OKLAHOMA CITY – Now the waiting game begins.

The “yes he will” and “no he won’t” battles on Craig Brackins’ future in the NBA or the Cyclones have been raging since he dropped 42 points on Kansas. Now coach Greg McDermott, Cyclone players and fans will all be holding their breaths, hoping that for a fourth-straight year Iowa State’s best player won’t be waving goodbye to Ames.

They could all turn blue in the face.

“I don’t know yet,” Brackins said about the NBA after Iowa State’s first round exit Wednesday.

That was his only response at the post game press conference.

McDermott said his star will head back home to Palmdale, Calif., for spring break to spend time with his family and figure out a plan of action. Time might be a good thing for a visibly worn out Brackins, who has yet to win a tournament game with the Cyclones. They’ve gone 29-35 in his two seasons.

He told the Des Moines Register after the team’s exit, “It’s been a long season. I’ve got to go home and rest and think about what I’ve got to do.”

He has a lot to think about.

McDermott said necessary conversations between him and Brackins about the NBA have been ongoing but they would sit down and discuss it after the season.

“As soon as it comes up for a guy that’s 20 or 21 years old and your name starts to get thrown around in that regard, as a coach you better address it because it will weigh heavily on his mind,” McDermott said.

The NBA beckons, but whether Brackins makes the leap could come down to where he is projected to go in the Draft. Currently many draft boards have Brackins going in the middle to late first round. An ESPN.com prediction says Brackins has a “realistic shot of going somewhere between Nos. 20 and 35 in this year’s draft.”

Second round draft picks are never a lock for a contract, and waiting a year could come with some big benefits and a big paycheck. Brackins’ development from his freshman year to his sophomore year was staggering. He improved in points per game (11.4 to 20.5), rebounds per game (5 to 9.2) and overall consistency according to McDermott and his 15 double-doubles in 2008-09.

Oklahoma sophomore Blake Griffin, the Big 12’s leading scorer, was in a similar position last season. He elected to return for another season, solidified himself as the nation’s best player and is projected to be a lottery pick in this year’s draft.

With him out of the Big 12, Brackins would be one of the Big 12’s brightest stars, if not one of the country’s. And at Iowa State he’ll have plenty of room to shine.

One potential scenario for Brackins is to declare for the draft by April 26. If he doesn’t hire an agent, he can return to the Cyclones for his junior year. This would allow him to workout for some teams and get a feel for his draft stock before making a decision. The deadline for him to withdraw his name would be June 15, just 10 days before the 2009 Draft.

Coach McDermott said he will be right there helping Brackins make his decision.

“My job is to provide him as much information, do as much research as I possibly can and try to provide him with sound advice so when the time comes to make a decision, it will be an educated decision,” McDermott said.

And one that could be devastating for Iowa State’s program. The Cyclones’ leading scorer from each of the past three years (Curtis Stinson, Mike Taylor, Wesley Johnson) has left early. Brackins would make four, leaving the Cyclones with out a bona fide scoring presence and a gaping hole in the post.

Brackins passed the 1,000 point barrier Wednesday against the Cowboys, putting him in an elite class with just four other Cyclones who also scored 1,000 points in their first two seasons.

He scored 23 points. Maybe the last of his Cyclone career.