Imagine that! Just when men’s head basketball coach Tim Floyd is said to have a recruiting class second to none, the National Committee to Assassinate Advancement (NCAA) goes and throws a monkey wrench in the works.

Now ISU is left without one of its top recruits due to a technicality the NCAA let slide in the past.

In case you missed it, C.J. Bruton, a 6’2″ guard from Australia who played professionally in Australia’s NBL, was recruited by ISU and signed a national letter of intent to play here was declared ineligible by the NCAA.

Well, since he played in a professional league in Australia (limited minutes in only 22 games) and was paid (a meager $11,000), it’s probably the right decision to not let Bruton play, right?

Wrong! Andrew Gaze, an Australian, also played in the NBL (in fact, he led the NBL in scoring) and propelled Seton Hall to the 1989 Final Four only months removed from his NBL season.

So instead of sticking to the precedent, the NCAA decided to go against itself. (What else is new?) So much for consistency.

So now, unable to play for ISU, Bruton entered the NBA draft and was a second-round pick by the Portland Trailblazers.

So much for the future, right? Wrong!

Let’s not forget who we have for a Coach—Tim “Sweet 16” Floyd. This is the man who took a team picked to finish last in the Big 8 Conference and won the last-ever Big 8 Tournament title — and this after losing 95 percent of his scoring and rebounding from the following year.

If we are truly Cyclone faithful we will still be there supporting the team, watching Tim work his magic. With or without C.J. Bruton.

After all, there is something to be said for consistency.