Dejean-Jones shows flair in ISU exhibition

AMES - Bryce Dejean-Jones took the ball up the court, lifted off in the lane, put his left hand behind his head and threw down a one-handed dunk with the other hand.

Much to the appreciation of the crowd at Hilton Coliseum, Dejean-Jones just wanted to add a little flavor to his unofficial ISU debut.

'That was the first time I've done that (dunk),” Dejean-Jones said. 'But it was a fast break and we're all just out here having fun and enjoying ourselves.”

Iowa State beat Viterbo, 115-48, last night in Hilton Coliseum before an announced crowd of 13,963. The Cyclones had six players score in double figures, with Naz Long and Sherron Dorsey-Walker leading the way with 17 points apiece.

Dejean-Jones poured in 13 points and added six rebounds, three steals and two assists in 18 minutes of action. His athleticism was on full display, adding a reverse dunk on a fast break to his one-handed flush.

'I thought (he was) nervous there at the beginning and probably to be expected coming into this great fan base for the first time,” Coach Fred Hoiberg said. 'Had a couple plays defensively where I thought he could have given a little bit better effort and we talked about that.

'He's been very coachable.”

'I think he really just gave you guys a glimpse of what he can do, obviously you saw how athletic he was with those transition dunks,” Georges Niang said. 'He's a real great teammate and a real good leader for us.”

The exhibition will be the Cyclones' only unofficial contest after a closed scrimmage last Sunday. Iowa State opens the regular season Nov. 14 against Oakland in Ames.

Most of the concerns Hoiberg last night concerned the defense, which he said will be addressed throughout next week.

The value of the game against Viterbo was simply getting a chance to run sets against someone else. After practicing against his teammates during the last several weeks, Niang said getting into a game setting in front of fans was a nice change of pace.

'We've been practicing against each other for 30 days it feels like now, so just to get out and play someone else is sort of a sigh of relief,” Niang said. 'Obviously, it shows us some stuff we need to work on so I think both those things are great.”

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