Cyclones return core, prepare for deep playoff run
Kelby Wingert/Iowa State Daily
Junior forward Georges Niang puts up a shot during the Big 12 Championship semifinal game against Oklahoma on March 13 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. The Cyclones defeated the Sooners 67-65 to advance to the final championship game against Kansas on March 14. Niang led the Cyclones with 13 points and eight rebounds.
June 16, 2015
After a disappointing loss to 14th-seeded Alabama Birmingham in the second round of last year’s NCAA tournament, the ISU men’s basketball team will attempt to regroup next season and make a deep tournament run.
Iowa State will be led by versatile senior forward Georges Niang. Niang led the Cyclones in scoring with 15.3 points per game. He was also second on the team in both rebounding, with 5.4 rebounds per game, and assists, with 3.4 per game.
Niang was a finalist for the Wooden Award and in his senior year has a chance to take home the hardware if he improves his play.
Niang will not be alone in leading the charge, however.
Junior point guard Monté Morris also will be among the Big 12’s best players, tabbed by many as the nation’s best point guard in terms of protecting the ball.
Morris has led the nation by a wide margin in assist-to-turnover ratio each of his first two seasons with a mark of 4.79 in his first and 4.63 in his second, and those numbers aren’t expected to vary much in his junior year.
To help the dynamic duo, Iowa State will have an elite supporting cast.
Senior center Jameel McKay will be among those helping out.
McKay emerged last season as an exceptional athlete and shot blocker, finishing alley-oops and averaging 2.4 blocks per game to help sway momentum. McKay will attempt to expand his game and put on some weight next season and may become even more of a low-post presence.
Senior guard Naz Long and junior guard Matt Thomas will provide the Cyclones with 3-point shooting.
Long will return from two hip surgeries and is expected to be ready by the season opener if there are no setbacks.
The senior shot 39 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, while Thomas shot just 33 percent for the year from the same range. In his last 11 games, however, Thomas shot at a 47 percent clip from 3.
No ISU basketball preview would be complete without the mention of junior-college transfers. Iowa State will have Hallice Cooke, a transfer guard from Oregon State available to play at the beginning of the upcoming season, after having to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules.
Deonte Burton is the other transfer Iowa State will have next season, however, he will not be eligible to play until after the fall semester is finished because he transferred in the middle of last season. He is a versatile athlete at 6 feet 4 inches and 240 pounds.
