The Iowa State basketball program has made enough headlines for what's happened off the court. Players and coaches hope they can start making news for what they do on it.

Former coach Larry Eustachy's party habits on the road cost him his job and put ISU's administration in one heck of a pickle. The search for a replacement went just a few doors down to assistant Wayne Morgan. The former Long Beach State head man and longtime assistant to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse takes over at a critical time. The Cyclones, who won back-to-back Big 12 titles in 2000 and 2001, slumped to 11th in the league in 2002 and finished in a tie for ninth last season.

ISU's highly regarded freshman class was recruited mainly by Morgan, and the new coach will ask several of his new players to make an immediate contribution.

"All those kids are capable and we're going to need them all to contribute," Morgan says.

FRONTCOURT

The Cyclones' best player by the end of last season was forward Jackson Vroman. The former junior college transfer averaged 11.5 rebounds over his last nine games and outplayed NBA lottery pick Nick Collison in a conference tournament match-up.

Vroman, however, is facing both legal and academic trouble and could miss part or all of the non-conference schedule. That would be a huge blow to an already thin front line.

Bruiser Jared Homan is not terribly athletic but is a good shot-blocker and is capable of scoring and rebounding in double figures when he puts his mind to it. Homan will battle for playing time with newcomer Damion Staple, who should provide a defensive presence at power forward.

Adam Schaper has bulked up after a redshirt year and should see time at both forward spots thanks to his ability to shoot from the perimeter. Freshman forward, Reggie George, could be pressed into duty but would be best served taking the year to develop.

Like Vroman, swingman Marcus Jefferson was at his best at the tail end of last season. A sixth man who provided a spark on both ends of the court last year, Jefferson will be more involved this season. With talented guard Adam Haluska transferring to rival Iowa, Jefferson will be asked to be a consistent force, probably as one of the starting five.

BACKCOURT

The one constant for Iowa State the last three years has been shooting guard Jake Sullivan. One of the school's -- and Big 12's -- best-ever long-distance shooters, Sullivan defines the term team player.

He endured multiple injuries last season and still finished sixth in the conference in scoring. Sullivan enters his senior year fresh off surgery on both ankles. He tried coming back before being completely healed and put himself in the hospital.

"Sometimes he works so hard, it's to his detriment," Morgan says. "You couldn't ask to have a better kid who will do anything he can to get better."

Sullivan's running mate last year, point guard Tim Barnes, is the engine that makes the Cyclones go. If the senior duplicates his late-season play last year -- 42 3-pointers in the last 16 games after hitting 15 in the first 15 -- Iowa State will be in great shape.

Barnes, however, is in a similar position as Vroman; legal and academic issues are threatening his eligibility. He was arrested this summer for drunken driving and drug possession and may not be in the lineup to start the season.

Ready and willing to step in are freshmen Will Blalock and Curtis Stinson. Morgan says Blalock has a little Allen Iverson in him, but the Roxbury, Mass., native needs to improve his shooting. Stinson can score and defend and will get the opportunity to prove it right away.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Morgan inherited a talented but divided group from Eustachy. Legal, attitude and academic problems greeted him immediately after taking the job. Now, with a clearer idea of what he'll have to work with, Morgan is out to prove to the doubters that he can coach as well as he can recruit.

If Vroman, Barnes and Jefferson -- and perhaps talented guard Jerome Harper -- are available, the Cyclones could play their way into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years. But as Morgan is well aware of, those are some big ifs.

"If we are fortunate to have every piece come in to the puzzle, this could be a very good team," Morgan says. "If we start losing pieces then we could struggle."

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