Prohm names Iowa State coaching staff

AMES - Just before Steve Prohm made his debut on the Big 12 teleconference, one of the big question marks about his first Iowa State squad was officially put to rest.

Speculation ended when Iowa State announced Prohm's first Cyclones staff in a press release. T.J. Otzelberger, William Small, Daniyal Robinson, Director of Basketball Operations Micah Byars and Special Assistant to the Head Coach Neill Berry will comprise next year's staff.

Otzelberger and Byars were retained from the Fred Hoiberg regime while assistant Cornell Mann was not. Former ISU assistant Charlie Henry followed Hoiberg to the Chicago Bulls, although his role has not been specified at this time.

'I think we're well-rounded in our recruiting base from the south to the north and Midwest to junior college, but doing that with the right fit of guys from a character standpoint was big for me,” Prohm said on the teleconference.

Otzelberger will begin his eighth year in Ames after spending two seasons as an assistant at Washington. He had a hand in recruiting current ISU players Georges Niang, Naz Long and Matt Thomas and has brought five of the school's top 30 scorers to the program.

The rumor mill has been spinning since Prohm was hired about whether or not Otzelberger would be retained. Otzelberger was one of seven candidates interviewed for the ISU head-coaching job when Prohm was hired.

'Coach Prohm is someone that I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for in the coaching profession,” Otzelberger said in a news release. 'His teams have great confidence and he has a track record for developing players that play with great purpose. I can't wait to get started working with him.”

Prohm's only hire from his staff at Murray State was Small, who was with the Racers the past four seasons.

'First and foremost, the opportunity to work with one of my best friends in Coach Prohm means a lot to me,” Small said. 'I look forward to being a part of the Iowa State and Ames communities. Getting to work at Iowa State and in the Big 12 is exciting. I've watched a lot of Iowa State and this is a wonderful opportunity for my family and me.”

Robinson spent the past two seasons at Loyola (Chicago) and was an ISU assistant from 2008-10. He had a hand in coaching NBA players Craig Brackins, Diante Garrett and Justin Hamilton.

Berry played for Prohm at Southeastern Louisiana and will have a role in 'helping Prohm with special projects, analysis for purposes of player development and coordinating video operations.”

Byars, along with Otzelberger, is well regarded in the ISU locker room and will continue his role in coordinating daily operations and administrative functions like game scheduling.

'Micah is another familiar face for our players,” Prohm said in a release. 'He kind of has a hand in everything and for me coming into the job brand new, he's been able to cover a lot of ground. I've known Micah since I was an assistant at Southeastern Louisiana and he was at New Orleans. He understands the Iowa State culture and has a great passion for these kids and that was important to me.”

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