Iowa State basketball signs four to 2016 mid-year class

AMES - Getting a late start on coaching Iowa State also meant Steve Prohm would be falling a step behind the competition on the recruiting trail.

Prohm and his newly assembled staff hit the ground running, however, and five months later they boast a four-man mid-year signing class for the 2016-17 season.

Donovan Jackson, Emmanuel Malou, Solomon Young and Jakolby Long comprise the class of newest Cyclones. Prohm will bring in a balanced first class with two junior college players in Jackson and Malou and two high school players with Young and Long.

'Emmanuel Malou probably has the most hype,” Prohm said. 'Donovan Jackson, I think is a super point guard that we're really excited about. I think Solomon Young brings a toughness to our team that we'll need coming into next year and Jakolby brings some toughness on the perimeter.

'I don't want to put one in front of the other because then they come on campus thinking a little bit differently than they need to be.”

Prohm has made a reputation for himself as an effective coach for point guards and sent two Murray State players to the NBA - Isaiah Canaan and Cameron Payne. Jackson, a sophomore at Iowa Western, is the No. 7 JUCO player and top-ranked point guard who averaged 13.6 points with 66 3-pointers and had 2.3 assists per game last season.

Like Canaan and Payne, Jackson is a lefty who could provide an experienced replacement should junior Monte Morris decide to forgo his final season. ISU assistant T.J. Otzelberger had a relationship with Jackson before the ISU coaching change, but Prohm knew he wanted to bring Jackson on board after he saw him play.

'If I'm a guard, if I'm a point guard, I want to come play at Iowa State,” Prohm said. 'Scouts say all the time, ‘You're going to get a lot of freedom. He's going to put you in a position to be successful.'”

Long is from Mustang, Okla., is the top-ranked prep in the state and averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists as a junior. Young, from Sacramento, Calif., averaged 15.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks as a junior while being named to the Sacramento Bee's All-Metro first team. Iowa State has one available scholarship and Prohm said he would be willing to take a mid-year transfer if possible.

The biggest payoff of the recruiting class could come via Malou - from Melbourne, Australia - who is the No. 2 JUCO player from Yuba College in California. The 6-foot-9 versatile forward averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks last season.

Prohm is hopeful Malou will have two years to play in Ames, but complications with eligibility won't be resolved until spring or summer of 2016.

'As of right now, our intention is he plays from day one, but we'll deal with that throughout the year and continue to get with compliance and work hand in hand with them,” Prohm said. 'He's a guy, regardless, you've got to get in your program so we had to get it done.”

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