Hoiberg, staff make most of early signing day

Chris Cuellar

The first day of the NCAA’s early signing period produced positive results for coach Fred Hoiberg and his staff, building next year’s team around strong guard play and young depth.

“It’s a great day for the Cyclones, for our future. We signed four very good players,” Hoiberg said.

In Hoiberg’s first recruiting class, the former star player was able to quickly put together a group of three guards and a combo forward. Only three players are slated to leave after this season, guards Diante Garrett and Jake Anderson and forward Jamie Vanderbeken, but the overfull roster is a positive to Hoiberg.

“We lose five guards over the next two years, so we really wanted to restock the cupboard, and get ourselves ready,” Hoiberg said. “My theory is, if you’re going to win in college basketball, you have to have the guards to do it.”

Guard Tyrus McGee is a junior college transfer who will likely be able to take over the point guard position next season, and shot 44 percent from 3-point range last season. McGee averaged 36.1 points per game in his senior year of high school, and brings a level of shooting at the top of the key that the Cyclones haven’t had since guard Jake Sullivan.

“He’s a very dynamic scorer, and he’s a throw-back player,” Hoiberg said. “He plays every possession extremely hard, and really gets up into you on the defense end. He’s a volume shooter that makes a very high percentage and those guys are hard to find.”

Forward Elgin Cook was a first-team All-State player in Wisconsin his junior year of high school, and is an athletic wing that averaged 15.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season.

“We’re looking for those athletes that can really fly on the offensive end, and that’s how we’re going to look to play,” Hoiberg said. “He’s really athletic and gets up and down the floor.”

Guard Anthony Odunsi is another combo-guard that can play on or off the ball, and is rated as the sixth-best player in the Houston area.

Tavon Sledge is a 5-foot-9-inch electrifying guard from New York who chose Iowa State over offers from West Virginia, St. John’s and Cincinnati. Sledge is ranked as the fourth-best player out of New York City, and averaged 18.3 points and 11.1 assists per game as junior.

“People compare him to Nate Robinson with his explosiveness and the way he can get to the rim,” Hoiberg said. “Tavon is as fast as I’ve seen as a guard at that age with the ball in his hands.”

In addition to the four newcomers collected on signing day, Iowa State has five players currently sitting out transfer seasons that will be on the roster available to play next season. If everyone stays that is currently on the roster this season, the Cyclones will have 17 players.

“The more play-makers and ball-handlers you can have out there the better off you are,” Hoiberg said. “We understand what we’re doing here.”

The four signees will enroll at Iowa State in the fall of 2011.