Published: Nov. 12, 2015
G’town’s McCloud excited to sign with Northern Iowa
Classmate signs with UWGB golf
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
GERMANTOWN — Excited to sign the National Letter of Intent
offer from Northern Iowa, Juwan McCloud was a little overwhelmed — he forgot a
pen.
Once a pen was retrieved, McCloud, a senior on the
Germantown boys basketball team, signed the scholarship offer from Northern
Iowa on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.
“It’s a huge relief,” McCloud said. “It’s a lot off my
shoulders, especially because I know exactly where I’m going. It’s a very a big
deal and that’s why my family is here with me to celebrate.
“I like everything about Northern Iowa so that’s why I chose
it.”
McCloud had been waiting for this moment since he verbally
committed in the summer. It couldn’t be made official until Wednesday.
“I’m just ready to get it done with and get it finalized,”
he said. “Put the pen to the paper.”
Also on Wednesday, Germantown’s Sophia Mazurek signed a
National Letter of Intent to join the golf team at the University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay.
“Green Bay was a really good fit because it was close to
home, it has what I want to study, which is business,” Mazurek said. “I really
liked the coach and I really liked her philosophy. The school is a good fit for
me.”
McCloud, who plans to study computer science, also had
offers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Lehigh and Drake.
Northern Iowa stood out above the others because it made
McCloud feel like he wasn’t moving far away from home.
“The whole vibe of the place just felt like home,” McCloud
said.
McCloud also developed interest from Illinois, Wisconsin,
Marquette, South Dakota State and North Dakota State.
“I liked the team chemistry,” McCloud said when asked about
meeting the team. “It felt like Germantown a lot because they do everything as
a team. I fit in perfectly.”
“It’s a perfect fit,” he added. “It was exactly how my life
is right now. I feel like it’s going to be the same when I get there. I think
that’s what drove me to go there and commit.”
McCloud will be one of six former Germantown players in NCAA
Division I next season — Zak Showalter (Wisconsin), Luke Fischer (Marquette),
Evan Wesenberg (North Dakota State), Lamonte Bearden (Buffalo) and Dan Studer
(UW-Milwaukee).
The Panthers play in the Missouri Valley Conference and won
the conference tournament last season to give the Panthers their first NCAA
Tournament berth since 2000. But from 2004 to 2010, the Panthers made the
tournament five times.
In last year’s tournament, the Panthers were the No. 5 seed
and lost to No. 4 seed Louisville in the round of 32.
In 2010, Northern Iowa made the Sweet 16.
McCloud said it didn’t hurt in his visits that Northern Iowa
had a strong program.
“I do like the environment and the coaching staff,” he
added. “It wasn’t just about how good they’ve recently been. It’s a good part
of it, but that’s not the only thing about it.”
As a sophomore in the 2013-14 season, McCloud averaged 6.1
points per game in a reserve role behind Bearden. Last season, McCloud averaged
16.7 points per game.
“Now I can focus on what I want to accomplish for my senior
year,” McCloud said.
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