Nicholas Baer returns to Iowa men’s basketball as graduate assistant
Bettendorf native won Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year after 2016-17 season
By Tyler Devine
IOWA CITY, Iowa – A familiar face has rejoined the Iowa men’s basketball program, but in a different role.
Iowa coach Fran McCaffery confirmed on a Monday Zoom conference that former Hawkeye forward Nicholas Baer has rejoined the program as a graduate assistant.
Baer is working toward his master’s degree, and McCaffery is excited to have the former Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year back in the program.
“Nicholas is a guy that we love,” McCaffery said. “He had a desire to finish his graduate degree. As you know, he played in his fifth year, so he began his graduate degree in his last year playing for us. So he expressed a desire to finish, so we’ve added him as a graduate assistant, and we’re thrilled to have him as part of program. There is no better representative of everything we stand for than Nicholas Baer.”
Baer, a former walk-on from Bettendorf, played in 140 games during his Iowa career and averaged 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He was known for his versatility, and for his hustle on the court.
Baer is the only player in program history to surpass 750 points, 500 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals, 100 blocks, and 100 three-point field goals.
Baer was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and joined Dean Oliver and Steve Carfino as the only Hawkeyes to lead the team in steals in three consecutive seasons.
Baer’s younger brother, Michael Baer, is a redshirt junior on Iowa’s current roster.
Junior forward Joe Wieskamp is eager to work with and learn from Baer, who joined the team last week.
“He’s going to be able to help us all out and see different things that maybe the coaches don’t see,” Wieskamp said Monday. “Just have a different perspective that can relate to the players maybe a little bit better than our coaching staff has.
“So I think just having him on staff is a great asset for our team.”
No. 10 Iowa’s next game is against Big Ten leader and No. 19 Northwestern on Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.