“The Madness starts at the Arch!”
Every time I’ve tried to watch a UNI game on TV when they have away games there’s a commercial that about drives me to madness with the constant repetition of this phrase. Well, it’s finally that time. This weekend, March 3 through the 6 in Saint Louis, all of the men’s basketball teams in the Missouri Valley Conference will be competing in the Arch Madness Tournament.
Now, we've discussed how basketball is life, except that's mainly from a fan's point of view. So what about basketball from the player's perspective?
We see them on the court every Wednesday and Saturday. We see them play, we cheer them on, we know that they are part of the excellent program that is Northern Iowa Basketball. The basketball court, for them, is more than just a stage to perform on. Basketball is more than just a game.
Ted Friedman, a sophomore center, put it simply, saying, "It brings me joy and I just love going out and competing on the court."
Besides learning the game of basketball and finding joy within it, some players have found that it's taught them a lot more.
“[It’s] taught me a lot of life lessons and it’s something I just love to do. It’s something that I wake up and think about and something I just want to continue to get better at,” senior guard Matt Bohannon said.
For senior guard Wes Washpun, basketball is a door for opportunities as well as a family affair. “It’s given me an opportunity to get an education. It’s important to my family," he said. "All my entire family has played basketball growing up. It’s kind of a family activity whenever we get together.”
Family seems to be an apparent theme within the UNI basketball program. The easiest one to point out would be the Koch brothers. Sophomore forward Bennett Koch said, “I had two older brothers growing up, they were very successful at basketball, so having two older brothers like that, they were my idols. I wanted to be like them and as I started playing I realized how how much fun it was and how it was not just fun to play, but it kind of built who I am. Helped me find character, I guess. Become a good person, helping teammates out and that kind of stuff.”
In 2015, UNI beat Illinois State to win it all in the MVC championship. This year Northern Iowa stands near the middle of the conference, hanging out above Indiana State, Missouri State, Loyola, Bradley, and Drake, according to the Missouri Valley Conference website. Admittedly, the road to Arch Madness hasn’t been the easiest this year for the Panthers, even though the season started off with huge wins like the victory over North Carolina (which was ranked number one at the time).
When asked, the North Carolina game was collectively one of the Panthers’ favorite games of the season.
“It was one of the moments I will never forget for the rest of my life,” said Washpun.
“Having the sold out crowd and being about to be part of the court storm and all that kind of stuff, beating the number one team in the country. It was just a really cool day, really cool for our community and I’m really glad to be a part of,” said Bohannon.
They also took down Iowa State (which was ranked number five and was undefeated at the time) early in the season. And, despite their loss in McLeod against the Shockers, UNI took down #25 ranked Wichita State on Wichita State's home turf, the Charles Koch Arena, snapping the Shocker's home winning streak. But scattered among big wins were close and decisive losses.
Bohannon said, “Losing some games isn’t always the most fun and that’s probably been the most challenging is getting everyone to buy into the little things and realize that not everything’s going to go right, not everything’s going to be perfect, but you just have to know at this point there’s more than one play in a game.”
The Panthers seemed to struggle with away games, yet excel at home games. Their longest losing streak was four games, all of which were incredibly close and started off with a good, if not great first half.
Friedman said, “just keep working every single day, just get in the gym, keep at it. As long as you’re working hard things are going to come, so things are going to be better, so keep working.”
But there are challenges that face players on and off the court.
Koch’s challenge was a herniated disk in his back, “It’s feeling great right now... I had to overcome that earlier in the season.” He was able to work through it, saying, “It was a lot of work getting into the training room, making sure I do all my exercises, do all the things I’m supposed to do, get on a different kind of schedule. And my teammates have really helped me, encourage me, give me confidence.”
For freshman center Justin Dahl, the challenge was adjusting to playing against guys his size. “In high school I’d go against guys 6’3,” 6’4,” so it was pretty easy to get the ball, keep it above my head and no one could really do anything. Here, you do that, you’re going to get swatted out of the gym.”
With Arch Madness this weekend, the team hoped to improve and move on from their losses. These ranged from daily improvement, harder play, intensity, and lots of fun.
“I really feel we got the pieces to make a run come March,” said Bohannon.
And they certainly did, with a six game winning streak and wins for the last three games of the regular season.
“Well, I think you can expect us as a team to start playing a lot better. Personally, I guess I need to work on playing harder, keeping a positive attitude if things don’t go well. And for the team, I think we need to start playing harder,” Koch said.
Dahl had the most optimistic response, saying, “The Missouri Valley is very competitive and I think the Panthers will win it all, but should be a lot of close games and a lot of fun.”
But there’s something about the UNI basketball program that set it apart for each of these players and drew them in.
Bohannon said, “We’re unselfish. We’re all about the next man. That’s one of the reasons that drew me to UNI, is the fact that when I stepped on campus everyone cared about each other. Everyone wanted everyone to succeed and it’s just been a really cool opportunity to be a part of something really special like that.”
“I would say our camaraderie and how close we are together as a group. On and off the court we’re just always there for each other,” Washpun said.
Other than how the team interacts with each other, game play was also key.
For Friedman, the “defensive presence and our mindset” interested him. “We just going out every single game and we make sure that no one scores on us and we’re going to be better than the other team on any given night.”
The UNI basketball team proves itself to be a force to be reckoned with on game day. For example, UNI has remained undefeated against number one seeds. “It proves that we play against anyone anywhere. It doesn’t matter if you believe in us, we believe in ourselves,” said Koch.
“In big games we come to play. …When it comes down to it, if we need to get the win we can pull it through,” said Dahl.
We all know them as outstanding basketball players that represent the university. They work hard, play hard, and are probably best recognized as a team. But an important question was asked: “What would you like Panther Nation to know about you as a person?”
Friedman said, “I’m just a hardworking guy that’s just trying to have fun playing the game of basketball that he loves.”
Dahl said, “I’m very outgoing. If you ever want to talk to me or get to know me, feel free, I guess.” And in true UNI fashion, he added, “And support the Panthers!”
The thing that we probably forget as fans is that they are people too. They aren’t some sort of basketball gods that just tower over everyone (yes, their height was intimidating. I mean, I’m 5’8” and I felt short when interviewing them).
Koch put it best, saying, “There’s more to me than basketball. I don’t know, is that cheesy?”
As cheesy as it is, it’s true.
Currently the Panthers are 11-7 in conference play and 19-12 overall. The Missouri Valley Conference Arch Madness Tournament will be held March 3 thru the 6 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Information for MVC standings, stats, tickets, and hotel information can be found here.
And, I would like to point out, even though this article is chock full of action shots of the basketball guys, there's actually an action shot of me reporting thrown in there. Because like basketball, reporting is pretty exhilarating in its own right.
All action shot photos courtesy and copyright Michael Dunlop. Team photo courtesy UNI Men's Basketball.
To keep updated with the UNI Men's Basketball team you can follow them on twitter: @UNImbb. They do an outstanding job of live tweeting games and updates.
You can also follow all UNI athletics through their website and YouTube channel.
And, if you want to get the game from the student perspective, you can also follow the Panther Pep Crew on twitter: @PantherPepCrew.
