowa vs. UNI competition in the summer. I personally enjoyed the fact that they got to know each other as teammates also.”

The league has the potential for intriguing storylines. UNI forward Seth Tuttle was a first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference player, while Iowa forward Aaron White twice was named third-team all-Big Ten. UNI guard Jeremy Morgan and Iowa guard Peter Jok were from the same recruiting class. Morgan and incoming UNI freshman Wyatt Lohaus won high school state titles at Iowa City West.

'A couple of things that I've always thought were positives with Prime Time were the competitive aspects of it,” Jacobson said. 'When you've got two Iowa players and two Northern Iowa players on each team, you get some very competitive games. It's hard to get that in the summer months.

'The other thing is it's good, especially for younger players ... those guys are playing with referees in front of a crowd and they do that seven or eight times in the summer. I think it's a real benefit for them.”

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