On April 3, 2001, Greg McDermott was named head men's basketball coach at his alma-mater. Upon hiring McDermott, Rick Hartzell, UNI's athletic director, had this to say: “I have been able to hire over 40 head coaches during my time as a director of athletics,” Hartzell said. “Never have I had anyone come more highly recommended than Greg. People consider him an up-and-coming superstar in the coaching profession. On top of that, he is a Panther through and through and we needed that pedigree in this position in the worst way. I am positive that Greg will be a great head coach for the Panthers.” In his first two seasons, McDermott has taken over a program that won only 30 games the previous three years; he is now only five wins away from topping that mark. This is very impressive considering McDermott took over a senior-laden team in 2001, and then in 2002, with only 25 ppg of production from the remaining cast, won double digit games for the second year in a row. The expectations for the 2003-04 season are high and many feel that this season could be one of the greatest UNI has ever seen. The pieces of the puzzle are together as UNI returns all five starters, and the bench runs as deep as it has in a long time. UNI not only has a great freshmen class coming in, but it also has quality transfers that become eligible for the 2003 season. Erik Crawford started all but 3 games as a freshman for the Bowling Green State Univ. team that went to the NIT. Adam Salow started half of the games as a freshman for South Alabama, before trasfering back to his home state to suit up for the Panthers. Keyonn Tutt, transfer from Lincoln Trail C.C. and projected starting point guard before the 2002 season, has come back from knee surgery and is ready to go. Erik and Adam have three years of eligibilty left, as Keyonn has only two. With UNI losing their two big men after this season (Gruber and Schneiderman), the preparation has begun to find their heirs to the paint. However, the guard core will not graduate one member, and will be very experienced for the 2004-05 basketball season. The pieces are in place to make a very nice run for the next few years in the best mid-major conference in the country: The Missouri Valley Conference.
Websites of Interest
UNI 2004-05 Schedule
UNI Recruiting Info (Page5)
MVC Website
UNI Athletic website
The Panther Nation
MVC message board
UNI over Iowa 2001(DM Register)
UNI over Iowa 2001(WCF Courier)
UNI over No. 24 Iowa 2003 (DM Register)
