He was greeted with a chorus of boos from a raucous sold-out crowd at Hilton Coliseum, which continued to rain down every time he touched the basketball.

But somehow, Adam Haluska managed to play through them.

“I just tried to play within myself, not do too much,” Haluska said. “I had to go out and play like it was any other game.”

Iowa’s junior guard was making his first appearance back inside Hilton Coliseum, an arena he called home just three seasons ago.

“I just appreciate the fact that I’m able to play basketball,” Haluska said.

“I just try to go out there and have fun.”

Haluska played at Iowa State as a freshman, before transferring to in-state rival Iowa after the season. Because of NCAA transfer rules, he was forced to sit out the game between Iowa State and Iowa in 2003, making Friday his first trip onto the court at Hilton wearing something other than a Cyclone jersey.

“I didn’t think it was that bad,” Haluska said. “I have enough to worry about – what play we were running, what defensive set to be in. We knew coming in they were going to be loud, and I think they were loud, regardless of whether I had the ball or not.”

Haluska was booed during warm-ups and pregame introductions. The crowd at Hilton also showered him with boos every time he touched the ball and cheering after every missed shot.

“I think the crowd tried to let him know how they felt, but I thought they were appropriate,” coach Wayne Morgan said.

“I didn’t hear anybody that was extremely insulting or inappropriate to Adam and obviously we would not condone that. Fan is a Latin extraction from fanatic, so they have the right to do that. They pay, then they can yell as long as they’re not inappropriate or verbally abusive.”

Haluska scored 16 points on the night, but connected on just four of his 13 field goal attempts. He also missed all four of his three-point attempts.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Iowa guard Jeff Horner said.

“He handled it pretty well and kept his cool.”

Haluska was 3-of-7 in the first half, scoring 10 points and grabbing three rebounds before halftime. He cooled off in the second half, making just one field goal and snagging one rebound after the break.

Haluska is second on the Iowa team in scoring, averaging 13.5 points per game.

The ISU student section especially hounded Haluska, chanting “traitor” during much of the game. After it became apparent Iowa State would prevail, Cyclone Alley collectively chanted “glad you transferred” at the Hawkeye guard.

“He’s a good player and they’re going to be all right over there,” ISU guard Curtis Stinson said.