Feb. 14, 2008

For many of the University of Northern Iowa basketball fans, No. 22 may appear as a newcomer to the Panther basketball squad. But don't mistake Kerwin Dunham as freshman who was rushed into a starting line-up role. This Panther has been working for that spot since the beginning of last season.

 

Dunham joined the Panthers after amassing 2,205 points as a four-year letterwinner at Bondurant-Farrar high school, landing him eighth on the all-time scoring list in Iowa high school history. But on the guard-heavy 2006-07 squad, the coaches and Dunham decided a redshirt season was the best option for the highly offensive guard.

 

"It was really hard to sit out that entire season," Dunham said. "I really wanted to be out there and be able to contribute."

 

What may have been a sometimes frustrating and long year for Dunham on the bench, the long term benefits have proven beneficial to Dunham and the Panther squad as a whole.

 

"Last year gave me an opportunity to gain weight and get stronger," Dunham said. "I really got to work on my overall game; I didn't have to worry about playing in the games, so I could focus on improving my defense and other aspects of the game."

 

In the Panthers nine games this season Dunham has found himself in a starting role, averaging 28 minutes per game along with 5.6 points and currently has a team-high 18 assists. Although improvements can always be made, Dunham feels pretty good about his contributions thus far.

 

"I'm still working on improving my defensive game," Dunham said. "But I feel pretty confident in my game after sitting out last season; I struggled a bit in the first couple games, trying to get back into a rhythm, but I think that will work itself out as the year goes on."

 

Dunham had an opportunity to jump-start his season this summer as the Panthers were selected to represent the USA at the World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Dunham was able to make his presence known to players around the world, scoring in double figures in two contests.

 

"Thailand was a great opportunity for us," Dunham said. "Not only for our team to represent the USA, but also a great opportunity for some of us younger players to get game experience. Hopefully that will help us in the long run this season."

 

Although Dunham may spend most of his days worrying about opposing teams defenses and trying to work out the kinks in set offensive plays this biology/bio-medical major needs to spend some time hitting the books.

 

"Having the biology and bio-medical major can be a little difficult at times," Dunham said. "It requires quite a bit of studying and that can be really hard to manage sometimes. I'm pretty good at managing my time though."

 

"I'd really like to go into the medical field someday," Dunham said. "But that's still a long ways off."

 

While Dunham isn't studying textbooks or playbooks he enjoys just relaxing, spending time with his friends and following other sports.

 

"I'm a big sports guy, whether its college or pro," Dunham said. "I like to follow other teams; I guess I just enjoy watching the game. I used to be a pretty big Steve Nash fan when I was younger. I always enjoyed watching him play."

 

Although Steve Nash may have been his favorite player to watch on TV, Dunham gives his father a lot of credit for the player he is today.

 

"I really look up to my dad, he's been my biggest influence in basketball," Dunham said. "He really helped me get into basketball and always tries to make it to every game for me."

 

Like many team-players in athletics, personal goals are something that Dunham doesn't really focus on. The success of the team overrides the personal goals that Dunham has.

"I don't really set any personal goals for myself," Dunham said. "I like to focus more on the team goal of winning a conference championship and just working on the little things that can make us a better team."

 

While many Panther fans may think of No. 22 as a fresh face to UNI basketball, Dunham is working on making his presence known to all Panther fans, and plans on being a driving force in the Panthers quest for a conference championship.