Izaiah Brockington grateful he transferred to Iowa State for third college basketball stop

AMES — Izaiah Brockington went all-in on an educated guess.

Transferring to Iowa State — his third Division I college basketball team — might allow the dynamic 6-foot-4 guard’s game to fully blossom.

Joining a new-look Cyclones program that totaled just two wins last season could offer him an opportunity to shine as a leader.

And moving out of his home state of Pennsylvania would possibly be the best thing for him.

Brockington simply didn’t know, but he never shrugged.

Instead, the highly-talented Philadelphia native hoisted ISU on his shoulders — and Wednesday at 6 p.m. the resurgent Cyclones (20-9, 7-9 Big 12) will seek their fifth straight win against Oklahoma State at Hilton Coliseum (ESPN+).

“I think about it all the time,” said Brockington, a graduate transfer who has crafted an All-America-caliber resume this season. “Just my journey from schools to end up here — and to end up with the success that we’re having. It’s really a blessing that it worked out for me.”

Brockington is averaging 23.5 points during ISU’s longest conference win streak since it reeled off six straight wins in the 2016-17 season.

He’s shooting 62.5 percent from 3-point range in that span (10-for-16) and has recorded all seven of his career double-doubles this season.

Brockington’s blend of toughness, skill and tenacity has helped the Cyclones forge a fresh identity — and form the foundation for this remarkable renaissance.

“A lot of people leave places and it’s not what they expected, or they leave places and you never hear from them again,” said Brockington, who previously played for St. Bonaventure and Penn State. “So I just thank God that that wasn’t the case here. Me and my parents and my support system, just trying to make the best decisions and this place — I’m just really grateful for the opportunity that was given to me here. And just for the support, being a new guy and everything like that, the fan love, you could tell the fans out here really care about this program and really care about this school.”

Now the Cyclones are poised to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season — and enjoying the best one-year turnaround in program and Big 12 history.

“We won two games last year and we’ve now won 20 games this year,” said ISU big man George Conditt IV, one of a handful of players who remained with the program when first-year head coach T.J. Otzelberger took over. “Reflecting on the season, we did what we are supposed to be doing. We believed in each other from the get-go. Last year happened. And I’ll be the first one to admit it. Last year happened, I was a part of it and I was to blame for it, as well. So move on. I told you guys. Told you in the summer we were gonna move on and we were gonna do what we had to do to get this program back to where it needs to be.”

The Cyclones could take another big step against the Cowboys (13-15, 6-10 Big 12), who have lost three of their past four games.

So there’s no guesswork involved as the regular season winds down. Brockington and the rest of ISU’s players know what’s at stake and how to approach things.

“Our guys are playing with confidence right now,” Otzelberger said. “We’re sharing the ball, we’re playing for each other, we believe we should win. That’s the spot you want to be in when you roll into March.”

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