It wasn’t the most prosperous four years in ISU basketball history.

From the fall of 2006 to the spring of 2010, coach Greg McDermott led the Cyclones to a 59-68 record, a high turnover rate among players, and couldn’t get Iowa State to an NCAA Tournament. The tall dark-haired coach was a quality person by all accounts, but just couldn’t win in Ames, and decided to take the job opening this off-season at Creighton University in nearby Omaha, Neb.

Iowa State (3-0) takes on Creighton (3-0) Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

“It’s going to be a tough game, coach Mac knows these guys inside and out,” said ISU coach Fred Hoiberg. “He knows their strengths and he knows their weaknesses, and I know he’s going to try and expose that. I have a ton of respect for coach Mac and I think he’ll do a tremendous job at Creighton.”

Hoiberg and McDermott are each off to 3-0 starts at their new locations, with both teams sharing wins over Northern Arizona and Alabama State. The Cyclones’ returning players Diante Garrett, Jamie Vanderbeken, Scott Christopherson and Bubu Palo played and practiced under McDermott, and while several newcomers on the current roster were recruited by McDermott’s staffers, they never played under him.

Christopherson, Garrett and Vanderbeken make up three of the top four current ISU scorers, and expect their former coach to bring his best effort from Omaha.

“Last year the highlight of our season up until Kansas State was a big win over Drake, and I certainly would hope that we have a lot more highlights of our season than we did last year,” Christopherson said.

Not everything on this current Cyclone team has McDermott’s touch though, as Hoiberg has formed an identity around running the floor and playing up-tempo basketball with up to four guards on the floor at one time, something McDermott never would have contemplated.

Iowa State’s 91-43 dominating victory over Drake on Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum was definitely a step in a different direction than what Cyclone fans had seen in the last term.

“I hate to sound like a broken record, but we just keep playing unselfish basketball,” Hoiberg said. “I know our guys are excited. They love playing these games, and they love getting after it. If we keep doing that, we’ll be fine on Sunday.”

The Cyclones have had a little more ease than the Bluejays in taking care of their opponents, as Iowa State boasts a current winning margin of 29.7 points. Iowa State took care of Northern Arizona by 14 points, a team Creighton beat by four, and Alabama State by 27, a squad the Jays topped by 14. The Cyclones’ first year coach credits practice habits for the easy wins.

“Our scout team deserves a lot of credit, because when our guys go from guarding that group of players — Royce White, Chris Allen, Chris Babb, Anthony Booker and Bubu plays the point guard in that team — that’s a pretty good group,” Hoiberg said. “They prepare you very well.”

Iowa State’s defense has been a catalyst in the early success though, something McDermott preached during his time pacing the sidelines on the cardinal and wood-grain court. Iowa State is allowing opponents to shoot just 30.6 percent from the field so far.

“We’re further ahead defensively right now, just because there are going to be nights when the ball isn’t going in the basket,” Hoiberg said. “We’re going to have to defend if we want to have a chance of winning. I’m really proud of this group right now, because they’re playing the right way.”

Part of the appeal for the Cyclones’ former coach heading just a few hours to the west was being able to coach his son at the college level. Now a true freshman forward for the Jays, Doug McDermott, is already averaging 12.7 points per game, and is proving that he belongs on the court and not just because his father is drawing up the plays.

The Jays have struggled shooting from the floor, knocking down just under 38 percent of their shots, but in typical McDermott fashion are limiting mistakes and holding opponents to only 61 points a game.

“They’re picked to have a pretty good year, so we know they’re going to be a tough opponent,” Christopherson said.

Sunday’s game is still part of the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge, a round robin format series of games between the Cyclones, Jays and Kennesaw State who will visit on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. Iowa State expects to be tested by McDermott’s club, but Kennesaw State knocked off traditional power Georgia Tech by 17 points earlier this week.

Opponents and schedule aside, Hoiberg’s club just wants to keep on playing his style: fast and frenetic. If the team can shoot as well as Christopherson’s 11-of-11 and 29 points against Drake, they should find success.

“We had a great night, but I think it’s important that we understand that we’re 3-0. There’s a long way to go,” Christopherson said.

Sunday’s game against Creighton tips off at 2 p.m., and Wednesday’s break game against Kennesaw State is not part of student ticket package, but has tickets available and tips at 7 p.m.