Fred Hoiberg’s 2011-2012 Iowa State men’s basketball squad is now on campus and beginning to prepare for a much-anticipated season with the infusion of some talented transfers, as well as new freshmen.

Although NCAA rules prohibit coaches from working with players until the middle of July, the entire team is already taking part in voluntary pickup games and workouts.

“A lot of guys have already been in the gym a lot,” said Cyclone guard Chris Allen. “It’s just a great feeling that the whole team is in the gym instead of just one or two people.”

This collection of players has been a long time in the making. Allen made his way to Ames after transferring from Michigan State. Two other two ex-Big Ten players will join him on the court: Royce White from the University of Minnesota, and Chris Babb, who started his career at Penn State.

Big man Anthony Booker, a transfer from Southern Illinois, rounds out the list of transfer students hoping to make an impact after being forced into a one-year break from competition.

“It’s just a lot more fun because I feel like I have something to look forward to,” Babb said. “Last summer, when I was injured and I had my finger surgery, I was out for a lot of the summer, but this summer it feels so good to have our whole team here working out and getting in the gym.”

The new faces will look to join forces with a solid core of players from last year’s team, a transition that may take time. Cyclone guard Scott Christopherson said he likes the team’s early outlook.

“I think it’s been a great mix so far, and it’s going to give us a lot of competition in a lot of different spots,” Christopherson said. “It’s good for everybody in the end, and I don’t see it being a problem. It’ll just be a natural progression that every team goes through.”

As well as doing voluntary workouts and playing in pickup games, the team is also participating in the Capital City Summer League in Des Moines.

The majority of league’s teams are made up of current and former college players from around Iowa, as well as a few standout high school players.

With six teams in the league, Cyclone players have been split up so that there are between two and three on each team.

“Cap City is just a fun league with some good players — it’s a great way to stay in shape and play some competitive games,” said Cyclone sophomore Melvin Ejim.

Ejim was one of the standouts at Sunday’s Capital City League games, scoring 37 points and pulling down 22 rebounds as his Capital Orthopaedics team fell in overtime to MOHA, a team anchored by Cyclone players Anthony Booker, Will Clyburn and Aaron Law.

“I love this. It’s just fun to come out and have the fans be here and come out and get wins,” White said. “I just want to win at everything, so I just want to do that. So it’s not a show for me as much as it is for other people, but I’m having fun, and that’s all you can ask for.”

Cyclone players will be back in league action this Wednesday at Valley Southwoods High School in West Des Moines, with the first of three games starting at 5:30 p.m.