Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Nicholas Baer joins the show to talk Iowa United, Hawkeyes basketball, and what his post-college plans are!

Episode Date: May 2, 2019

We have a very special guest on the show today, former Iowa basketball player and 2019 Chris Street Award recipient Nicholas Baer. Baer talks to us about all things basketball including the Iowa United, what it means to wear Street's number in TBT, and what he plans to do post-college. We also touch on topics such as his love for Jordan Bohannon, what stands out most from his incredible career, and how big of a deal it was to beat Iowa State this season.This is an episode you do not want to miss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are listening to the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, your daily podcast covering the Iowa Hawkeyes for the Locked On Sports Network, hosted by Andrew Wade, editor at dearoldgold.com. Welcome to another episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. I'm your host, Andrew Wade, editor at dearoldgold.com, and we have another great episode coming at you today. We have a fantastic interview with Nicholas Bayer, forward for the Iowa basketball team, graduating here in just a few weeks, and he's going to be playing on the Iowa United. The team is going to be playing in the basketball tournament,

the $2 million winner-take-all tournament. And this team is comprised of the four main schools in the state of Iowa. We have Iowa Hawkeyes. We got Drake Bulldogs. We got UNI Panthers. And we got Iowa State Cyclones. And we got Matt Tybee of UW-Milwaukee and Urbandale, Iowa native. And we have Nicholas Bayer joining the show today.

Because this is the week for the Iowa United to represent and recognize Nicholas Bayer. So each week, the Iowa United is doing sort of a get-to-know-the-players type of week for all the fans who hadn't had an opportunity to watch those guys. So if you're an Iowa State fan and you haven't had a chance to watch Nicholas Bayer's fantastic career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, you get to know a little bit about him. So in conjunction with that, we had Nicholas Bayer's fantastic career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, you get to know a little bit about him. So in conjunction with that, we had Nicholas Bayer on the show today to talk to you about all the stuff with the Iowa Hawkeyes, with Iowa United, talk about his post-collegiate basketball plans,

talk about some of the stuff that you may not know about him. You know, right? What is his favorite superhero? Where is his favorite spot to eat? Those are the types of questions we're getting down and gritty with today on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. So if you are tuning in for the very first time and you do like what you're hearing

already, make sure to go like and subscribe wherever you downloaded this podcast at. We have some great interviews coming up. We've had some great interviews in the past. Alright, we have Matt Tybee of UW Milwaukee, also an Iowa United player. He's going to have a special three-part episode series next week. We've had

Deuce Hogan, four-star quarterback recruit for the Iowa Hawkeyes in the class of 2020. He came on a few weeks ago. And we had Kevonte Martin-Manley, the all-time receptions leader in Iowa Hawkeyes history. He was also on a few weeks ago. So make sure to tune in to some of those great things that we have coming on here on the Locked

On Hawkeyes podcast, part of the Locked On Sports Network. If you are on Twitter as well, make sure to follow us on Twitter at LockedOnIowa. That's where you can get the latest information about our podcast and what we're posting on a daily basis. We also have a great giveaway coming up to commemorate our 100th episode. I'm going to be giving more details about that on the Twitter account. You can also follow me on Twitter at Wade underscore Andrew. You can follow the Iowa United on Twitter, Iowa TBT, and you can follow us on Facebook

at Locked on Hawkeyes. So with that being said, let's jump right into our interview with Nicholas Bayer right now. All right, I am joined here by Nicholas Bayer, former Iowa basketball player who is going to be joining the Iowa United this summer. Nicholas, how you doing, buddy? I'm doing well, yeah. Thanks for having me on. Absolutely, man. It sounds like you are finishing up your final semester of college. Is that kind

of an exciting feeling? Yeah, absolutely. Trying to finish up here strong. Just working on a final paper that's going to be due here later, and that's about it. Just want to finish strong here. Awesome. And yeah, I believe you were academic academic all Big Ten most of your time at Iowa. Is that correct? Yep, four years. Hell yeah, man. Congratulations. Yeah, thanks.

I've always been proud of my academics and always been a focus for me. Absolutely. Definitely. And, I mean, obviously this has got to be a little bit tough considering you're also playing D1 basketball for the past five seasons. Was it difficult to balance both the school and the basketball side of things yeah i think it was but at the same token um that's all that i really knew too um so just kind of always understanding uh some of the challenges that brought but i know we have really good resources here at the university of iowa that help our student athletes

be able to focus on their academics with a rigorous travel schedule and um for the most part my professors are pretty understanding as well. And I think that goes a long way. Absolutely. That's actually, I wasn't going to ask this, but just a quick question. So when you are traveling, how does that work with your school schedule? I mean, do they basically say, here's what we're going to talk about? Or if you're going to miss a test, do they let you take it in advance?

Or how does that work? Yeah, I mean, generally, just the rule of thumb is I always talk to my teachers on the first day and just let them know, hey, here are some dates that I'm probably going to be out of town for basketball games or weight games and things like that. Most of it's in the spring semester. I mean, they're used to having athletes for the most part, so they're pretty understanding. And you just figure it out, whatever works best for them, whether you take a test before or after.

They usually have you take it after, but as long as you just communicate it out, whatever works best for them, whether you take a test before or after. They usually have you take it after, but as long as you just communicate well with them, they do a pretty good job. I love it, man. And so you are wrapping up your final semester at the University of Iowa. Does it feel real at this point? I mean, do you feel like you're finally leaving?

Yeah, it definitely does. I'm trying to enjoy the last few days. I love the University of Iowa, the campus, everything like that. So, yeah, getting ready to move out and move on, unfortunately. But I love my time here at Iowa, absolutely. I mean, that's the best way to go out. As long as you leave with good memories, man, you can look back on nothing but good memories.

So, as far as your post-college basketball plans, do you have any at this point? Kind of what is your goal? Or do you plan on getting out of the basketball world, or what's your plan here? My plan right now is to play professionally overseas. I recently signed with an agent and just looking for some options now in taking that route. I think any opportunity I have to play basketball professionally

is something that I want to take. Have a chance to make money that way and be able to play overseas is an experience that I want. And I want to progress in that. And I'm hopeful that playing with Iowa United as well can help me in that venture too. Absolutely. I mean, you have a lot of guys who are going to be on the Iowa United team who have that European experience. And from everything that I've heard and talked to them about so far and some of the guys that I've talked to is that the European League is a lot different than, you know, obviously playing American basketball, a little bit more cerebral, a little bit more team oriented. And I think both those to a new challenge.

I think, obviously, every time you take a level up, there's going to be new challenges and the players get a lot better. I'm excited to continue to improve my game in that regard and be ready for that challenge. Also, having a chance to play overseas, play professionally, I think that's a life experience that's invaluable to me. And from what I've heard from other people, very invaluable to them. So I'm looking forward to continuing to progress in my career at a steady pace. Absolutely.

And I know we talked about this right before the show, and I don't want to touch on it too much, like I said, just because I feel like it's when everyone talks about you, Nicholas Bayer, they talk about you being a walk on. And so I don't want to focus on that too much. I feel like that's something we a lot of people harp on. And that's it's an incredible story. Right. But I think there's more to you, the player and the person. But real quick, when you were coming out of high school, as you know, as a walk on, did you think that you could be at this you know point in your career five years later uh you know i wasn't really sure i mean i just knew i wanted to come in at iowa and um you know compete at that level i wasn't sure where i'd fit in exactly i mean i knew watching these guys on tv you know seeing how you know quick fast and strong they are i wasn't sure how i'd fit in but you know once after a few practices i was able to say okay you know i'm not quite as good as Aaron White, Jerry DeUtoff,

but I could hold my own a little bit. And then I just moved up from there. I just continued to get stronger and improve my game, and I used to take everything one day at a time, which is what I did. I think I face similar challenges now going into the play professionally, and I'm going to approach it with the same mindset. I love it, man. Yeah, I mean, Uthoff and White are pretty lofty comparisons in general for anyone. They're two of the best players to ever walk through Carver, I feel like, especially

in the Fran era. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and both very different players too, but I think those guys really helped shape my experience at Iowa and, you know, understand the level of professionalism it takes to play this level and also just the skill level as well. Definitely. And when you were coming out of high school, did you have other offers or other opportunities that you could have taken? Maybe that would have been partial scholarship offers, maybe D2 type of stuff. Did you have anything like that kind of going on or did you basically say, I'm going to Iowa and that's it? I had one offer to Division II Northwest Missouri State who's a Division II powerhouse they've been winning I think they just

went undefeated this year actually so they had a great program down there but you know I grew up an Iowa kid I could have walked down at UNI Drake or Iowa I mean once I had that opportunity at Iowa I mean I just jumped at the chance so I'm really glad I did, once I had that opportunity at Iowa, I mean, I just jumped at the chance. So I'm really glad I did. Best decision I ever made. Yeah, I mean, I think I speak for all Iowa Hawkeye fans here, but we're also glad you did, man. Yeah, me too. It was a lot of fun watching you play, obviously, this season, especially in the NCAA tournament. Loved watching your game and obviously coming off the bench and being really that key cog in the wheel.

I think a lot of people don't realize just how vital you are to the team and kind of the leader you were for that team. So I guess from your perspective, what was your role on the Hawks this season? Yeah, I mean, on the court it was coming off the bench. And that's a role I was familiar with um pretty much my entire career here at Iowa and um you know I understood there's value in that being able to come off the bench and provide energy and just you know do what I do and I think that's something that I always appreciate about Coach McCaffrey is you know he never asks you to do something you're not capable of he never asks you to do something um that you can't do so um now I just found confidence in that and also just being a

senior leader for these guys i think that was something that was important to me being able to you know lead each day in practice and okay maybe i'm not starting but you know i can still lead in other ways there's different there's many different ways you can lead so um make sure guys are in the right spot and everybody understands what's going on and situation uh being a bit more cerebral. So those are two roles that I think I fulfilled this season. Absolutely, man. And like I said, I want to talk a little bit about the Iowa United stuff,

but some of the Hawkeye stuff I think, especially for our listeners here, they're going to be really interested in. Real quick, on the Fran McCaffrey front, you talked very briefly about him. From some people's perspectives, and feel free to answer this or not, I personally am a huge supporter of Fran McCaffrey. I love the way, I love his passion. I love the way he supports you guys as players. As a player itself, what is it like to play for Fran McCaffrey?

And is he as good of a coach as I feel like he is? I think some people have some uh for lack of better term dumb opinions on him so I wanted to get your thoughts on him yeah I mean I love coach McCaffrey like plain and simple I mean he's someone who gave me an opportunity to come here to the University of Iowa my dream school and I think something I've grown to appreciate as I've you know played under him for you know five years is he just really does a nice job of instilling confidence in his players. I think that's something that not a lot of people see. I think when he's saying, hey, this guy can't guard you or can just keep shooting if you're open to shoot it. I think

that's something that over the years I grew to appreciate about Coach McCaffrey. And I think something else is that he always has our backs. We always understand that, and he's always going to go to bat for us. And I think as I've continued to grow, I've grown to value that even more. So I'm looking forward to them having continued success next season. I know it will be a little bit of a different team, but those coaching staff, they've done a phenomenal job throughout the years, So I can't wait to see how they do. Yeah, and I think the fact that you guys made it to, obviously, the round of 32,

a close loss to Tennessee, I'm sure that still kind of burns a little bit. But, you know, getting that far, though, I feel like is really instrumental in the success of next year's team as well. Just being able to, you know, win a game and even show that you can compete against a Tennessee-type team, I think that's going gonna be huge for the team next year yeah absolutely I think um you know there's a pretty veteran group next year uh with a lot of seniors and juniors and I think this experience was really helpful for a lot of them and being able to you know have that experience in the NCAA tournament you know win a game and you know come within a breath of the sweet 16 i think that's going to continue to motivate them throughout the summer and um i hope it would i know it will so um you know i can't wait to watch it next year um you know wherever i am uh but you know it's

a great group of guys and i'm confident they'll have a great season absolutely yeah i was um i was actually in las vegas when you guys were playing in the round of 32 and i i i must have been the only iowa Hawkeye supporter there. Cause people were looking at me like I was a little bit crazy, but it was a ton of fun watching that game. Obviously not the result anyone wanted, but it was so much fun to see your guys' passion and your ability to come out that second half and,

and really light the world on fire and, and not give up. I think that's the biggest thing is the fact that y'all didn't give up and you came out and you said, we're going to come here and we're going to kick some butt and we're going to make this a game yeah i mean i think that's something we always look back on it's not easy to come back from 25 you know yourself a hole like that and we had the ball tied game with you know two minutes to go you can't ask for

anything else um once you're in that situation so um yeah i mean really proud of our resilience uh in that in that game and our coaches were drawing up plays for us, putting in perfect plays when we were executing them. I think that's what you need in March. And, unfortunately, over time we couldn't get it done. But really proud of that performance overall and really love those guys. Definitely. And one of the things you touched on just a few minutes ago was confidence

and the fact that Fran instills confidence in the players. And I think, personally, from my outsider's perspective, no one has more confidence than Jordan Bohannon. Wanted to get your thoughts on his confidence level in terms of just shooting the ball all the time. I mean, he's an incredible shooter. And then also, I feel like you have some great tweets after every time Jordan Bohannon makes an incredible shot or a game winner. you know, you love Bo Hannon.

You really love Bo Hannon. Just wanted to get your thoughts on him as a player and him as a friend. Yeah. I mean, Jordan's one of my closest friends. Absolutely. And I do love him for sure. But he, yeah, that's just old tweet stuff kind of started, you know, after Penn state, he had a big shot to put us up like five, I think with 25 seconds left and it was essentially ice the game and he just kept doing that you know against indiana twice um and then

you know just continuously and that's that's what makes him so special is he's such a an office against northwestern um that's what makes him so special just he's got that you know confidence in him to you know we want him to have the ball late um because he's got that confidence in him. We want him to have the ball late because he's got that special talent for it. I always know whenever I get an offensive rebound, the first person I'm looking for is Jordan Bohannon. He's the guy who we want to shoot the ball. We've got to get him open shots, especially when teams are guarding him the way they do.

They're really close up on him, so anytime we can free him up is best for us. He's a guy who plays with a lot of confidence and a lot of grit. I'll definitely miss playing with Jordan Bohannon, but again, another guy who I'm expecting to have a really big year next year. Absolutely. I think you can't really measure clutch as a tangible item, but if there's any guy who's been clutch, it's been Jordan Bohannon.

One of the most clutch players I've seen in any sport and on any team in general. Just incredible watching him play basketball. You always have a shot when you have him on your squad. Yeah, I mean, I don't think – yeah, I agree with you. I don't think that's a tangible thing. But that being said, you either have it or you don't, and he definitely has it.

So I'm glad he plays for the Hawks, that's for sure. Absolutely, man. Well, hey, so a couple things with the Hawks this year. Obviously, you had a great senior year. You shot the ball real well. You ended up, you know, overall in your career, you had 700, you surpassed 750 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals, 100 blocks, and 100 three-point field goals.

So just in general, an incredible all-around career. What stands out about those stats to you? Which one do you feel like was the one you had to work the hardest for I mean I don't know if like one necessarily stands out I think I'm pretty proud of the steals and the three pointers for the most part I think steals generally comes from having good instincts and being in the right place at the right time and just kind of being active I think that's a general indicator of how many skills you get so that's something I'm proud of because I always try to come into the game

and, you know, affect it in a positive way with my energy. So, you know, that will translate into whatever level I decide to play in. But, yeah, three-point shooting, that wasn't really a three-point shooter in high school. And I really worked on that my redshirt freshman year. And, you know, I just continue to try to work on it. I did a little dip in the season before this. when she was in high school, and I really worked on that my redshirt freshman year, and I just continued to try to work on it. I did a little dip in the season before this,

and really wanted to make sure that I got back on track and was happy with how I shot the ball. Yeah, and I believe you shot around 30% your junior season, but last year, or this past season, you shot 37%, 38%, which is an absolutely incredible jump, and obviously a large part of Iowa's success this year. I mean, your ability to hit shots down the stretch was huge for the Hawks. Yeah, I mean, that 30%, no, that wasn't a good season at all for a lot of different reasons. But, I mean, I'm proud of how I was able to come back this year

and just continue shooting the ball with confidence. And a lot of that goes back to Coach Caffrey encouraging us to shoot when we're open. Definitely. And so a couple of words you've received um in your career you've been the big 10 six man of the year you've also received the sportsmanship award and this past year you received the chris street award and i think the chris street award i think that kind of speaks for itself right i mean i think people expected probably you to get that award this season but what does that one mean to you i mean that's the most important award i've ever won um i think a lot of times um individual awards are more i mean i would say like they're a combination of a lot of team performance but i think that individual award is really special to me uh just because of you know how revered

chris street is and the legacy he left here and I think everybody you know tries to play that way and if everybody plays like Chris Street played then you know like give a damn good basketball team so I mean it's really special having you know his parents there they're always around the program and I think that's an award that I'm truly proud crowd is absolutely. to me the first person I thought of was you so how excited are you how big of an honor is that for you to be able to represent him at the basketball tournament for the Iowa United yeah I mean it's a huge honor uh being able to put on that 40 I don't take that lightly I mean I understand the um you know just how important and how special Chris Street was and I'd have a

chance to represent him and this tournament is something that's um you know truly special to me I think um you know I've never worn the number 40 before, but I know the significance of it, the importance of it. And, you know, I'm just really excited to get out and play with these guys, but also an opportunity to honor Chris Street in this way is really special. Hey, Cam, man. And have you followed the basketball tournament in the past, or is this a pretty new concept for you?

I've followed it loosely. I didn't follow it all that close, but I'm looking forward to it this year, a little bit of my own research. But, yeah, I'm excited. I think we have a really good team and really well-rounded, and I'm excited to see how we do. Yeah, and so obviously you're going to get a chance to play with Peter Jock again, and I'm assuming that's probably one of the people you're most excited to play with. But outside of Peter, who are you most excited to play with from the Iowa United?

Yeah, I'm excited to play with Wes Washburn too. I think Wes, he's just a really unique player. I think how he's able to attack in the open floor, just how bouncy he is too. And I think he's one player that, in particular, I'm looking forward to playing with. And, you know, I think he just brings a different dynamic to the table. And I'm excited to get out there. Yeah, he's – bouncy is a great word to describe him, man. I've seen some highlights where he's basically jumping over seven-foot centers.

I mean, that kid has some hops. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, actually, I was talking to Matt Tybee yesterday, and his interview is going to air next week. And one of the players he was most excited about is playing with you. Absolutely. Absolutely. playmaker you're able to get that team together and he's really excited to play with you how much do you know about Tybee as a player I know obviously he's not you know he didn't play in the state of Iowa in college basketball but did you did you ever hear about him at all from UW Milwaukee? I heard him from him a little bit I mean I was able to watch some of their games in the Horizon League on the tournament so I was able to see him a little bit but yeah I mean I'm excited to play with him I think he'll be a great addition to our team, and, you know, I'm looking forward to getting together with all these guys and trying to get a bit more, you know, cohesion with us,

and, you know, just looking forward to getting everybody together. Yeah, and were you shocked to hear from Matt about playing on the Iowa United team, or was that something you had, you know, thought about at all? Or kind of talk me through that process a little bit. Yeah, I mean, I really hadn't thought much of anything. I think this is kind of like the first year that we're doing an Iowa United type team and I think um I'm looking forward to it absolutely I think uh we have a pretty good team you know I wasn't sure how serious it was going to be like I was who else was playing but you know once I heard Pete was playing I was like oh okay then you know this is

this is a real deal. That was something that I jumped at the chance at just because I always want a chance to play with Pete again. He's a really special player and someone I always love playing with. So, yeah, really looking forward to it. He's tearing it up in the G League. Well, he was tearing it up in the G League, shooting, I believe, 44% from three, which is a little bit ridiculous. I mean, anybody who knows Pete knows he can shoot it.

So I'm not surprised at all. I hope he has continued success, can stay healthy as well. For sure, man, for sure. So a couple other questions for you. You're 6'7". You're not, I mean, for that kind of size, typically people wouldn't expect you to be a great shot blocker, right? So what makes you so good at blocking shots?

I mean, it's incredible how you can get around and kind of, I think, just getting in position. You talked about the hustle on defense, but is there anything specifically that makes you a great shot blocker? Is it instincts? Is it game film? What is it? No, I mean, I think it's just being in the right place at the right time. I think that's a lot of it is just putting yourself in a good position.

I think being able to play against a Big Ten competition has prepared me well for it. And a lot of times it's just you've got to go make a play. A lot of times you know the guy's going to shoot it, so you can go and try to attack the ball that way. But I'd say most of it's just being in the right place at the right time and just relying on instincts to go ahead and make the play. Absolutely. I love the play. Absolutely. I love the man.

Okay, well, I have a few quick questions. They're not going to be anything very intense. They're mostly just to get to know you a little bit better, and I know they're doing a lot of get-to-know-you type stuff right now for the Iowa United on Twitter at IowaTBT. But just five things to know you. What is your favorite place to eat on campus, or where is your favorite place to eat on campus?

I love going to this new restaurant, actually, Dandelion, which is a breakfast place. They've got the best pancakes in town. I know a lot of people love Bluebird in Iowa City. It's always so busy there, though. It is always so busy, and that's the thing you've got to run into. You've got to take that into account. But I love going there.

I've been going there recently, just in this past past month or so and it's i'm probably going there again today for breakfast so once this is over so um i definitely like to go there i love it i want to hold you up too long just real quick do you like the vine wings i love the vine wings i have the hell yeah absolutely hey that's that's the one thing i miss the most about the university of iowa is the vine wings and and i think honestly honestly, the 3 a.m. Falbo's pizza. I know it's not good, but... Falbo's is top-notch, too. Hell yeah.

All right, so what is your favorite superhero? And this is kind of, there's some context behind this. When I was talking to Tybee, he actually loves supervillains, which I thought was a little bit interesting. So I wanted to get your take on your favorite superhero, especially with, obviously, Endgame coming out. Yeah, I mean, I got a lot of respect for supervillains. I your, your take on your favorite superhero, especially with obviously end game coming out. Yeah. I mean, I got a lot of respect for super villains. I mean,

I always kind of like, I always kind of like the Joker. I know he's not a superhero, but I always loved, um, you know, watching him in the Batman series, but,

um, superhero. I mean, I always liked Superman just cause I mean, he's Superman. He's got pretty much invincible except for some kryptonite. So, um, you know, I always just,

I thought he was pretty neat. I love him, man. What is your favorite pump-up song? If you're getting ready for a basketball game, do you have anything on in your headphones? You know, I actually don't really listen to music for basketball games. I think I typically just try to zone in

to what I'm doing. So I don't really, if I do listen to music, it's more like light stuff like before. It's not like necessarily pump up music. Interesting. Yeah. So I don't really try to like get myself pumped up too much.

I just understand what's going on in the game. But yeah, so there you have it. I love it. Favorite memory in Iowa? Favorite memory in Iowa? Favorite memory in Iowa? I think probably beating Iowa State. I mean, that's interesting because we've got a lot of, you know, some Iowa State people on this Iowa United team,

but I think that's always something special to me as an Iowa kid, especially this past season. They were chippy this year. Yeah, it's always chippy. It always is, and that's what makes it so much fun. So that, and I'd probably say against Michigan this year yeah it's always chippy it always is and that's what makes it so much fun so um that and i'd probably say against michigan this year as well with a court storming um being a top five team at home at carver so i'd say those are probably my my favorite ones and they both came this year so yeah i mean that was a fun game to watch i was actually i had concert tickets that

night and ended up just watching the game um i had the concert was going on and i had to be in the other like in the bar area watching the game. I was like, I'm not leaving until this game is over. This is too nuts. Awesome. And then last question for you, favorite non-basketball activity? Favorite non-basketball activity? I actually love watching soccer.

I got a big game today here. I'm a huge Liverpool Football Club fan, i got a big game today uh here i'm a huge liverpool football club fan so big champions league game uh today and i'm really excited for that i just that's something i follow and i don't know a lot of people are into it um but i know it's growing over over here in the united states but um yeah i get up saturday mornings we don't have anything going on i'll just watch premier league soccer for like four hours so um that's just something i love to do yeah i mean my college roommate um would always get up at four or five a.m to watch premier league soccer games and yeah i was like man that's that's intense i don't have that commitment level i know they moved it

back a little bit now like the latest start is 6 30 a.m so that's not as bad but there are some times where it was yeah like 4 30 and those are a little rough to get up for so especially yeah especially in college too on a saturday morning that's the last thing you want to do exactly i love man well hey i appreciate you jumping on the show obviously you have finals next week you have that one on monday you have your paper you're getting ready to do and you have a a date with you know the dandelion to eat some breakfast so i don't want to keep you on the phone too long i appreciate you jumping on the show buddy um do you have anything any last words you want to say before we jump off? The only thing I'd say is I'm excited for this opportunity to I United. I think we have a chance to make a run.

I think a lot of people can watch us and connect with us. This might be the last time they get to see a lot of Iowa, Iowa State, United players, Drake players all get on the floor together. I'm excited for it, and I think the fans should be excited too. Absolutely, man. It's going to be a lot of fun. Well, thank you, Nicholas. I appreciate and get on the floor together. So I'm excited for it, and I think the fans should be excited too. Absolutely, man. It's going to be a lot of fun. Well, thank you, Nicholas. I appreciate you jumping on the show today.

Good luck on the rest of your paper and your finals, and obviously hope the breakfast tastes just as good as you want it to, man. Yeah, appreciate it. Thanks. Yep, talk to you later, buddy. Okay. Bye. All right, and that is it for our show today.

A big thank you to Nicholas Baer. He took his time out of his day to talk to us about basketball, talk to us about life, talk to us about what it means to be an Iowa Hawkeye. And I hope you love what you had to hear. I'm incredibly excited to see him play basketball again with some people from the state of Iowa, obviously getting a chance to play with Peter Jock, getting a chance to play with Wes Washpin, Matt Tybee, Josh Young,

Reed Timmer, Nick McGlynn, Tyrus McGee, and Marcus Fizer. And obviously, it's going to be a great time watching those four big schools come together and all play together, right? He even talked about one of his favorite memories was the fact that they beat Iowa State this year, beating them. And it was a pretty chippy game. But he's excited to play with them nonetheless. Just being from the state of Iowa, you have to have that pride in that state.

And so I'm really excited to watch Nicholas Bayer play. And obviously I'm really appreciative of him taking the time out of his day. You know, he's in the middle of his final semester of college, finishing up his master's degree. He had a paper to finish up this morning, yet still talked to us. He has a final on Monday, yet still talked to us. So again, a very, very big shout out to him for jumping on the show. If you did like what you heard, we're going to be having great interviews coming up as well. We have a few things in the works.

I'm not going to divulge the details until we get a confirmation and record the episode. But make sure to tune in to our future episodes as well. We have Matt Tybee coming on the show next week. And we have a few other potential special guests coming on. We have an Iowa football player who we're working with. A few Iowa football recruits who might be jumping on the show as well. So make sure to tune into the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast, part of the Locked on Sports Network going forward.

And the best way to do that is to like and subscribe this podcast wherever you downloaded it at. That way it automatically downloads to your phone. And if you have a smart speaker at home, you can listen to this podcast pretty easily. All you need to say is, hey, Google, Alexa, or Siri, play podcast Locked on Hawkeyes. That will bring you the most recent episode of the Locked on Hawkeyes podcast.

Again, thank you for tuning in to the show with us. We really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy Thursday morning to listen to this fantastic interview with Nicholas Bayer. Have a great day, Hawkeye Nation. Go Hawks! you