When Johnny Orr was at Michigan in 1980, he got a call from Iowa State as they looked at one of his assistants to coach the ISU men’s basketball team. Orr would take the job himself, and Cyclone men’s basketball would change forever.

During his time at Iowa State, Orr led the Cyclones to six NCAA Tournaments and saw seven players go to the NBA. Each time Orr entered the court at Hilton Coliseum, the pep band greeted him with, “Here’s Johnny.” By the time his ISU career was over, he had won 218 games and brought ‘Hilton Magic’ to Ames.

What is the story behind how you arrived at Iowa State back in 1980?

[Iowa State’s athletic director] Lou McCullough called me to recommend someone for the job, and I got out here and liked it and ended up taking the job myself. I saw the facilities — see I coached at Dubuque High School, and we played here for a tournament in high school and they played in the Armory, they didn’t have Hilton — so that’s how I made my mind.

It’s probably hard because there are so many, but if you had to pick one out, what would be your greatest memory in your time at Iowa State?

I think my greatest victory was when we beat Michigan and then when we beat Kansas when they were No. 1 in the country. We won 39 straight games here at Hilton Coliseum — we were unbeatable here.

How would you describe Hilton Magic that you saw come into fruition when you were here?

Well, I think the biggest thing was the pep band. A kid in the pep band got that idea of playing “Here’s Johnny” and everything. Like I said in my speech, when you lose 10 games in a row it’s hard to come out there like that, but when you win 39 games in a row, it’s easy.

What was it like for you to get the statue and the room at Hilton?

It was tremendous. [ISU athletic director] Jamie Pollard did that for me, and it was tremendous. I met the architect and the guys that made the statue and everything, and they were great people, and I really appreciated that, and it was a great thing for me.

You coached Fred Hoiberg, did you ever see him as a future coach when you saw him?

Oh yeah. He was always that way; he was good. You know when I recruited him, he didn’t have great speed. But at like 6-feet, he was pretty quick, and he could really shoot the basketball. [Ames] won the state championship, and of course we had to get him here — but we were lucky.

Now of course he’s here coaching, what have you seen from him?

He’s done a great job, I think, and I think it’s going to get better all the time. He keeps getting good recruits, and I think you’ll see this arena filled again.