Fred Hoiberg used to retrieve balls for Jeff Grayer.

On Saturday, he was taking them away when the pair came together again, along with more than 200 other former Cyclones, to celebrate 100 years of Iowa State men’s basketball.

“I idolized those guys growing up,” said Hoiberg of the assembled alumni. “To be out there on the same floor with them was a big thrill for me.”

The pair were two of 15 former ISU greats to be named to the Cyclones’ All-Century team, in a ceremony that was part of a day full of activities, including an autograph session.

Hoiberg, a 1995 Ames High School graduate known as “The Mayor,” sat alongside Grayer, Iowa State’s all-time leading scorer, and other former Cyclones, including Gary Thompson, Zaid Abdul-Aziz, Hercle Ivy, and Kelvin Cato.

“To be on the same piece of paper as those guys, like I said, it’s just a great honor for me,” Hoiberg said.

Eight of the fifteen players, including Hoiberg and Grayer, were guaranteed spots on the All-Century Team because they earned All-American honors during their time at Iowa State. The remaining seven were selected by fans in a summerlong online voting process.

“Part of it was really neat to let our fans decide on who our best players were, because it’s their program and all these guys played for all these fans,” said Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard.

“I think it’s neat that we let the fans do it.”

It was the fans who got to see the final product they put together during a halftime ceremony to honor all the living members. With the exception of former Utah Jazz point guard Jeff Hornacek, 1999-2000 Big 12 Player of the Year Marcus Fizer and his teammate Jamaal Tinsley, all living members were on hand to receive their honors and be given framed jerseys.

“I can’t tell you how I enjoyed seeing them all and how good they looked,” said former Cyclone coach Johnny Orr. “They looked great. It’s just something that’s hard to describe.”

Following the Cyclones’ 60-52 win over Nebraska, the team met with members of ISU teams from each decade, starting with the 1940s. Video messages from former Cyclone coaches Glen Anderson, Tim Floyd, Larry Eustachy and Wayne Morgan were played afterwards.

“These are guys that I grew up watching basketball and learning basketball from, so it means everything to me,” said current Cyclone forward and Ames native Alex Thompson.

It’s a date Thompson said he’s had marked on his calendar since day one. He ended it with five points in the win.

“We understand that we were playing for something bigger than us, as well,” he said. “Bigger than our team, just the school history. We just wanted to play well for all these guys that came back to support us.”

During the alumni game, it was Hoiberg who played well, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and making the game-winning shot as time expired.

“It was fun to be out here running around,” Hoiberg said. “That’s what I enjoyed.”