Hlas: Georges Niang so good here, one last time

AMES – In 1995, Fred Hoiberg played his last home basketball game at Iowa State, then told the Hilton Coliseum crowd he wanted to be the Cyclones' head coach one day.

That claim was met with a roar from the crowd. Much more cheering followed when Hoiberg was hired for the ISU coaching job 15 years later, and during his five seasons in that role.

One of the best things Hoiberg did in his coaching era here was beat out Iowa's Fran McCaffery in the recruitment of a forward from Methuen, Mass., a 291-year-old city on the New Hampshire border not known for big-time basketball players.

Georges Niang became a prized recruit, but many programs that pursued him began too late.

'You've got to show loyalty to the guys that first saw you,' Niang told the Iowa City Press-Citizen in 2011. 'I'm not just going to be like, 'Oh, this is a big-time school and they're recruiting me so I'm going to blow off other schools that have been recruiting me from the beginning.'

'Because Iowa and Iowa State realized what I had from the beginning, and I respect that.'

Niang went with Iowa State. That was two Big 12 Conference tournament titles, three NCAA tourney appearances (soon to be four), 2,089 points, 682 rebounds, 401 assists, and 96 victories ago, the latest a 58-50 slog over Oklahoma State Monday night in his Hilton farewell.

After the game, first-year Cyclones coach Steve Prohm emceed an on-court ceremony for seniors Niang, Abdel Nader and Jameel McKay.

'And now, for the future head coach of Iowa State …' Prohm said in his introduction of a choked-up Niang, to the same kind of cheering Hoiberg got here 21 years back.

In a press conference after the ceremony, Niang made no similar proclamation, saying 'Hopefully, I can play basketball a long time.'

'He'll coach,' McKay interjected.

'I said 'future head coach,' ' Prohm said, smiling. 'So that's down the line. I'll stay here a while.

'But he will coach. There is no debate, he will coach. He coaches every day.'

And he plays every game. This one should't have been as close as it was. The Cyclones let an 18-point lead get whittled, rushed shots that didn't need to be rushed in the final few minutes, et cetera. It didn't matter.

Georges Niang takes the floor for Senior Night: February 29, 2016

Georges Niang takes the floor for Senior Night: pic.twitter.com/KyV4JUI2vq

— Dylan Montz (@dylanmontz)

Niang made the game his long enough to make it his team's. It's something we've seen many times in his four seasons here. It was only fitting it happened in his Hilton finale.

On the second half's first possession, Niang scored on a jump-hook for the umpteenth time in his career. Then he got fouled after rebounding his own missed 3-pointer. Then his lob fed McKay for a dunk.

That was all in the first 79 seconds of the half. It turned a 27-25 halftime lead into a 31-25 advantage. Another Niang hoop made it 33-25. It soon was 38-25. The rest was statistics and television filler.

Then came the postgame sendoff, and the heartfelt appreciation from 14,384 fans.

'I got a ride here (tonight),' Niang said. 'I didn't want to drive. You know what they say in driver's ed. Don't drive when you're all emotional.

'I was more afraid, just because I don't know if I'd experience anything as great as I've experienced here. The support, the love — the real love that I have felt here …

'I think I've put my hours in this place, and I'm content with closing this chapter at Hilton, because I left everything I had out there.'

So now we'll wait to see if Iowa State can make some postseason magic away from Hilton. And come 2030 or so, it will be interesting to see what kind of team Coach Niang puts on the court here.