Mitrou-Long, Prohm speak on decision to miss rest of season
December 16, 2015
Naz Mitrou-Long underwent arthroscopic surgery on both hips during the past off season, and has been recovering ever since. The Mississauga, ON, native sat out last Sunday against Arkansas Pine Bluff in hopes to rest and heal his hips, but it wasn’t enough. And after a meeting between Mitrou-Long and head coach Steve Prohm, the two decided that it was time.
“It’s tough,” Prohm said. “Obviously as the head coach I’d love for him to play. But at some point you have to do what’s best for the student athletes. And from a mental and physical standpoint, this is the best decision for Naz.”
Mitrou-Long said he has been dealing with this decision for months, since he first had surgery back in the spring. But as the first few games of the season went on, he knew something had to be done.
“I’ve been thinking about this since the day I could walk again after surgery,” Mitrou-Long said. “I knew it was a reality, and I always had to keep it in the back of my mind. I kind of put it to the side for a while when the season got started. But as games started going on, and I was feeling the way I was feeling, I knew it was a reality.”
Mitrou-Long started in the first eight games of the season, averaging 12 points and more than 31 minutes per game. Because he has only played in eight games this year — one shy of the NCAA cutoff of nine — Mitrou-Long should be granted a medical redshirt, which would allow him one final year of eligibility.
Should the senior be granted the redshirt, there is the possibility that Mitrou-Long could transfer to another program for his final year — something that is becoming increasingly popular in college basketball.
Mitrou-Long shot down those rumors instantly.
“This is how I feel about that,” Mitrou-Long said. “If you haven’t lived in Ames, and you’re on the outside looking in, there’s probably a reason for that. You probably think Ames is just a plain place, a bunch of farms and a little college community. But once you’re here and once you’ve been here for as long as I have, you grow an emotional attachment to these people, to this community, to this school and to Iowa State. To be a Cyclone is much more than people think. To everybody on the outside looking in, they don’t understand my relationship with this school and with these people and what it means to bleed these colors.
“For people to say that is crazy. I’ve dedicated my self. If I was thinking about transferring, I would have transferred after my first year when I didn’t play a minute. I didn’t do that because I’m committed to this place and I’ll always be a Cyclone.”
Naz Mitrou-Long on what the Ames community means to him and why he won’t transfer next season #Cyclones pic.twitter.com/NhNfmF7422
— Ryan Young (@RyanYoung44) December 16, 2015
Iowa State will play next this Saturday against Northern Iowa in the Big 4 Classic in Des Moines. Prohm said that Matt Thomas, who started in Mitrou-Long’s place last Sunday, will be the starter.
The Cyclones also get Deonte Burton, who is now eligible per NCAA transfer rules. Prohm said that the decision to sit Mitrou-Long has really defined what Burton’s role on this team will be. Prohm said that Burton will play a lot at the 4 spot, with Abdel Nader shifting to a guard spot at times to compensate.
Mitrou-Long said that if it wasn’t for Burton’s return and his confidence in Thomas and Hallice Cooke — who will likely transition into a sixth-man role — that he wouldn’t have made this decision.
“Having a guy like Deonte Burton coming back against UNI, I felt like it was a perfect time,” Mitrou-Long said. “I couldn’t leave these guys if I didn’t know that someone else was coming to take my place — someone I believe in.”
Going forward, it’s going to be a lot more difficult for No. 5 Iowa State without one of their standout guys. Prohm, though, said he’s ready for the challenge.
“From a team standpoint, I need to be better,” Prohm said. “Georges [Niang], Jameel [McKay], all down the line — we all have to raise our level.”
