Historic Night for UNI Basketball, First-Ever NBA Minutes Played

It's been a great week for Coach Ben Jacobson and the UNI basketball program.

Last Saturday, October 15, three-star forward Kyle Pock announced his commitment to play for the Panthers. On Friday, October 21, 6'8 forward from Chicago Wes Rubin shared the same announcement.

To cap it all off, yesterday, October 22, Northern Iowa basketball had its first-ever alum earn minutes in a regular season NBA game.

In a 125-105 victory over the Houston Rockets, UNI's and Cedar Falls' own AJ Green stepped foot on the floor for the first time in his young career for the Milwaukee Bucks. Though Green played just the final two minutes, he was able to record an assist on a pass to 16-year veteran and NBA Champion Serge Ibaka.

Green's NBA career got its start with the Bucks on June 24 after he went undrafted when Milwaukee promptly signed him to a two-way contract. The deal offers him the chance to both spend time with the Bucks and the organization's G-League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.

By way of splitting time with both teams, the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year can develop and work on specific skill sets on a lower level while also experiencing what it's like to be among the best basketball players in the world.

Given the details of his contract, Panther fans may be able to see him play in Iowa once again, as the Iowa Wolves play the Herd in Wells Fargo Arena on November 19th and 20th. You can purchase your tickets here.

This isn't the first time he's donned a Bucks uniform, either. In the NBA Summer League, Green quickly got attention for his ability to knock down shots. In Milwaukee's first matchup in Las Vegas, the former Panther went 5-10 from the field and 4-8 from deep, making his first four attempts from three.

He spoke with me just a week after he signed his first NBA deal on an episode of Cornstalks and Sports Talk: