While Craig Brackins recently made the 2009 World University Games team, it was 50 years ago that another Cyclone was the first to play in an international competition.

Former ISU basketball player Gary Thompson played for the United States in the 1959 Pan American Games held in Chicago, Ill.

The “Roland Rocket” was actually two years removed from Iowa State and was playing for the Phillips 66 Amateur Athletic Union team. His reputation and strong play in college and the Pan American Games helped bring the university closer to the spotlight of college basketball.

“I’m always glad to see Iowa State players in international competition,” Thompson said. “This is a great opportunity for Craig that he should learn a lot from.”

Thompson’s team won the gold medal and finished with a 6-0 record, beating opponents by an average of 39.5 points. Much like the current World University Games, the U.S. Pan American team was made up of top collegiate players of the time, including future NBA Hall-of-Famers Oscar Robertson and Jerry West.

While Thompson and his teammates dominated the competition, he said Brackins won’t see the same level of competition the 1959 team saw. Thompson competed against six other teams and Brackins will be in competition with 25 teams. In addition to the larger number of teams, the skill of countries outside the United States has grown over the past few decades, Thompson said.

“Foreign teams have come a long way since the Pan American Games,” Thompson said. “That’s evidenced by the number of foreign players in professional basketball.”

Thompson said the U.S. team had to make several adjustments in the transition from American to international basketball. Among the many rule changes, Thompson and his teammates had the most difficulty dealing with the extra step that players are allowed in international competition before traveling is called.

“Just when you thought you had your man covered, he’d take another step and get by you,” Thompson said.

Thompson said he is confident in the U.S. team for the upcoming games. He offered a simple tip that can often evade big-name players in All-Star games: Play as a team.

“If they [players] can learn to work together, they should have success,” Thompson said. “They need to remember that they aren’t there playing for themselves — they’re there to win for the U.S.”

Thompson’s belief in the team concept came largely from two of his star teammates. He said the rest of the team was able to play together after seeing how the two big-name players on the team did so.

“Even though they were the top college players at the time, Robertson and West were team players,” Thompson said. “They couldn’t wait to pass the ball off to one another.”

While it is unclear if Brackins or his teammates will become NBA legends like Thompson’s teammates did, the U.S. team will take its first step when it begins competition on July 2.