 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Posted: Saturday October 26, 2002 9:42 PM Updated: Wednesday October 30, 2002 5:53 PM Iowa State Cyclones
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
Coming off of a win total that equaled Larry Eustachy's worse since he has been at Iowa State, the Cyclones look to rebound after a year when they finished 12-19 despite being in nearly every game until the end of a schedule that included nine Top 25 opponents. Only two years removed from a first-place finish in the Big 12, Iowa State dipped to 11th last year. After a season in which the Cyclones were forced to replace four starters, Iowa State must now deal with the loss of leading scorer 6-foot-7 forward Tyray Pearson, who averaged 18.7 points and 7.8 rebounds last year. The Cyclones also have to replace Shane Powers, who took his 13.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and transferred to Mississippi State. Lest Iowa State fans think this is shaping into a grim forecast of things to come, we must quickly point out that Eustachy and his staff have retooled, going out and signing a junior college-heavy recruiting class that was ranked one of the best in the country. Some analysts rated it as high as No. 2. Combined with 6-1 junior guard Jake Sullivan, one of the nations' top shooters, the newcomers should return Iowa State to the upper regions of the Big 12 standings. Sullivan, one of three returning starters, is the only one who averaged double figures in scoring last season. He made 27 starts, pouring in 16 points per game to go along with 63 assists and 60 3-pointers.
Sullivan was a third-team All-Big 12 selection and ranked third nationally in 3-point shooting and fifth nationally in free-throw shooting (90.0 percent). Sullivan was one of the stars of the Big 12 All-Star team that toured Scandinavia during the summer. In six games, Sullivan averaged 12.6 points and shot a blistering 64 percent (18-of-28) from 3-point range. And now for the reinforcements. One of the most important recruits is 7-1, 235-pound Chris Alexander, a junior who possesses great athletic ability for his size. Alexander, who played at Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College will team with 6-9 sophomore Jared Homan to give the Cyclones a formidable shot-blocking front line. Alexander had an outstanding sophomore season for IHCC, averaging 11.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots en route to second-team Region 11 honors. He led the conference (ICCAC) in field goal percentage (a school-record 73.6 percent), making 167-of-227 shots from the floor. Alexander was the second-best rebounder in the conference (8.1 rpg) and led the league in blocked shots with 77. Alexander was picked as the sixth-best junior college center by Van Coleman's Future Stars. Rick Ball of Ballplayers JC Report had Alexander listed as the 10th-best center in junior college. "Chris has unlimited potential," Eustachy said. "He is by far and away the quickest, most athletic big man I have ever had the opportunity to coach." Guard Tim Barnes, a 6-1 junior, is expected to see significant playing time at point guard after a successful two-year stint at Southeastern (Ill.) Community College. Barnes was a second-team junior college All-America selection, averaging 19.4 points, 7.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game while leading Southeastern to a 26-7 finish. Barnes is considered an excellent ball handler, and he also knows how to score. "Timmy was the only sophomore on our team, so he had to do a little bit of everything," said Southeastern coach Todd Franklin. "He was our floor general, emotional leader and our go-to player when we needed a basket. We played against some of the highest level of competition almost every night, and I would hate to think what our season would have been like without Timmy. He is the best point guard I have ever seen at this level in junior college and I have seen a lot of great players." "Barnes is a true point guard who has great speed, quickness and is an excellent shooter, but his best attribute is he makes everyone around him better," Ball said. "He is not Jamaal Tinsley because he is only 165 pounds, but he is a small-town Kentucky kid that can just really play." Jerome Harper a 6-5 junior, also comes to Iowa State from Indian Hills. A McDonald's All-American in high school in Columbia, S.C., Harper gives the Cyclones a versatile combination player who can step into four positions on the floor. His size allows him to drive to the basket as well as shoot from the perimeter. Also regarded as a solid defender, Harper averaged 10.7 points per game, 5.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Ball picked Harper as the fifth-best shooting guard in the nation. PrepStars rates him as the seventh-best junior college player. And Van Coleman's Future Stars listed him as the second-best shooting guard in the nation. At 6-10 and 230 pounds, Jackson Vroman will give the Cyclones some much-needed muscle down low. At Snow Community College in Utah, Vroman proved himself to be an effective rebounder and scorer. He can score facing the basket or with his back to it. "Jackson is the best competitor I have ever been around. He plays hard, he's vocal and he's a great leader," Snow College coach Jon Judkins said. "It is very difficult to find a player with all of those attributes." Vroman reminds Eustachy of an Iowa State stalwart of recent vintage. "At 6-10, Jackson is a Martin Rancik-type player," Eustachy said. "He can shoot and he is extremely active and has unlimited potential." Iowa State did sign a high school player. Guard Adam Haluska was considered one of the top prep players in Iowa after a standout career at Carroll (Iowa) High School. A top 75 recruit, Haluska made a name for himself at the Adidas ABCD camp before earning first-team all-state honors as a senior. In his final campaign at Carroll, Haluska averaged 30.1 points per game and 9.9 rebounds–scoring a career-high 47 points against Carlisle–earning him Iowa Player-of-the-Year honors. He shot 55.5 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from 3-point range, finishing his prep career with 2,209 points, the eighth-highest scoring total in Iowa history. "This has been a long time coming," Eustachy said of finally being able to put Haluska on the floor. "He is the earliest commitment in ISU basketball history. With how early he committed and the proximity of his hometown [Carroll], I think he will adjust quicker than anybody." Eustachy looks back on a job well done in recruiting and can't help but think he's restocked his roster. "As a whole, this group can come in and have an impact on the program immediately, Eustachy said. "The combination of the new recruits and the young talent already in our program has me extremely optimistic for the future." The newcomers will all battle for playing time, if not claim starting jobs. But Iowa State will look for increased productivity from senior forward Omar Bynum and junior guard Marcus Jefferson. The 6-7 Bynum averaged 7.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and tallied 19 blocks while the 6-5 Jefferson scored 7.3 points per game and 4.1 rebounds while totaling 30 steals. Homan was a welcome surprise last year and has the size and potential to give Iowa State a solid presence at center as a sophomore. He started nine times as a freshman last year, averaging 16 minutes and led the team with 40 blocks. Homan broke the Iowa State school record for blocks as a freshman and tallied a block in 18 of the Cyclones last 19 games. Homan posted a career-high four blocks against Kansas and its talented front line. Sophomore guard Ricky Morgan (2.6 ppg, 3.1 apg), 6-0, will also be expected to step up with the loss of Power. Morgan saw floor time in all but two of Iowa State's games last season and led the Cyclones with 91 assists. He started the last five games of the season at the point. Morgan turned in a career-high eight assists against Nebraska and scored nine points in the Cyclones' 79-76 loss to Texas. Other returners are 7-1 junior Andrew Skoglund (0.5 ppg, 0.9 rpg), 6-4 senior Clint Varley (1.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg), 6-9 sophomore Andrew Schaper (1.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg), 6-2 senior Justin Fries (0.0 ppg, 0.3 rpg), 6-3 senior Brandon Nicol (0.3 ppg, 0.1 rpg), 6-2 senior Brad Davis and 6-4 junior Brian Gahan (0.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg). After a couple of seasons of tremendous success, Iowa State fell by the wayside last season. But thanks to a strong recruiting class, the Cyclones will be back again this season. In need of some size, a point guard and a wing scorer, Eustachy found all three with a strong junior college signing class. Alexander, Vroman, Harper and Barnes all figure to press for immediate playing time, if not start. In Jake Sullivan, the Cyclones have one of the top shooting guards in the nation. And there are enough other talented veterans around to mesh with the newcomers and give ISU some depth. Look for a quick rebound from the Cyclones this season and a return to postseason play.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
