More photos » Michael Conroy - AP

How much will Chris Allen help Iowa State in 2011-2012?

Browse more photos »

In what seems like a weekly announcement, Fred Hoiberg and Iowa State have announced the arrival of another transfer, Chris Allen. The 6'3" guard comes from Michigan State where he had run into some disagreements with Tom Izzo last season. Allen averaged 8.2 points per game last season in helping Michigan State make a run to the Final Four before being knocked off by Butler.

While this season has the possibility of not being pretty for Hoiberg's team, the 2011-2012 season is already causing some Cyclone fans to get excited.

Continue reading this post »

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking an in-depth look at every school in the Big XII.  I’ll focus on the past (i.e. last season’s strengths and weaknesses), the changes (i.e. incoming freshmen, departing seniors, new coaches), and the future.  There’s no particular order, but Iowa State will lead things off.

It’s safe to say last season was not a great season for the Cyclones.  Seasons preceding coaching changes rarely are.  They started the season 11-4 with close losses to Northwestern and UNI, and defeating their in-state rival Hawkeyes.  However conference play brought out the worst, going 4-12 (sweeping Nebraska, who finished last), but they finished strong: they lost to Mizzou in overtime by two and defeated K-State in Manhattan in overtime to close out the season. 

However, most of Iowa State’s offensive production came from senior Marquis Gilstrap and one-and-doner Craig Brackins (the only two to score in double figures).  The two combined for more than 30 points and almost 20 rebounds per game.  That’s going to be nearly impossible to replace.  Which doesn’t make the near future very bright at this point. 

More after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Hope.

Wake up the "Magic"!

The hiring of Fred Hoiberg at Iowa State was a great hire for one basic reason.  Hope! That's right....HOPE!  For the first time in years Cyclone fans can sit back and have "hope" their basketball program has a chance to compete in the Big 12 Conference.  Not since Johnny Orr was plucked from Ann Arbor, Michigan has a hire brought such initial "hope" to Cyclone fans.

The Fred Hoiberg hiring came out of left field and reminds me when, in 1980, Lou McCullough snagged Johnny Orr out of left field from the University of Michigan.  I was working at a clothing store in Forest City, Iowa when I got a call from someone telling me Iowa State just hired Johnny Orr from Michigan.  I laughed and said "nice try". You see, it was simply unbelievable at that time that Johnny Orr, from the basketball power conference Big 10, would come to Iowa State.  It was double sweet though because Johnny Orr had made it clear in the past that he hated the University of Iowa, Iowa State's #1 rival. His Michigan teams had beaten the Hawks like a drum.  In fact, he called it a "picnic" to play the Hawks!  There is nothing Iowa State fans wanted more than for Johnny to continue with those picnics! He did. Who can forget Lafester Rhodes 55 points!

Continue reading this post »

At the start of the season, B12H.com ran a "Five Questions For..." segment asking the five most pressing questions of each team. In our continuing review of the season, here are the answers to those questions.

Five Questions For... Iowa State basketball

1)       Can Craig Brackins get any help, or will it again be a one man show?

He got help in the way of Marquis Gilstrap. Together Brackins and Gilstrap formed one of the best, and entertaining, twosomes in the conference. Their length and presence inside were the only things stopping the Clones from going 0fer the conference. They had NOBODY on that squad outside those two, but thankfully, both have pro potential (although maybe not in the NBA).

2)       Can the Cyclones crack the top half of the Big 12 North division?

Nein. The Clones finished 5^th in the division and tied for second worst in the conference as a whole. Of their 4 league wins, though, all were to fellow Big 12 North amigos in Colorado, Nebraska twice and Kansas St.

3)       Is there still "Hilton Magic" in Ames?

Nope. First off the Clones won only 4 conference games and of those 2 were at home, meaning their Hilton record was 2-6. Not quite Houdini-esq.

4)       One publication listed Greg McDermott as being on the "hot seat."  What does he need to do to get off it?

Well he needed to win.. and he didn't. McDemott saw the writing on the wall, with the departures of Gilstrap and Brackins and took the easy road and left for Creighton after the season completed. He wasn't going to be fired this year, but with the guys he has coming back it would seem unlikely he would be able to stay in Ames many more years.

5)       After 4 straight conference seasons with a losing record, can the Cyclones better the .500 mark this year?

4-12 .250 winning percentage.

Now that the college basketball season is officially over, we're going to take a look back at each Big 12 school to discuss their season. The rundown will go in order of conference standing. See the complete schedule after The Jump.

What Went Right: Iowa State ended the season with an overtime victory at Kansas St. Besides a W against in-stet rival Iowa, the rest of the season was pretty forgettable though, which is actually surprising when you look back to see just how much talent the Cyclones had in Marquis Gilstrap and Craig Brackins. The pair averaged 31 ppg and caused defensive match-up issues with most schools. Yet the Clones couldn't win. Really a head scratcher. 

What Went Wrong: Pretty much everything. As I said above, the Clones had the talent to do some damage, even if it was just in two guys. Mind you, two guys with pro potential is a lot more than some of the schools with better records had. Those two should have been able to carry the Clones to more than 4 conference wins. And those two should have helped the Clones to avoid a 6 game conference losing streak. Alas they didn't.

Team MVP: It would be impossible to choose between Gilstrap and Brackins, so I'm going to givec0-MVP awards to the Clone tandem. They finished first and second on the team in scoring, first and second on the team in rebounds and second and fifth in assists. They were the Clones and both deserve the honor.

Key Losses: Brackins and Gilstrap are gone. So are any chances of the Clones being good next year... oops, see next section.

Outlook Next Year: As stated above, the city of Ames is in for a world of hurt. The loss of the co-MVPs means that those 4 conference wins this year might be a target that the Clones will try and reach... aint gonna happen. I can't see Iowa St finishing any higher than 11th in conference.

Continue reading this post »

German national Lucca Straiger practiced with his Iowa State teammates on Monday, two days after Saturday's victory over Nebraska.

He showed no signs that that practice would be his last with the team.

Tuesday morning he went into ISU coach Greg McDermott's office and told McDermott that he was leaving the team.  That he already had a plane ticket back to his native country and that he had already agreed to play in a German professional league.

Everyone in Ames is shocked.  Nobody saw it coming. 

In Straiger's statement he said that he thought the timing was perfect for him financially and professionally and thanked the Cyclone fans for their support.

Cyclones fans did not reciprocate the admiration.

After The Jump, links to various articles from our SB Nation brethren Clone Chronicles detailing all aspects of Straiger's departure (and anytime someone takes the time to translate a German article, even using Google Translator, within a post, it is worth a read.)

Continue reading this post »

114-1 We've been hearing lots about the Big 12's record at home, especially now that the national outlets have caught on.

But I have a question for you, Iowa State fans, how does it feel to hear that stat?  I am not trying to rub it in, just trying to figure out if my team were the "1" in "114-1" if it would hurt each time I saw the stat.

So, ISU fans, or fans in general, if a stat like that was shown over and over again, would you be on cloud 9 knowing you are a part of the 114 or would you feel the pain that you were the 1?

IRVING, Texas – For the first time in Big 12 history, Iowa State men’s basketball players swept the weekly Big 12 awards handed out by the conference office. Junior Craig Brackins was named Big 12 Player of the Week, his fourth of his career, and senior Marquis Gilstrap earned Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors for Nov. 16-22.

Continue reading this post »