Iowa State men’s basketball tries to build on last season’s resurgence as new season begins

AMES — Iowa State graduate transfer forward Osun Osunniyi played in front of a packed house multiple times during his time at St. Bonaventure.

But the Bonnies’ Reilly Center holds 5,480 fans — a far cry from Hilton Coliseum’s 14,000-plus available seats that will be mostly filled when the 6-foot-10 senior makes his Cyclone debut at 7 p.m. Monday against IUPUI.

“You’ve kind of just got to play your game,” Osunniyi said of playing in his new home for the first time. “I’m fifth-year, so this is new for me playing in Hilton. I’ve heard so much about it and the fans, and the energy, so just trying to stay composed, play my game, and do whatever (head) coach (T.J. Otzelberger) asks me to do.”

Osunniyi will likely dazzle ISU’s fans with his propensity to block shots. He won Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year honors the past two seasons, but he’s expanded his offensive game and plans to be a double-double threat every game as a Cyclone.

“Coach has put a lot of trust in me on the offensive end, just to be more of a presence,” Osunniyi said.

That means scoring more — and that was the challenge for ISU last season, which donned defense as its identity during a remarkable run to the Sweet 16.

Defense still is the foundation for Otzelberger’s second edition of the Cyclones, of course, but improved shooting also will be required if the team is to build off of last season’s stunning resurgence.

“I’d say this and it will be kind of standard throughout the course of the year, I’m really not interested in comparing this group to last year,” Otzelberger said. “I’ll just say it once and hopefully not have to say it again because, to me, this is a totally new group; totally new variables. There’s a lot of differences and we’re gonna focus on what this team can be.”

On Monday, fans can begin seeing what that looks like when Osunniyi, Jaren Holmes and freshmen such as Tamin Lipsey and Eli King try to mesh with Aljaz Kunc, Gabe Kalscheur and a handful of other Cyclone returners.

“We’ll just kind of go game-by-game,” said Kunc, who led ISU in 3-point shooting last season (38.9 percent). “Obviously what we did last year was special, but that’s in the past. This is a new season and it doesn’t really matter what did last year. Obviously we strive to be better than last year and just come out and compete, give it our all and that’s it.”

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