“I do believe that experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.”

Understanding that quote by Iowa State Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tim Floyd may be hard, but at least it’s easier to solve than his stifling man-to-man defense.

At men’s basketball media day, Floyd discussed the fact that experience is not an essential element in putting a winning product on the court.

“I think we found out two seasons ago that experience is an overrated factor in the game. I don’t think you have to have it to be successful,” Floyd said.

That’s good news for Cyclone fans, who will see 10 new faces on the Hilton hardwood this season. Eight of the players are freshmen, while two hail from junior colleges. Considering the players are new even to the ISU coach, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to grab a program at the annual Cyclone Shoot-Out held on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. Floyd may even stop by to take a quick peak.

“This group looks a little unfamiliar to most of you, and to be quite honest with you, it’s about the same with me. I’m still trying to learn their names myself. We should have put name tags on the whole group,” Floyd joked.

Floyd said gaining credibility by winning in his first few seasons with junior college transfers proved to be the right way to build the program.

He said it was the best option at the time, although others may not have seen it the same way.

“If we had gone out and done what the public and the masses wanted us to do and sign freshmen at that point, they’d be talking about looking for a new coach at this point,” he said.

Instead, the opposite has happened. In fact, Floyd recently received a raise that could earn him up to $750,000 in total compensation for this year.

Floyd was rewarded for garnering a 69-29 record in three seasons and taking his clubs to NCAA postseason berths each year.

He said his team’s success in gaining national attention helped ISU recruit a class voted as high as second-best in the nation.

“I feel like this group of freshmen that we brought in this year is far and above better than what we could have attracted two years ago. I’m glad that we did it the way that we did it. Now we are built for the long haul,” Floyd said.

In the 1995 preseason, the Cyclones were a near-unanimous choice to finish last in the Big Eight.

That season the team went on to win its first-ever Big Eight title, and Floyd was named the conference’s coach of the year and finished second in national-coach-of-the-year voting.

After Floyd’s 1995-96 Cinderella year, sports writers are not so quick to write off his unproven, but highly-touted, squad this year.

ISU has been picked as high as second in the Big 12 North Division and is not picked last by anybody.

“I’ve read all of these preseason magazines. I will read and try to figure out what people are saying about us. I saw where one of them had us in the Top 25. I assume they know that nobody in the country lost more than we did, and I guess they’re assuming nobody gained more than we did. And I hope they’re right,” Floyd said.

Floyd said the reasoning for the writers’ change of heart is simple. “They’re just saying ‘We’re gonna get even with you. We’re not gonna let you do that again and make us look bad,'” he said.

Two years ago, Floyd told reporters that the upcoming season was going to be his toughest. So what about this year?

“I did mean it [in 1995] when I said it was my biggest challenge. This one’s bigger. This one’s bigger because these guys are freshmen,” he said.

Floyd said he is not sure how good this team can be, but said he hopes they won’t settle for second best. “I hope they’re trying to finish first.

“I know that from a coaching-staff standpoint, we are not going to lower the bar for this team. They’re not going to hear that they’re not supposed to win games because they’re freshmen or because they’re inexperienced.”

One thing Floyd is sure of is the expectations he has for his players.

“I think they realize we’ve had success here in the past.

“I expect them to come in here and put their best foot forward everyday and play with the kind of vigor and energy and excitement that this last group we had in here performed with,” he said.

And if they do, the Hilton crowd definitely will be in for its share of magic during the 1997-98 season.