Loyalty is not a word you hear much in today’s world of college basketball.

In an age of straight-out-of-high-school NBA stars and one-and-done college standouts, players tend to think more about themselves than the people that got them where they are — but not Curtis Stinson.

In fact, loyalty is the biggest reason why he chose to come to Ames.

“Coach [Wayne] Morgan and Coach [Larry] Eustachy were the first to start recruiting me and they never backed down,” Stinson said. “They drove 24 hours just to see me, so I knew that they really wanted me more.”

Stinson’s loyalty also extends beyond the boundaries of the court, to his home and family.

Raised by a single mother in Bronx, N.Y., Stinson said helping her was priority No. 1 — so much so that his schoolwork suffered.

Stinson said the toughest thing he’s had to do was learn how to balance school with helping his family.

“I wasn’t always into the books. I had to make an adjustment to get my grades straight and be one-dimensional about getting into a college,” Stinson said. “That was tough because my mom’s a single parent and when we were growing up she had to take care of all of us kids, so I had to try and help her and still do the best I could in school.”

Even though helping her was the most important thing to him, Stinson’s mother told him to pursue his dreams.

“My mom’s old and I’ve got to help my mom first and make her happy,” Stinson said. “Then she told me to get an education and do what I wanted to do so that’s what I’m doing now.”

Stinson is making more than just his mother proud now as he leads the Cyclones in scoring and playing time as a true freshman. Morgan said he knew Stinson would be a star, just not this quickly.

“I knew he’d be very good, I didn’t know that he’d do quite all that he’s done,” Morgan said. “Hopefully he can continue to help us at this level.”

Stinson’s 14.8 points per game in his rookie campaign have garnered attention from numerous national sports media, including ESPN and Sports Illustrated. That much hype that early in a career can sometimes be distracting for a player, but Stinson said he tries not to think about it too much.

“I just don’t really pay attention to it, I just do the interviews and move on,” Stinson said. “I can’t get overexcited about that stuff because it’s only the beginning of the year.”

Last summer, Stinson honed his game playing on the streets of New York against some pretty stiff competition, including NBA stars Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis and Ron Artest. But one player had a special connection with Stinson.

“I talked to [Jamaal] Tinsley a lot,” Stinson said. “He just told me that [Ames] is a good place and everybody’s friendly there. He said I won’t have to worry about anything here and people would take care of me and make me feel at home so I wouldn’t be homesick.”

Although Ames is not New York City, Stinson said he does like it here. It’s just another of the many adjustments he’s had to make in his life.

“Ames is good, it’s not a bad place to be, but it’s nothing compared to the city.” Stinson said. “It’s something I’ll have to get used to, but it’s a good place to be.”

Stinson said he does miss his home and his family, but if he has to be this far away from home he’s glad he’s at Iowa State.

“I miss home, I haven’t been back since I came here, but hey, I’ll be there in the summer,” Stinson said. “I like being around the people here. Playing basketball here is great. The environment is good and people love you up here, so you’ve got to respect that.”

More and more often in the college game, players like Texas’

T. J. Ford and Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony experience a lot of early success and then bolt to the NBA after only a season or two. Many wonder what Stinson will do if he continues to produce like he has.

Rest assured, Cyclone faithful, Stinson isn’t going anywhere.

“I want to play all four years here,” Stinson said. “My goal is to keep getting to the NCAA Tournament and to help this team get bigger and bigger so when the guys come in after me, they can just keep the tradition going.”

Morgan said the sky is the limit for his young guard.

“I think he has a great, great future here,” Morgan said. “I’m hopeful that when he’s finished, he’ll be one of the best players that ever played here.”

Senior guard Jake Sullivan said Stinson is one of the best players he’s ever laced his shoes up with and even likened his playing style to Tinsley’s.

“They’ve both got that New York game. They can go in the lane, they can create stuff and they can fill up a stat sheet,” Sullivan said. “He has the potential to be every bit as good, if not better, than Jamaal as his career goes on here. He’s as fine a player as any I’ve played with. There’s no question about that.”