Jackson Vroman has been a pleasant surprise for ISU men’s basketball fans so far, averaging nearly a double-double with 15 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Against Binghamton, Vroman had 23 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots, which earned him a spot on the Cyclone Challenge all-tournament team. But there is one thing head coach Larry Eustachy wants Vroman to change.

His hair dye.

That’s right, hair dye. Eustachy, in the post-game press conference after the Binghamton victory, said Vroman needs to use a more expensive hair dye, because once in practice he noticed a black line of sweat streaking down the side of Vroman’s face.

“I dyed it the night before, and I guess I didn’t wash it all the way out,” Vroman explained. “One of the coaches said I looked like Alice Cooper.”

Alice Cooper or not — it’s been the ISU faithful singing his praises. That includes Vroman’s Homies’ a look-alike fan club with a two-man membership that was on hand for Saturday night’s championship game. If Vroman continues scoring and rebounding like he has, look for membership to skyrocket.

The 6-foot-10, 230-pounder has an all-out style to his play that is appealing. Whether it’s skying high for a put-back as he did against Binghamton, or just muscling for position in the paint, he’s often in just the right place at just the right time.

As Eustachy said, he plays above the rim. And the hair, well, it has no influence.

“I can see, I mean, look at those sheep dogs. They can see through that,” Vroman said. “They can see just fine.”

But the future doesn’t look good for Vroman’s shag-top. He said he’s going to get a haircut — the first one in about nine months — sooner or later.

Which proves again that all good things must come to an end, eventually.

Joke of the Week

Kansas. The Jayhawks are 3-3 after starting the season as the second-best team in America. One problem — they never were that good compared to everyone else this season.

I know everyone is going to say to look at the teams that have beaten them. With relatively close losses to No. 7 Florida, sixth-ranked Oregon and North Carolina, the Jayhawks haven’t been embarrassing themselves. It’s not like they’re losing to the Southeastern Rhode Island Techs of the world, but they are hurting the reputation of the Big 12.

With the exception of last year’s Final Four appearance, Kansas has made a name for itself as a perennial second-round upset victim in the NCAA tournament. This early-season misfire is just another example of a Kansas team of that caliber.

Upset Special

Forget Shreveport, it’s basketball season in Lincoln! Nebraska fans starved from a lack of football glory saw their Cornhuskers pound No. 18 Minnesota 80-60 on Sunday behind 27 points and 14 rebounds from Andrew Drevo.

Prior to that game, Nebraska had beaten Centenary and Texas-San Antonio in its only other wins of the season.

On the Record

“I think we couldn’t score for a while,” said Wisconsin—Green Bay head coach Tod Kowalczyk as an explanation for Missouri’s 10-0 run during the first half of the Tigers’ 88-67 victory.

Jeff Raasch

is a junior in journalism

and mass communication from Odebolt.