It’s no surprise that the Iowa State men’s basketball team will have a new look going into the season. Ten players from last year’s squad are no longer with the program. Gone are names like Hoiberg, Meyer and Michalik, not to mention countless other contributors.

“Rebuilding is a kind word — we’re starting over,” Head Coach Tim Floyd said.

Junior Jacy Holloway is the only returning starting from last year’s team, which won the most games in ISU history. Holloway said he is ready to take on a leadership role if the team needs it.

“I can be a leader,” Holloway said. “Whether I want to or not, I’m going to have to be, which is alright with me. I think some of the players are already starting to look at me as a leader.”

Ready to step in and fill the shoes of the former Cyclone stars are 10 newcomers and a medical redshirt from last year’s squad. Six of the newcomers are junior college transfers.

Floyd said Cyclone fans shouldn’t write off this year, just because of a new roster.

“This group is new, but hopefully more talented than people think,” Floyd said.

Many of the former juco players on Floyd’s squad are out to prove that building a program around junior college players is not such a bad idea.

“Coach [Floy]) is a smart coach; he needed help right away and he went to the junior colleges to find it,” said Kenny Pratt, a junior college transfer originally from Chicago.

“I think we can contribute experience to the team, coming in as a juniors with two years experience,” said Shawn Bankhead, a junior college transfer originally from California.

The transition from junior college competition to the Big Eight is a tremendous one.

“It will be difficult at first,” Bankhead said. “We don’t know what to expect up here. There will be quicker players and taller players.”

Returning players contribute continuity and a knowledge of the coach’s system of play to a team. It is a major transition for a player to adapt to a new coach. For these reasons the juco players are looking at the returning players to help them out a lot this upcoming season.

“The players we have coming back can teach us a lot, because they know all the plays and they can tell us what is going on in practice,” Bankhead said. “They are already helping us out, so when practice starts we will know what is going on.”

Most players coming out of the junior college ranks look for a program that can provide them with the opportunity to play right away. This season’s ISU basketball team looked really attractive to them with its lack of returning players.

“I wanted to play for a program that had a bunch of new players that had no clue where they would end up [in the lineup],” said Jason Justus, a junior college transfer originally from suburban Chicago.