The Iowa State men’s basketball season is less than a month away. The Cyclones held their annual media day on Thursday, with coach Steve Prohm and members of the team laying out their hopes and expectations for the upcoming year.

Here are some highlights from Thursday’s availability.

Spreading minutes could get interesting

The Cyclones were thin on their bench last season, playing six players in some games due to injuries and a lack of able bodies.

This season, with six new players in play to get time, the Cyclones’ rotation is something to keep an eye on.

Prohm said that he’s not yet sure of his rotation.

“If we’ve got a opportunity to go eight and nine deep, that’s great,” Prohm said. “It’s more about what those players put themselves in position to do.”

Prohm has done with six and seven player rotations — with success in the past, particularly in 2016-17 — but this team is full of players Prohm believes will have a chance to contribute. 

Not everyone will be happy, Prohm said, but he’s not too worried about it. 

“Players are always unhappy with their minutes,” Prohm said. “That’s just part of it. So it just really depends on who puts themselves in a position to be ready.”

Defensive versatility

Iowa State hasn’t been a great defensive team historically, and last season was no different for the Cyclones. Iowa State ranked 260th in the country last season in scoring defense, giving up an average of 75.5 points per game in 31 contests. 

The Cyclones finished 143rd in total defense in the KenPom rankings as well. Simply put, it was a bad year. 

Prohm said the Cyclones are focusing on getting their half-court defense worked out before moving on to pressures and zones, but hinted the Cyclones could experiment during the season.

The Cyclones have to get to where the 2016-2017 team was on the defensive side of the ball, Prohm said. 

“The great teams, the elite teams, the guys who have played deep into march, they’re usually top-20 in defense,” Prohm said.

Prohm singled out Marial Shayok, Terrence Lewis and Talen Horton-Tucker as players who can guard multiple positions.

The Cyclones may go small with four guards on the court, and versatility will be crucial to the Cyclones being able to keep opponents in check. 

“We’ve gotta be great at half court defense, but we do have to change defenses at times,” Prohm said. “Next week, we’ll start working in on zone, but I want to get our half-court culture and half-court buy-in first.”

Injuries: Iowa State’s got ’em

The injury cycle, much like the recruiting cycle, never ends. 

The Cyclones have been hit with injuries at the start of fall practices, with two freshmen (George Conditt and Tyrese Haliburton) coming down with mono and senior Zoran Talley Jr. suffering a broken nose. 

Prohm said the Cyclones’ continued rash of injuries is something that he’s never had to deal with during his coaching career.

On the bright side for the Cyclones, Prohm said the Cyclones should be getting back to full strength sooner rather than later. 

Talley Jr., underwent surgery on his nose Thursday morning, but Prohm said he would be back in practice by the next of next week.

“I got fitted for my mask earlier this week,” Talley Jr. said. “I’m just making sure I protect my nose. I’m not trying to break it again.”

As for the freshmen, Conditt is already back in practice and Haliburton should be in practice within a week, according to Prohm.

Haliburton said dealing with the mono hasn’t been too hard for him, comparing it to a cold.

“This is my second time having mono,” Haliburton said. “Only 15 percent of mononucleosis cases get reoccurrence, and I happened to fall in that percentage.”

Slowly but surely, the Cyclones are on the mend (for now).