High-flying.

Slam-dunking.

Electrifying.

These three words all have been used to describe one ISU men’s basketball player.

Is it Curtis Stinson? No. Will Blalock? Nope. It’s super-sophomore Rahshon Clark.

Clark burst onto the Cyclone scene last year as an exciting, high-energy freshman who averaged more than seven points and four rebounds per game while he electrified crowds with his high-flying dunks.

This year Clark has expanded his job from role player to full-fledged star, doubling his scoring average to nearly 14 points and six rebounds per game as he emerges as the next big thing at Iowa State.

“I just try and go out and take some of the load off of Will [Blalock] and Curt [Stinson],” Clark said. “I don’t think ‘I have to score 20 tonight’ or something like that. I just know they’re out there every night trying to carry the team, and whatever I can do to help take some of that load off is good.”

That perspective – especially for a sophomore – is a great thing according to ISU coach Wayne Morgan. Morgan agreed with Clark’s attitude toward his game play and said he is one of the keys to the nightly success of the Cyclones.

“He’s a guy who can take pressure off Will [Blalock] and Curtis [Stinson] and create opportunities for himself and his teammates,” Morgan said. “On a night he can get 15 to 20 points, that’s a night we’re going to win.”

Iowa State’s success has been closely tied to Clark’s play. During the conference season, Iowa State has gone just 1-6 in games in which Clark has been held under 10 points.

“When Rahshon is able to play well and score and Curtis [Stinson] and Will [Blalock] are playing well, I like our chances every night,” Morgan said. “[Clark] can score, but he also gives us really good defense and effort.

“Every now and then he gets one of those dunks that get everybody going and that’s really helpful. There’s just a whole lot of positives that associate themselves with Rahshon Clark.”

Morgan said Clark’s substantial increase in scoring has resulted in teams keying on him and has led to some inconsistencies in the scoring category for Clark.

Clark averaged 12 points-per-game during a five-game winning streak late December, but then averaged just more than seven points per game during a four-game losing streak in February.

“Other teams are starting to look at him as a threat now and they target him,” Morgan said. “He really hasn’t ever been targeted in scouting reports at this level yet, so he’s still trying to learn how to deal with that.”

Even when Clark isn’t getting many points, he has the ability to change the game and get the crowd into the game with one of his thunderous dunks.

Clark’s dunking ability has been showcased on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top Ten Plays lists and Play of the Night fan polls, no doubt because one of his power slams usually sparks the loudest cheers of the night inside Hilton Coliseum.

Whether it’s dunking over players in traffic, or on a fast-break where he can add a little more style, is not important, Clark said, as long as everybody notices.

“It doesn’t matter to me where or when I have the opportunity to dunk it,” Clark said. “However I get a dunk, all that matters is that I get it and it gets everyone jacked up.”

Although the dunks are what makes the highlights and gets the fans going, Clark said he knows he has aspects of his game that need to be improved if he wants to continue playing at the next level.

“In practice I’ve been shooting more,” he said. “I’ve been getting better with my ball handling skills and just playing more confident. I’ve been working on my pull-up jumpshot with some of the coaches in practice. And playing against some of the good defensive players [in the conference] has forced me to get better with my ball handling skills.”

Clark said he knows that he has to continue to improve throughout the rest of his career with the Cyclones, but no matter what opposing defenses do and what gets said about him in scouting reports, he will continue to play within himself.

“I’m going to continue to do what I do well on the court no matter what,” Clark said.

“I’m not going to change anything because someone’s looking at me as one of the dominant players on this team. I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing and that’s play basketball.”