Jiri Hubalek – and his well known propensity for shooting the open three – might have been replaced.

Jamie Vanderbeken, a junior transfer from Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, made 40 3-pointers last year, and at 6 feet, 11 inches, the forward is sure to draw comparisons to Hubalek, who shot 35 percent from beyond the arc last season.

The two will never meet to see who would win in a long-distance shoot-out, but head coach Greg McDermott might put his money on Vanderbeken.

“He’s probably a better three-point shooter, at least more consistent than Jiri,” McDermott said. “But they’re both good three-point shooters.”

Vanderbeken was one of three new recruits the ISU men’s basketball team signed Wednesday, along with L.A. Pomlee and Scott Christopherson. The three join Dominique Buckley, Wes Eikmeier, Justin Hamilton and Clinton Mann in the 2008-09 class.

Pomlee, a 6-foot-8-inch forward from Davenport, made his decision after visiting campus last weekend. Ranked as the 38th-best power forward in the nation by Scout.com, the first-team all-state pick, along with Vanderbeken, should help bolster a depleted front line for the Cyclones.

“Well, they add depth to the front line – which we need with the departures of Jiri Hubalek, Clayton Vette and Cory Johnson,” McDermott said.

“Jamie will add someone with size and a tremendous amount of skill facing the basket that can shoot the three-point shot, handle the ball and pass the ball extremely well. L.A. brings a defensive presence and a rebounding presence to our team that I think we were missing this past year.”

Christopherson, a 6-foot-3-inch guard, recently became available after Tom Crean, his coach at Marquette, left the school to be head coach at Indiana.

Some mutual contacts, who coached Christopherson in high school in La Crosse, Wis., put the school and player in touch. It was a match, and just as importantly, a match to a school in the Midwest.

“I think Scott was looking for an opportunity to find a system that will fit him, and hopefully be able to do it in a place that wasn’t to far from home,” McDermott said.

Because of NCAA transfer rules, the 2007 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball will sit out the 2008-2009 season. He will be available as a sophomore for the 2009-10 season.

The seven new signees brings the roster, barring any change, to 16 players – 15 of which will be available next season.

While that makes for a crowded bench, it also gives the coaching staff a variety of options when looking to make moves down the road.

“Five are freshmen, one’s a sophomore and one’s a junior – so it’s not like they are all going to be in the same class,” McDermott said. “It will give us the flexibility to possibly redshirt some of the incoming class to push them back into that ’09 class, which will balance the classes even more.”