Last season, Cyclone Nation had to patiently wait for the arrival of defensive specialist and Marquette transfer Jameel McKay. This season, it will have to do the same with fellow Marquette transfer Deonte Burton.

Burton, a redshirt junior, will become eligible Dec. 19 when the ISU men’s basketball team makes the trip down I-35 to the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines to play UNI in the Big Four Classic.

Until then, Burton said he will continue to practice shooting and work on improving the little things in his game like ball handling and the finer parts of basketball he can tune.

“It’s kinda funny but the one thing [McKay] told me is, ‘No matter how much you run, you won’t be in game shape,'” Burton said.

That’s not surprising and it shouldn’t be concerning to Cyclone Nation. McKay was winded after his first appearance of the year when the Cyclones played Drake in the Big Four Classic.

“Hell, I was tired, because he was sucking all the oxygen out of the gym,” said then-ISU coach Fred Hoiberg after McKay’s debut.

McKay scored eight points and pulled down five rebounds in 13 minutes. He finished the season averaging 27.2 minutes, 11 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks en route to winning the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award.

McKay said Burton will have to tune out the media and what people are saying.

“Just come back and be patient with yourself,” McKay said. “Set your own expectations and your own type of goals and don’t listen to anybody else.”

Burton, who is 6 feet 4 inches and 240 pounds, appears to fit well with what the Cyclones want to do.

“He’s fitting in good,” said junior shooting guard Matt Thomas. “I think the way he plays, he can bring a lot to our team. We like to get up and down the floor and [Burton’s] great at that and he gives us the opportunity play small at the undersized four because he’s so strong and athletic.”

Along with most members of the ISU men’s basketball team, Burton is participating in the Capital City League making sure his game stays sharp.

He is averaging 33.6 points and 9.6 rebounds in five games with Hannah Homes. 

Burton averaged 6.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.6 minutes during his freshman campaign, with his season high in scoring coming in the final game of the season — 23 points in 24 minutes.

Last year, he averaged 6.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 16.1 minutes in eight games as a sophomore before transferring to Iowa State mid-season.

Burton will watch the Cyclones kick off their 2015-16 campaign Nov. 6 in an exhibition game. Many have tabbed Iowa State as a top-10 team in the nation.