Northern Iowa Basketball has been led by their frontcourt for the last few years. This time around, guard Tywhon Pickford will be the undisputed star of the Panthers.
During the NCAA tournament a year ago, the Missouri Valley conference entered our homes and tugged at our heartstrings, as the Loyola Ramblers made a Cinderella run to the Final Four. The Ramblers have a stranglehold on the top of this conference, but the Northern Iowa Panthers should not be forgotten. The Panthers are a tradition-rich program in the Missouri Valley with a lot of tournament appearances. The Panthers have a player who is going to help them get back to the top.
Northern Iowa has never been short on talent, head coach Ben Jacobson is a huge reason why. Coach Jacobson is a great recruiter and he has been able to pry players away from power 5 schools and always seems to get the best out of each player on the roster. Sophomore guard Tywhon Pickford is no exception to this rule.
Pickford is a product of Minnesota’s Maple Grove High School and he chose the Panthers over an offer from Nebraska. Pickford was a late riser in the 2017 class. Last year Pickford made a splash in the Missouri Valley conference as he was near the tops of a few categories among all freshman in the country. Coach Jacobson never would have expected Pickford to contribute nearly as much as he did last year.
With a roster that lost their two best scorers, they return their overall best player in Pickford. The Panthers are going to need Pickford to be an improved player over last year, to pick up some of the scoring load. Even if Pickford puts up the same production he did a season ago, the Panthers are going to be very happy.