Iowa State forward Kenny Pratt, who averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds last season, has been declared academically ineligible for the first semester of this year.

“Kenny had a great summer and put forth a great effort in the classroom, but came up short,” said Tim Floyd, ISU head basketball coach.

Pratt was a member of last year’s team which won the Big Eight Conference Tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In Big Eight games, Pratt averaged 16.9 points.

“Teams go through things like this. It’s just something that we have to work through. We had a situation like this last year and look what happened there. We’re just going to continue to work on the things that we do. We’ll continue to work hard. We’re looking at this as a bump in the road,” Floyd said. “We’re hoping he will meet the challenge, not only this fall, but also in the spring, so he can reach his academic goal of achieving a degree. His immediate goal is to return to the team in December.”

Pratt, who stands 6-feet 4-inches, will miss at least six regular season games but may be eligible for the first round of the Iowa State Holiday Classic on Dec. 21 if his grades meet academic standards.

“I’ve talked to Kenny and Kenny has a lot more at stake than basketball. He has to work toward his degree.

“He needs to graduate. It takes a 2.0 (grade point average) to graduate from Iowa State and he needs to move along,” Floyd said.

Pratt joins Cyclone starting center Kelvin Cato and starting guard Dedric Willoughby on the ineligible list.

Cato was handed a suspension for three games by Floyd for violation of team rules that included skipping wight room workouts. Willoughby has been suspended for skipping class this summer to play in a basketball game in the Ames’ Center Court League.

Pratt and Cato’s offensive and defensive numbers will leave a void to be filled.

That void draws strongly on the shoulders of 6-foot 6-inch sophomore forward Klay Edwards and 6-foot 11-inch sophomore Tony Rampton.

“That’s something that we would look forward to from both those guys anyway. Regardless of Kenny’s situation. There’s other guys that will contribute, too,” Floyd said.

“The development of Klay Edwards and Tony Rampton last fall when Kelvin Cato was ineligible helped our team during Big Eight play.

“Hopefully, this added experience will be a window of opportunity for someone to step forward.”