They don’t believe.

That’s what players are saying is the new motto for the ISU men’s basketball team this season.

In ESPN’s ‘No-Longer-Way-Too-Early Top 25’ poll that was released just two days ago, the Cyclones had dropped to No. 7, something some players are taking personally.

“I think we should be higher, but it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish,” said redshirt senior Jameel McKay. “Our team motto so far this year is ‘they don’t believe’ and obviously they still don’t believe in us. So it just keeps us with a chip on our shoulder and keeps us ready to go at all times.”

For many teams in the NCAA, seventh in the country isn’t a bad place to be. The Cyclones are still in the top 10, even after losing head coach Fred Hoiberg to the NBA.

But for the Cyclones, seven just doesn’t cut it — and they’re ready to prove some people wrong.

“It is what it is. You don’t want to start out too high early on because that’s how you drop quick,” said junior Monté Morris. “It’s an OK spot. I feel like there’s not six teams better than us in the country, especially with what we have returning and what we’re going to show.”

The Cyclones will get their first chance to prove people wrong next week. The team will jet off to Spain on Monday, where they will play four games in 10 days.

The trip will give the players their first chance to play in a game for head coach Steve Prohm, who was hired in June.

“Just a lot of team stuff that can help us grow,” Prohm said. “And then the basketball part will be great. I’ll get a feel for them, and they’ll get a feel for me. We can see some things that maybe are strengths, weaknesses or things we need to work on when we get back. There are a lot of positives that’ll come from this trip.”

While players say practices have been going well so far with Prohm at the helm, they still are working to get adjusted to the new system, something that Morris said they are looking to do on this trip.

“I’m not sure yet, but these practices have been going real good,” Morris said. “I think we’ve gotten acclimated on what he needs and what he’s looking for. So were just trying to go out there and get good feedback from him.”

The Cyclones will play the Venezuelan National Team, the Valencia All Stars and the Barcelona All Stars twice while in Spain.

And while the team has only had a handful of practices with the new coach, senior Georges Niang said that isn’t much of an issue.

“[Prohm] is real disciplined and always gets the best out of us every day,” Niang said. “Whether that’s coming in to lift early in the morning or getting extra shots in, or even in practice. Everything is high reps and high speed, we’re really getting the most out of everything we do.”

One of the biggest things for Prohm during the team’s time abroad, though, isn’t what happens on the court. He is simply more focused on building stronger relationships with his new team.

“All successful teams, the relationships are pretty strong,” Prohm said. “When you’re coming in new to a really good situation, you have to work on that every day.”