With the spring signing period less than a week away, the ISU men’s basketball team has one of the best recruiting classes in the nation lined up for next season.

Iowa State had three players sign in the fall, including Carroll High School prep Adam Haluska. ISU head coach Larry Eustachy said in a written statement that Haluska gave Iowa State the earliest commitment in ISU basketball history. He verbally committed to the Cyclones in 1999 – prior to his sophomore year.

Haluska recently capped off his senior season by being named a Des Moines Register Class 3-A all-state selection for the third straight year. He averaged 30.1 points and 9.9 boards per game and shot over 55 percent from the floor. He has been listed as high as No. 32 in prep recruiting rankings and is generally considered as a top-75 national prospect.

Haluska said he plans to sit down with Eustachy to lay out next season’s goals, but is ready to do anything to help the team win.

“I’m really anxious for it,” he said. “I just want to help the team wherever I can. If I need to bust by butt here or there . I’ll do whatever is asked.”

Also signing in the fall were Indian Hills Community College transfer Chris Alexander and Jackson Vroman from Snow Community College in Utah. The hulking Alexander, who stands 7-foot-1 and tips the scales at 235 pounds, should be a force inside. Last season Alexander shot 73.6 percent.

“Chris has unlimited potential,” Eustachy said. “He is by far and away the quickest, most athletic big man I have ever had the opportunity to coach.”

Vroman isn’t small either. The 6-10 Vroman burst onto the scene last year when he averaged 23.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for the Badgers.

Eustachy compared Vroman to former Cyclone Martin Rancik, who now plays professionally overseas.

With Haluska, Alexander and Vroman already tied down, the recruiting class of 2002-03 is good. With the addition of two more players who have verbally committed to Iowa State, the class could be great.

Jerome Harper, a teammate of Alexander’s at Indian Hills, and Tim Barnes, an electric point guard from Southeast Illinois Community College, are the last two pieces of the puzzle for Iowa State.

Harper and Barnes will have from April 10-May 15, the national spring signing period, to officially commit to the Cyclones.

Harper was highly touted out of South Carolina and earned player of the year honors as a senior at Keenan High. The 6-5 guard was also a McDonald’s All-American. He enrolled at Indian Hills in Ottumwa and led the Warriors to a 29-6 record.

Although Harper has verbally committed to the Cyclones, The Herald in Rock Hill, S.C. reported in February that he had not ruled out making the jump straight to the NBA. Members of the Indian Hills coaching staff were unavailable for comment.

Southeastern Illinois head coach Todd Franklin said that Barnes is the real deal and that he expects him to sign the first day he can. Barnes averaged 18.5 points and 7.2 assists per game.

He also shot 44 percent from the behind the arc, leading TheInsidersHoops.com to call him the top-ranked junior college point guard available. They also named Iowa State’s recruiting class as 16th nationally.

“I think he’s probably as quick as anybody in the country,” Franklin said of Barnes.

Franklin said that Barnes is “very intelligent” and thrives by sticking to fundamentals. He added that Barnes should make the transition to the Division I level very quickly because he mixes in with others easily. Franklin said that ISU faithful shouldn’t expect another Jamaal Tinsley, though.

“He’s kind of a different type of player,” he noted. “He’s kind of old-school. He doesn’t do anything extra, although he can.”