Jaacks tough play raises awareness for Penn State

By Carla Motko
Collegian Staff Writer

With slightly less than 12 minutes remaining, Iowa men's basketball player Jacob Jaacks re-entered the game after stepping out momentarily.

Two minutes earlier, the bald 6-foot-8, 235-pound senior center was called for elbowing Penn State forward Jarrett Stephens, and Hawkeyes coach Steve Alford gave Jaacks a moment to sit down.

When he re-entered the game, Jaacks was met with a resonating boo from The Bryce Jordan Center crowd.

"He's not really dirty, but sometimes he'll do a couple of things to get under your skin," Nittany Lions forward Gyasi Cline-Heard said. "But tonight I didn't pay him any attention."

Most of the Lions said they tried to ignore Jaacks' antics, but they could not ignore his play.

Jaacks' game-high 21 points were essential to Iowa holding a lead against Penn State for nearly 25 minutes. To add to his performance, Jaacks pulled in nine boards for the Hawkeyes.

"He was playing awfully well," Iowa men's basketball coach Steve Alford said of the senior. "I thought he had a good game."

Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn reiterated Alford's comments and added that Jaacks is one of the better post players in the league.

But in some ways, Jaacks' outlandish court style overshadowed his talent.

Earlier in the contest, Jaacks and Stephens butted heads. Stephens was driving to the basket with Jaacks defending him and Stephens pulled up inside the circle to take a shot. Stephens knocked into Jaacks, who shouted as he fell backwards to the floor.

The referee, who had a clear view and watched the theatrics unfold, allowed play to continue. Stephens was not phased either.

Dunn said that was exactly what he wanted his players to do — keep playing.

"I was proud of the way the guys responded (to Jaacks)," he said. "I told them don't worry about things, play through everything — play through mistakes, play through the environment."

But for some of the players, that was never a question. While still respecting his skills, Penn State guard Joe Crispin said he payed no attention to Jaacks' distractions.

"He's a riot," Crispin said of Jaacks. "He's a great ball player. I think if he would stay focused on his game, he'd be that much better."