ISU men’s basketball coach Greg McDermott didn’t hit the road without taking care of some business first.

McDermott, whose team was in Peoria, Ill., for its first road game of the season last night, announced the signing of four players to national letters of intent for the 2008-09 basketball season.

“We are very fortunate in the sense that these four young men come from very successful high school basketball programs and have won at a very high level during their high school careers,” McDermott said in a press release.

The four players are Dominique Buckley, a guard from Detroit; Wes Eikmeier, a guard from Fremont, Neb.; Justin Hamilton, a center from Alpine, Utah; and Clinton Mann, a forward from Overland Park, Kan.

“They understand what it takes to be successful and they are committed to being successful scholastically as well as working hard on the basketball floor,” McDermott said.

Buckley averaged 14.4 points last season and is ranked No. 124 in the ESPN 150 Class of 2008. Buckley earned second-team Class A All-State honors from the Detroit Free Press as a junior last year.

“All the things that make for a good floor general are all wrapped up in Dominique,” McDermott said. “I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t show up on campus and make an immediate impact.”

Paul Clark, publisher of CycloneReport.com, said that, of the four, he was most impressed by Buckley.

“He’s the guy that I’ve seen play that looks most like a Big-12-caliber player,” Clark said. “Very good player to me.”

Eikmeier, Nebraska’s Gatorade Player of the Year last season, averaged 26.5 points and earned first-team Super State honors from the Omaha World Herald in 2007.

“Since we began the recruiting process, he has made several positive changes to his game,” McDermott said. “His offensive game is very complete in that he can score off the dribble as well as shoot the 3-point shot.”

Despite Eikmeier’s success, Clark said Iowa State was able to beat many schools to the punch of signing the guard because he attended a small Catholic school in Nebraska, Archbishop Bergan High School.

“Eikmeier is a kid that, had he stayed on the market for another year or part of another year, he would have picked up a lot of offers,” he said. “Iowa State was really ahead of the curve.”

Hamilton, a post player, did not start playing basketball until he was 15 years old. Still, McDermott is excited about his potential.

“I believe Justin’s best basketball is ahead of him,” he said. “He will make impressive strides when he gets to Iowa State and plays against great competition each day.”

Mann is rated one of the best players in Kansas and was a Kansas City All-Metro pick, averaging 15.1 point and 10.2 rebounds per game.

“We expect that he will be able to play multiple positions for us,” McDermott said. “I am confident that his size, strength, and quick feet will enable him to be one of our best defensive players.”