Ahelegbe the straw that stirs Panthers' drink
By LUKE MEREDITH
AP Sports Writer
CEDAR FALLS — Don’t peek at the scoreboard to gauge how well Northern Iowa’s playing because there might not be much to see.
Just look for Kwadzo Ahelegbe. If he’s smiling, the Panthers are rolling.
Even teams that slow it down need someone who can pick things up. For the methodical Panthers, the energetic and charismatic Ahelegbe makes them go.
The junior point guard with the tongue-twisting name — for the record, it’s pronounced Ka-JOE ah-HEL-eg-ba — is an emotional sparkplug and clutch playmaker for the ninth-seeded Panthers (28-4), who face No. 8 UNLV (25-8) in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Oklahoma City Thursday night.
Ahelegbe enters the tourney on a roll, too, after winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award with 24 points in a title-game win over Wichita State.
‘‘When he’s got that smile on his face, that’s really infectious.
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