CEDAR FALLS, Ia. — Glimpses of the future have been in abundance.
With three senior starters departed from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad and Wyatt Lohaus (ankle) rendered ineffective much of this season, Northern Iowa's current crop of freshmen has been asked to grow up fast.
“Quick,” freshman point guard Juwan McCloud said. “We got tossed into the fire ASAP.”
The Panthers aren’t typically a program that heavily leans on first-year players, but McCloud, Brown and redshirt freshman Spencer Haldeman have all spent time in the starting lineup. It's the first time three freshmen have done so in the same season during Ben Jacobson’s 11-year tenure.