The Iowa State Cyclones move into a truly new era this season. Their coach is the same, but the responsibility for the program is different. This is the third season for head coach Steve Prohm, but he will guide the Cyclones in a way he hasn’t had to guide them before. Only now will Prohm’s status as a Big 12 and national head coach emerge in a fuller light. This is both exciting and nervous – Iowa State fans know that if Prohm can be very good this season, he can handle anything that comes his way, and the Cyclones will know that they have a long-term future as a program.
Offseason Changes
Monte Morris and the rest of the final recruiting class of former coach Fred Hoiberg are gone. Deonte Burton was a force inside for the Cyclones last year and a player who could step out and hit 3-pointers. Naz Long was a clutch three-point-shooting wing for multiple seasons. He made defenses pay when they focused too much on the bigger stars on the ISU offense. However, those two players – as good as they are – depended on the team’s rock, Monte Morris, to make things happen on offense. Morris was devastatingly quick, gifted with a soft shooting touch, able to get to the foul line, and most of all, extremely dependable in terms of rarely committing turnovers. He locked down the ball and gave away virtually no possessions at Iowa State. This kept the Cyclones in games and enabled Iowa State to collect more possessions than its opponents.
All three players – Burton, Long and Morris – would be missed on their own, but now they are all gone together. Prohm will coach entirely his own recruited players, which will immediately test his ability to recruit and develop talent. Hoiberg gave him ample resources the past two seasons, and Prohm did well with what he had. Now, though, he faces a much bigger challenge and task.
Will Succeed If…
The cohesion between players and Prohm is excellent all season. Iowa State can’t know for certain if it will have a star-level player emerge from this year’s mixture. It can hope, and it can work toward that end, but this offers the appearance of a rebuilding year. What Prohm and Iowa State fans must hope for is that players will simply get better each month. That will come from good communication and doing all the little things which feed into winning basketball. Each player’s limits don’t necessarily mean this team can’t reach higher goals, but the questions surrounding this lineup mean that ISU has to have players whose physical skills and statistical production are enhanced by every intangible. If ISU can’t get a lot of intangible benefits from the way its lineup works together, the raw stats and skills probably won’t be enough to produce a big season.
Won’t Succeed If…
The Cyclones can’t find a reliable downtown threat. As much as the stats and the measurable factors will be limited in their ability to tell the full story of Iowa State hoops this season, one very tangible component is three-point shooting. The Big 12 is too difficult to handle as it is; not having a consistent three-point bomber will make it very hard for Iowa State to keep pace with the rest of the league. Finding a primary shooter and then a secondary option will relieve a lot of pressure from this offense and give the Cyclones a fighting chance each time they take the court.
Roster
Nick Weiler-Babb
Cameron Lard
Marial Shayok
Donovan Jackson
Lindell Wigginton
Michael Jacobson
Jakolby Long
Zoran Talley
Terrence Lewis
Hans Brase
Solomon Young
Jeff Beverly
Outlook
The Cyclones will get an early test right off the bat with a road trip to Missouri. We’ll know just how good this team is after that. On December 7th, a home game with Iowa will also be a tricky showdown.
The Big 12 is a very tough conference, and Iowa State lost its three best players from last season, including its star point guard, Morris, who often put the team on his back. If Prohm can make the NCAA Tournament this season, he will become a star-level coach… but it’s not likely that will happen.
The 2018 March Madness futures are out. There has been plenty of news to keep up with in the offseason but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest college basketball betting lines right here.
