T.J. Otzelberger didn’t have to look too hard to begin building his new coaching staff, with the Cyclones announcing Tuesday longtime assistant coach Daniyal Robinson and director of basketball operations Micah Byars would be retained.

Robinson has been at Iowa State the past six seasons and worked three seasons alongside Otzelberger as assistant coaches under Greg McDermott and Steve Prohm.

“Daniyal is an absolute home run hire for our program,” Otzelberger said in the press release. “He is one of the best on-court and developmental coaches that I have been around, while also proving himself time and time again as an excellent recruiter. Daniyal is always prepared and organized, and he is a man of great character. I’m very excited that he will continue to impact student-athletes here at Iowa State.”

Robinson has been credited with bringing in Talen Horton-Tucker to Ames, who would eventually go on to be the 46th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and Iowa State’s first NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“My family and I are excited to continue our Cyclone journey on T.J.’s staff,” Robinson said in the release. “T.J. is not only like family to me, but he is someone that has been a great person to work with in the past. He has a relentless work ethic and had his fingerprints all over the resurgence of the program over the last 10 years. I am really looking forward to great things to come in the future.”

Byars will now enter his eleventh season at Iowa State and ninth as director of basketball operations. Like Robinson, Byars’ relationship with Otzelberger goes back to their time at Chipola College in the 2004-05 season, as well as working together three seasons at Iowa State.

“Micah’s character, work ethic and passion for Iowa State Athletics are unparalleled,” Otzelberger said. “Nobody that I have met has a greater desire to see student-athletes succeed and develop than Micah. I couldn’t be more thrilled to announce that he will continue in his role as director of basketball operations for our program.”

During Byars’ tenure, Iowa State had made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and won four Big 12 Tournament titles.

 “The State of Iowa is home to my family and I couldn’t be more grateful to be able to remain at Iowa State on T.J.’s staff,” Byars said. “The relationships I have built in the community, at the University and with the people in the athletics department, mean a lot to me. Iowa State is a special place and I look forward to continuing to work with our student athletes in the future.”