The ISU men’s basketball team recently wrapped up its 11th season of Big 12 basketball, and all who have taken the journey know there have been few breaks from the excitement.

The inaugural season of Big 12 basketball, 1996-97, started and ended with exciting stories for Cyclone basketball. The team, fresh off of winning the final Big 8 Tournament the season before, featured returning First Team All-Conference selection Dedric Willoughby, and hyper head coach Tim Floyd was running the show.

The team, composed of such big names as Willoughby, Shawn Bankhead, Kenny Pratt, Jacy Holloway and supreme shot blocker Kelvin Cato, finished the regular season with a record of 20-8, 10-6 in conference. It was only the third Cyclone team to ever make the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament, where they suffered a heartbreaking 74-73 overtime loss to UCLA.

Curt Chenoweth, longtime Cyclone fan and student at the University of Iowa, listed Willoughby as his favorite Cyclone since the Big 12 was formed.

“He could shoot lights out, and was the most exciting player to watch on one of the most exciting teams ever,” Chenoweth said.

Erick Krone, junior in finance, is a self-proclaimed lifelong fan and agrees with Chenoweth.

“Dedric was good at everything. He could shoot and play D, and I also like the number 22,” Krone said.

Willoughby was just the first of the greats to play for the Cyclones in the Big 12. This was all just the beginning of the ride.

Time passed, Floyd went to the Bulls, Cato went to the NBA, Willoughby had his legacy built, and it was time for a new batch of Cyclones to follow.

The 1999-2000 team is widely regarded as the best Cyclone team ever, and it’s hard to argue that a team with two first-round NBA draft picks, Marcus Fizer and Jamaal Tinsley, isn’t exactly that.

Led by another hyper coach, Larry Eustachy, this Cyclone team blew through the competition. They compiled a regular season mark of 29-4, and 14-2 in the conference, good enough for a Big 12 Championship and a two seed in the NCAA tournament.

The team was stalled in the Elite Eight, when it played eventual national champion Michigan State in another heartbreaker. Many people feel if it wasn’t for Iowa State’s placement in that bracket, things may have been better for the Cyclones that year.

“My favorite Cyclone team was the Fizer-Tinsley team in 2000. I think the rest of the country knows the real national championship was played in the Elite 8 that year against Michigan State,” Chenoweth said.

Mark Sedore, junior in finance, feels the same way.

“That year was our best chance to win a championship. We were the team to beat that year besides Michigan State. They were the only team that could’ve beaten us,” Sedore said.

The following year, the Cyclones jumped on All-American Jamaal Tinsley’s back and won another Big 12 title, and garnered another two seed in the NCAA tournament. Then the mighty 15th-seeded Hampton Pirates struck. But that’s history.

The next few years brought us the likes of four-year starter Jake Sullivan, and arguably the most exciting duo to play together in Cyclone uniforms, Will Blalock and Curtis Stinson. Sprinkle high-flying Rahshon Clark on that duo and the argument is squashed.

Coach Wayne Morgan came and went and now it’s Greg McDermott’s turn to build a team with a legacy as strong as the aforementioned teams. The fans seem to have confidence that McDermont will have the Cyclones back on the top soon.

“In five years, I see us as a perennial NCAA team, at the least,” Sedore said. “Hopefully consistent Sweet Sixteens. I’d like to have a national championship, but I definitely see us as a regular in the NCAA.”

Chenoweth elaborates on Sedore’s comment.

“I see ISU making dramatic improvements upon this year,” Chenoweth said. “McDermont will be around awhile. He will build a good name for ISU, and do whatever he wants to do there.”