Iowa State basketball's revolving door takes another spin

LaRon Dendy was on-again, off-again during last basketball season, so it's not exactly startling that he departed Iowa State's men's basketball team this week.

Dendy averaged 7.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game as a junior last season. He has talent. But he was a stop-gap signee who didn't exactly help plug the stream of losing.

ISU Coach Fred Hoiberg, who will have a team of strangers getting to know each other this summer and then introducing themselves to the fans this winter, said guard Antwon Oliver won't return next season, either. Oliver redshirted as a freshman in 2009-10.

So, that's three returning scholarship players: Diante Garrett, Scott Christopherson and Jamie Vanderbeken. Gone for one reason or another since the end of last season are Craig Brackins, Marquis Gilstrap, Charles Boozer, Justin Hamilton, Chris Colvin, Dominique Buckley, Dendy and Oliver.

Five scholarship freshman and a walk-on will be part of next season's mix. Presumably.

The Cyclones were 3-24 in the 1975-76 season. They lost to South Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha. Let's hope the coming season isn't a second-coming of that one, but it's going to be tough.