Iowa State men’s basketball Head Coach Steve Prohm comments on incoming transfers

Iowa State Head Coach Steve Prohm directs his players during the Cyclones’ 101-53 win over Eastern Illinois.

Sam Stuve
July 7, 2020

Despite a 12-20 record a season ago and the loss of many players to the transfer market, Iowa State men’s basketball Head Coach Steve Prohm is optimistic heading into the 2020-21 season.

Part of the reason he’s optimistic is because of the transfers the team added in the spring.

While things started slow and Iowa State missed on some targets, it was able to sign Memphis transfer junior guard Tyler Harris, DePaul grad transfer senior guard Jalen Coleman-Lands and Ole Miss junior forward Blake Hinson.

Coleman-Lands is going to be immediately eligible for the 2020-21 season while Harris and Hinson will have to wait on their NCAA waivers.

Prohm said he is uncertain if Harris and Hinson will get the required waivers to be eligible for next season, however, he doesn’t like to comment on those situations.

“I don’t like to publicly talk about waivers, I don’t think it helps in any situation,” Prohm said. 

Prohm said they are further along in Harris’ waiver process, since he signed in April, than they are with Hinson’s, since he signed in June.

“Tyler [Harris] has been with us for quite a while now and we’re a little bit ahead from a waiver process with him of laying the foundation and going through the process there,” Prohm said. “Blake [Hinson] just got on board with us and joined us really a week ago. We’re in the very initial stages to really sitting down with him.”

Harris is a 5-foot-9 150-pound guard from Memphis, Tennessee.

At Memphis, Harris averaged 8.7 points per game while shooting 36.9 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from beyond the 3-point line and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line.

“He is a 5-foot-9, but he brings a different mindset from his ability to change the game with his speed, quickness and his toughness and his ability to make shots,” Prohm said. 

Hinson is a 6-foot-7 230-pound forward from Deltona, Florida. 

In his sophomore season, Hinson averaged 10.1 points per game while shooting 39.6 from the field, 31.9 percent from the 3-point line and 70.3 percent from the free-throw line while grabbing 4.6 rebounds a game.

“Blake Hinson is a guy capable of making shots,” Prohm said.

Part of the reason why Hinson transferred away from Ole Miss is because of the confederate symbol in the state of Mississippi’s flag.

“It was time to go and leave Ole Miss,” Hinson said to the Dayton Beach News-Journal. “I’m proud not to represent that flag anymore and to not be associated with anything representing the Confederacy.”

Hinson said joining Iowa State was the best option for him.
 
“I felt like it was the best option for me,” Hinson said. “There wasn’t a real science that went into it. I looked into the schools and the play style and I thought I fit best in Iowa State’s system.”

Coleman-Lands is a 6-foot-4 185-pound guard from Indianapolis, Indiana.
 
He averaged 11.1 points per game on 36.3 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from beyond the 3-point line and 81.9 percent from the free-throw line in his junior season. 
 
“Jalen Coleman-Lands has had big games in big moments and made big shots against teams such as Texas Tech, Iowa, teams that we’re familiar with and teams that we have to beat going forward,” Prohm said. “He’s a guy that’s averaged double figures at two different Division I schools in two different leagues. We’re really excited about the maturity and experience he brings.”
 
Prohm’s goal for the spring recruiting cycle was simple: find the best players available regardless of immediate eligibility.
 
“Well after last year, everybody knows we have to get better and we have to bounce back. I think when you look at our roster now going forward, I think we’ve put ourselves in a position to do that,” Prohm said. “We had to address some things. I think we did in recruiting to get longer on the perimeter, bigger, more athletic and more versatile. I think in the spring we were very patient. Everybody thinks they know who you’re recruiting, but I think the one thing we wanted to do was be patient and get the right guys for how we want to play and guys who have been proven and been successful at this level. I think we did that with Blake, Tyler and Coleman-Lands.”