Georges Niang on the cusp of suprassing his mentor in road trip to Baylor

AMES — Georges Niang draws closer with each passing game to a mark left by his former coach, Fred Hoiberg.

The two have kept in contact and checked in with each other since Hoiberg moved on to coach the Chicago Bulls last summer, but the discussions are not typically about Niang overtaking Hoiberg in the record books. The senior sits at 1,990 career points, just three shy of tying Hoiberg for the No. 3 spot amongst all ISU scorers.

The talks between Hoiberg and Niang are broader than point totals, but when he leads No. 15 Iowa State in its road game at No. 22 Baylor and likely surpasses his mentor, Niang will feel just how special this next mark will be.

'To have your name next to someone who means so much to you and has done so much in his life and for this program, that's really cool,' Niang said. 'Coach Hoiberg was great to me. He gave me an opportunity to be successful and for that I can't thank him enough. I think it's pretty cool to be mentioned in the same sentence as him.'

Niang's skill set around the basket at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds has always required a lot of nuance in the way he's coached to be put in certain places on the court. Iowa State coach Steve Prohm had to get on-the-job training when he arrived in Ames last summer after studying as much as he could of his new player on film.

Watching Niang on film provides merely a glimpse as to how invaluable he is on the floor, but Prohm started to really understand how important he is when they got on the court together. Even through all of his accolades and individual numbers, Prohm still sees Niang as a guy that is his own harshest critic.

'He's tough on himself, sometimes too much,' Prohm said. 'Sometimes I want to make sure he's having fun in the process and enjoying his senior year for everything he's done here. He's really good and that's the thing. You can watch good players on tape and it's fun, but when you're coaching them and watching them in person, you see the stretches and runs they can go on. It shows you how good he is.'

Niang will also likely surpass 2,000 career points against the Bears (18-7, 7-5) and join Jeff Grayer and Barry Stevens as the only 2,000-point scorers in ISU history. Even with that elite company, Niang hasn't though much about what the individual recognition would mean.

'I could score zero points and be a defensive stopper — and that sounds crazy, but to go win a national championship,' Niang said. 'I'd rather win than score 2,000 points.'

The next step in the Cyclones' (18-7, 7-5) quest to the postseason requires a trip to Waco and a rematch against a BU team that won in Ames on Jan. 9. Taurean Prince and Rico Gathers are the headliners for a Baylor team that is the lengthiest in the Big 12, but Johnathan Motley, T.J. Maston and Lester Medford were some of the key pieces in that win at Hilton Coliseum.

Baylor uses its length in zone defenses to disrupt opponents from the onset of a half-court offense, so finding ways to poke holes near the paint or in spots around the perimeter becomes the focus — particularly when the Bears run a triangle-and-two defense.

'When it's two guys (face guarding), it's basically 3-on-3,' said junior Monte Morris. 'So you've just got to break the defense down and hopefully the shot goes down for you. But, Baylor, they always seem to dictate tempo and take time of that clock and run their sets precise.'

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