Steve Determan came into NIU with hype.

T.J. Lux and the senior forward were supposed to make a feared post duo in the Mid-American Conference, and in his first year, things started to look that way, with Determan scoring 6.2 points and grabbing 4.4 rebounds a game. But his second year was short-lived after tearing his anterior curtiate ligament after the tenth game of the season.

Determan’s junior year was not any better, his scoring was only 1.2 points a game, and he played in only 11 games after being diagnosed with mononucleosis. But it was after Jerry Sander’s indefinite suspension that the senior would finally return to form.

The Circle Pines, Minn. native started in 10 games this season. While 3.4 points a game might not be a great year, for Determan, it is not the only thing that matters.

“This season has been a lot of fun, but there has been a lot of changes,” Determan said. “I think I matured a lot over the years. Unfortunately, we had some guys leave the team. I just tried to take advantage of the situation that was placed in front of me. I always think that you get what you put into it, and I always thought that I put in a lot of hard work. It is like I am receiving a lot of it back this season. It is finally coming together.”

Granted, the senior finished with 3.7 points a game this season, but it was his play toward the end that impressed former NIU coach Andy Greer.

“The nice thing about this season for me has been the emergence of Steve Determan,” said fomer Huskie coach Andy Greer. “The thing about Steve, even though he wasn’t playing a lot of minutes this season, he was always a team guy, always encouraging other players and never really thought about himself. That is unique in this day and age.”

Determan said when Brian Hammel resigned as head coach of the Huskies, he did not know if he would be able to play at the level he would like to. The

resignation of his “father figure” was detrimental to his game that it took him to the end of the season to return to the way he was playing at the beginning.

The forward responded with his best games at the end of the year, including back-to-back double-digit scoring games, 13 points against Eastern Michigan and 11 points against Western Michigan on senior night.

Even though the Huskies had a disappointing season, 5-23, Determan lived it to the fullest. He also said he did not think he would live to see the day where he would have a fan club cheering for him at every home game.

“The fans are great,” Determan said. “We have some of the best fans here. They come to every home game despite us having a bad season. Even though we had a bad season, seeing those fans out there makes it a lot more easier.”

The 6-foot-9 forward said after the Western Michigan game that this being his last season has not hit him yet, but after having time to think about it, it has started to hit pretty hard. The Huskies ended their season with an 89-57 loss to Ball State on Monday.

“At the beginning, I wanted to have a lot of fun because it was my senior year,” he said. “Even though we are at the end, it hasn’t hit me that hard. But after reading the paper and realizing that we let everyone down, it has been hard.”Steve Determan finished strong this season with back-to-back

double-digit scoring performances.