Home / Sports

CEDAR FALLS – There’s a buzz around Ben Jacobson’s basketball team these days.

And why wouldn’t there be? Jacobson’s Northern Iowa Panthers lost just one letterwinner from last year’s Missouri Valley Conference champs, and the excitement around Cedar Falls is at a virtual all-time high as the first practice of 2009-10 nears on Friday.

“We’ve got a bunch of guys right now that played a lot of important minutes last year,” Jacobson said on Wednesday. “From an experience and chemistry standpoint, it’s very different from a year ago.

“The players are extremely excited. Myself and my coaching staff, we’re excited to get started on Friday, mostly because these guys have worked so hard.”

Jacobson knows Panther fans, especially, are in a fervor as the season draws near.

The fans, after all, have read the numerous preseason publications that have UNI slotted near the nation’s top 25 teams. Panther backers have also heard all summer about how first-team all-conference forward Adam Koch has bulked up to nearly 250 pounds, and how 7-foot-1 center Jordan Eglseder hit the weight room harder than ever this past off-season.

“There’s a number of (players) that made good strides,” Jacobson noted. “But I think Jordan has probably changed his body the most, and feels really good about where he’s at, from a health and conditioning standpoint. … He’s gained a lot of confidence from his workouts.

“He’s in the best shape he’s been in. That certainly sets him up to play more minutes this year.”

Eglseder averaged 10.1 points per game and shot 58.8 percent from the floor last year during UNI’s 23-win run to the NCAA Tournament. But, after returning from the famed Pete Newell Big Man Camp in August, the Bellevue native exuded self-assurance like never before.

“Going into my senior year, I knew I needed to get my footspeed and endurance up,” Eglseder, who now weighs 270, told The Courier late in the off-season. “And, to go even farther (in the postseason) than last year is motivation.”

“A number of the guys are in much better condition than they were a year ago, and stronger,” Jacobson explained. “I’ve been really impressed with how hard they’ve worked individually.”

UNI’s first practice will be held at 5 p.m. Friday at Cedar Falls’ NU High.