Northern Iowa, Charismatic Lucas O'Rear Looking to Recapture NCAA Magic

Out of sight, out of mind? Selective memory? Or is it what have you done for me lately, Northern Iowa?

"It's kind of weird because it's like people really don't remember last year," Northern Iowa power forward/enforcer/professional baseball pitcher Lucas O'Rear told FanHouse.

"When we were in Las Vegas (for iBN Las Vegas Championship) people were saying we had to be excited to play a team like Indiana. We were like, 'We've been here before. It was just last year when we made our run.' It's like people have kind of forgotten about it.

"But I guess it was last year's team."

For the record, O'Rear, a March Madness icon known for his colorful personality, high energy and thick, mutton-chop sideburns, helped UNI upset NCAA tournament favorite and top-ranked Kansas on way to a Cinderella Sweet 16 run in March.

Never before had the Panthers played the nation's top-ranked team, much less beaten it. Never before had they played into the NCAA's Sweet 16.

While the ninth-seeded Panthers were eliminated by Michigan State, 59-52, in the Midwest Regional finals, they were farm-tough, confident and plenty fun to watch.

UNI (9-3), one of 25 schools in the nation to have played in five of the last seven NCAA Tournaments, is looking to jog memories and recapture that magic this season.

The Panthers have a much different look from last season, however, when six of the top seven scorers were juniors and seniors, headlined by guard Ali Farokhmanesh.

O'Rear, the program's valuable sixth man the past two years who is now sporting a full beard, has moved into a starter's role and is just one of three seniors. The Panthers' starting lineup also features senior Kwadzo Ahelegbe, junior Johnny Moran and sophomores Anthony James and Jake Koch.

UNI started slowly in November, falling to then-No. 10 Syracuse on the road and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee two games later. But the Panthers have regrouped, winning five straight prior to Wednesday night's painful loss to Missoui State on a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left. They won the iBN Las Vegas championship before Christmas with victories over South Carolina State, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Indiana and New Mexico and have won eight of their last 10 contests.

UNI is once again relying on defense.

"We are trying to work out some kinks. ... We pride ourselves on out-hustling and out-playing other people, but in a few of our games we didn't show that. It has taken a little bit of time getting into a rhythm."
-- Lucas O'Rear on UNI regaining last year's form The Panthers are surrendering 55.7 points per game, sixth best nationally. They ranked second in scoring defense last year at 55.1 points per game.

"I think we are getting there," said O'Rear, who leads the Panthers in rebounding at 6.3 per game and is shooting 57.4 percent from the floor, tops among starters.

"We are trying to work out some kinks. We lost a couple of games we probably shouldn't have lost. We pride ourselves on out-hustling and out-playing other people, but in a few of our games we didn't show that. It has taken a little bit of time getting into a rhythm."

O'Rear, 22, a 6-foot-7, 256-pound forward is determined to make his final basketball season count. When the season ends, O'Rear plans to continue his professional baseball career next spring.

Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 13th round of June's draft, O'Rear, a right-handed pitcher, threw in the Arizona League for the Reds. He registered 12 1/3 innings in eight games with 12 strikeouts and a 4.38 ERA.

Not bad considering O'Rear hadn't thrown competitively off a mound in more than a year.

"It was fun, definitely a change of pace from basketball," said O'Rear, who will graduate in the spring with a degree in sports psychology.

"I had to get used to the heat in Arizona. It was like 115 degrees out there. I thought I did alright, though, coming straight out of playing basketball and getting back on the mound for the first time in a year."

UNI made the decision to drop its baseball program at the end of the 2009 season, projecting a large cut in its athletic department funding due to poor economic conditions and cutbacks in state government funding.

As a sophomore at UNI in 2009, O'Rear made 10 appearances and fanned 15 batters in 17.1 innings with a 4.67 ERA.

He had displayed enough promise to get invited to participate in Perfect Game USA's 2010 Pre-Draft Showcase in May, throwing off a side mound. O'Rear also worked out with the Reds in Cincinnati prior to the draft with nearly 40 other players, throwing in front of the organization's brass and scouts.

At the moment, however, O'Rear's not concerned with his baseball career. He wants to make sure UNI builds on last season's success and makes this year just as special.

Not to mention worth remembering.

"We are young so it has taken some guys a little longer, but you can tell they are understanding it better in what we are trying to accomplish and how we play," O'Rear said.