The cupboard may not be quite as bare as feared for the ISU men’s basketball team next season.

Less than a week after declaring for the NBA Draft, Cyclone standout guard Will Blalock said he may return for his senior season.

Blalock and Curtis Stinson both elected to forgo their final season of eligibility, choosing to test the waters of professional basketball. Now, after meeting with Iowa State’s new coach, Blalock may still be in cardinal and gold next season.

“I’m still going to keep my options open,” Blalock said after a press conference to announce Greg McDermott as Iowa State’s 14th men’s basketball coach.

“If the NBA is for me, then it’s for me. But if it’s not, I’ll be right back here. I have a lot of stuff I have to talk about with my family first before I make my decision.”

Although he has not completely removed his name from the draft, Blalock said he will not hire an agent, allowing him to come back for his senior season if he chooses.

“I don’t want to screw up my eligibility,” Blalock said. “I’m going to keep my options open to come back.”

Last season Blalock finished second on the team in scoring and steals, while leading the Cyclones in assists and three-point shots made.

Blalock was also an all-Big 12 third team selection.

Iowa State may also get back the services of guard Tasheed Carr.

Carr announced that he would transfer to another school before the Big 12 tournament, but like Blalock, is leaving things open for a return.

Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard extended an invitation for Carr to return to the team, an offer McDermott has also given.

“[McDermott] definitely extended the invitation for me to come back,” Carr said. “Him and the whole staff expressed that they would like for me to come back. I feel as though I’m going to leave all my doors open and see what Coach McDermott has to offer for myself.”

Carr, a Philadelphia native, said he has talked to a couple schools back East, but hasn’t come to a decision as to where he is going to play next year.

“I’m going to kinda go through the recruiting process all over again,” Carr said. “I’m going to consider what’s best for me.”

After starting four games early in the season, Carr was completely phased out of the Cyclone rotation.

Carr was benched for Iowa State’s final six games and saw action in only nine of Iowa State’s 16 conference games.

For the season, Carr averaged five points per game and scored a season high 13 against Northwestern State.

After a solid freshman season, Carr went though a bit of a sophomore slump, hitting just 15 percent of his three-point shots after shooting them at a 34 percent clip during his first year.

Carr said a lack of playing time led to his decision to seek a different school.

“I just felt as though what was going on here, as far as myself and playing time, it wasn’t the best thing for my future,” Carr said. “I felt I was a player who could have helped in many ways. I felt as though I wasn’t getting treated fairly as far as playing time.

“I felt I had to do what was best for myself and my future, and I came to the decision a few weeks ago that it might be in my best interest to go somewhere else and play.”

Meeting with McDermott helped both Blalock and Carr in their decision to reconsider.

“He’s a fighter, and as far as I know, a winner,” Blalock said. “That’s what really stuck out in my mind. He seems like a great guy, and I look forward to getting to know him personally.”

Hurt and Confusion

The upbeat nature of the Cyclone players during the press conference to announce McDermott’s hiring was in stark contrast to earlier in the afternoon.

Former Cyclone head coach Wayne Morgan held a press conference to stress that neither he, his staff or the ISU athletic administration committed any wrongdoing by using D1 Scheduling.

Morgan, flanked by nearly the entire Cyclone team, stated he did nothing wrong, but still refused to take shots at the administration that fired him Friday, saying he “respects [Pollard’s] right to have his coaches work for his administration.”

Afterward, players filed into the lobby of the Gateway Center Hotel and their shock, disappointment and confusion as a result of Morgan’s release became clearly apparent.

“I found out that night from Coach [Dave] Edwards,” said ISU forward Rahshon Clark. “He called me up and told me. I was completely caught off-guard.”

Clark said as the team started to contact each other, the full effect of the firing began to set in.

“Everybody was hurt,” Clark said. “Everybody was upset. We didn’t know why things went down the way they did.”

ISU center Shawn Taggart didn’t find out until the next day.

“I had turned both my phones off that night and went to bed,” Taggart said. “I woke up the next morning and [redshirt guard] Farnold Degand called me and said Coach Morgan got fired. I was like ‘What? [We] Just Coach Morgan?’ And he said that it was the whole staff and I was like ‘Oh my god.’

“I was shocked. I don’t think I talked the whole day.”

Graduating senior John Neal said he too was shocked at Morgan’s release.

“I didn’t really expect it because he’s been doing pretty good and has a bunch of young guys,” Neal said. “But like [Morgan] said, the athletic director came in and had a different vision and you have to respect his decision.”

The fact that most of the team showed up could be construed as a rebellion against the athletic department, but Taggart said it is just a show of support for the coach who gave them their chance and said there will be the same support for the next coach.

“We’ve got to show loyalty,” Taggart said. “We’re like family, so we have to show loyalty to the man. And it will be the same way with the next guy. We’ll learn to be loyal to him. We’re not going to be mad at him just because Coach Morgan got fired.”

Clark seemed especially shaken up by Morgan’s firing, leaving the press conference momentarily and giving his former coach a hug when Morgan had finished speaking.

“I don’t know what [Morgan’s firing] means for me,” Clark said. “I could stay, I could leave. I don’t know.”

Making Decisions

After the press conference to announce McDermott as the new coach, Clark said he had already come to a decision to stay a Cyclone.

“I’m going to stay, I’m not going to go anywhere,” Clark said. “I was thinking about it, but I’m going to stay. Iowa State – this is my home.”

Now that he has decided to return, Clark said he will try to help recruit Blalock and Carr back into the Cyclone fold.

“I’m going to speak to them and try to get them to stay,” Clark said. “But whatever is best for that, that’s what they’re going to do.”

Taggart also expressed indecision about a return to Ames after Morgan’s press conference.

He was highly recruited out of high school and said he may explore his options over the next two months.

“There were a lot of schools after me in high school and when I was in prep school,” Taggart said. “I’m going to stick by Iowa State for right now and my future here.

“I won’t rule out staying here because I’m leaning more this way right now, but I’m just confused right now. I’ve got to sit down and look at my options. I have to talk to the coach and see what his style of play is.”

As the players continue to make their decisions on whether to stay, Neal said he would be willing to help his fellow teammates through the switch since he is the sole remaining member of the Larry Eustachy-Morgan transfer.

“I was fortunate enough to get a guy from within the program when we hired Morgan,” Neal said.

“But they’ve got McDermott coming in and a lot of players back so they should have a good year.”