Iowa State’s Prohm, Texas A&M’s Kennedy, go head-to-head in ‘surreal’ matchup

AMES — When Steve Prohm was a volunteer assistant coach for Billy Kennedy at Centenary College, it would have been hard to imagine where his career would take him.

Prohm was living in a basement, eating dining center meals and holding a part-time job at Blockbuster Video. A career in basketball always was the end goal, but he spent those early days paying his dues and working his way up the ladder.

Prohm knew sticking with Kennedy would be a surefire way to reach his goals. Now the coach at Iowa State, Prohm will square off for the first time against Kennedy, his old boss — and close friend — who is coaching at Texas A&M.

'We've got two top-15 programs playing on national television and we're one of the marquee games in this Big 12/SEC Challenge,' Prohm said. 'I'm really proud of the job he's done there. Obviously he's a guy I look up to.

'It's a little surreal, but once the game starts it's just a game. He knows what I think of him and how appreciative I am of what he's done for me.'

No. 16 Iowa State and No. 5 Texas A&M will square off in the Big 12/SEC Challenge in College Station with the Aggies (17-3, 7-1) coming off their first loss in conference play. The Cyclones (16-4, 5-3) also will have the chance to knock off their fourth opponent currently ranked in the top five.

Knowing the personal effects this game will have for Prohm also translates to the players.

'(Prohm's) our guy and we stand by him,' said senior Georges Niang. 'That's a huge pride thing, so for sure we want to go down there to their place and beat his old boss.'

Prohm and Kennedy have stayed in close contact throughout the years. They even spoke as recently as this week after the Aggies lost to Arkansas on Wednesday.

'We were texting earlier on the drive back (from a recruiting trip to Milwaukee),' Prohm said. 'I watched his game (Wednesday) night actually from a little sports bar waiting to go to this high school game. It was unfortunate they lost. Arkansas is a tough place to play. I just talked with him a little through text.'

Texas A&M has three players 6-foot-7 or taller. Jalen Jones, Danuel House and Tyler Davis average double figures in scoring. Jones leads the group at 17.1 points per game, while the Aggies average 39.1 rebounds per game.

Prohm said senior Jameel McKay, who has been dealing with knee inflammation, will play Saturday. McKay didn't anticipate going through contact workouts in practice, but said there was no structural damage discovered in his knee.

'I don't know if my teammates would let me live,' McKay said, joking about missing the game. 'Seriously, I didn't really ever think about sitting out especially with the way we're rolling right now. My teammates would kill me and it's all about them too.'

McKay said he started feeling effects of a knee issue the day before Iowa State hosted Oklahoma and that he has undergone some rehab the last couple weeks. He likened the feeling to his knee giving out when he makes moves toward the basket and said that the timing of his issue has added to his frustration.

'I've just got to go out there and not think about it,' McKay said. 'Hopefully it will get warmed up and won't affect me.'

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