By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – At a time when many college athletes bail at the first sign of disappointment or adversity, Dom Uhl deserves praise for staying the course.

The 6-foot-9 senior forward from Frankfurt, Germany has spent most of his time as a member of the Iowa men’s basketball team watching from the bench with just eight career starts.

Uhl’s sophomore season was his best as he averaged 6 points and 3.2 rebounds for a team with four senior starters that finished 22-11. He shot 50 percent from 3-point range in conference play and 45.0 percent overall from behind the arc.

He scored 10 points in consecutive league games against Nebraska, Michigan State and Michigan and the future looked bright for Uhl as a Hawkeye.

But now that future is almost in the past with Uhl set to play in his final regular-season game on Sunday against Northwestern at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

He has only played a total of 69 minutes and appeared in just 15 games as a senior.

But there is something to be said for finishing what you started, especially in the case of Uhl. He could’ve easily bolted from Iowa and returned home to Germany to play professional basketball.

“He had that opportunity to leave here at any time and get paid," said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. 'But he wanted to come here and get a degree. That was important to him. He wants to stay in the United States and work. So we're going to try to help him make that happen.”

Uhl and walk-on Charlie Rose both will be honored before Sunday’s game against Northwestern.

“It’s crazy how times flies,” Uhl said. “I never expected to be in Iowa coming from Germany.”

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Uhl said there were times when he thought briefly about leaving Iowa after his playing time diminished. But he came to the University of Iowa for more than just basketball and was determined to stick it out.

“I thought about it because I wanted to play, obviously,” Uhl said. “But I just fell in love with Iowa. So I decided to stay and stick it out.”

Uhl’s height and versatility made him an intriguing prospect coming out of high school in New Jersey. He moved from Germany to New Jersey in order to help gain more exposure as a basketball recruit.

And it worked as Uhl picked Iowa over scholarship offers from Temple and Boston College.

“Clearly, he had great impact, especially in the first couple years,” McCaffery said. “He hasn't played as much, obviously, this year, and even a little bit last year. But an integral part of NCAA tournament teams.

“Character guy, multiple position guy. Really happy that he came here. I think the world of him. We had the opportunity to take him home this summer, which was great. A guy that's a friend to everybody and a solid contributor.

McCaffery was referring to Iowa’s trip to Europe this past August in which Iowa played in four exhibition games. Uhl reunited with his biological family during the trip and sort of acted as the team’s tour guide.

Uhl will be accompanied by his host family from New Jersey during the Senior Day festivities, with his biological mother set to join him for graduation in May.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m not an emotional guy really, so I think I’ll be able to control myself,” Uhl said of the Senior Day ceremony.

Uhl credits former Iowa center Gabe Olaseni for having the biggest influence on his career as a Hawkeye. They shared something in common with Olaseni being from England.

“He was kind of like a big brother to me,” Uhl said.

With records of 12-17 overall and 3-14 in the Big Ten, this season has been a disaster for Iowa as a team.

But the fact that Uhl is on course to graduate in four years – he didn’t redshirt as a true freshman – with a degree in enterprise leadership is a victory by itself.

Uhl's perseverance and stick-to-itiveness as a Hawkeye should help him later in life because quitting often becomes easier after you do it the first time.

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