A year after stunning turnaround, Iowa State builds another NCAA tournament team

KANSAS CITY, MO. — Gabe Kalscheur knew almost immediately.

The former Minnesota transfer and now two-year Iowa State veteran watched as another largely-new roster was assembled in the offseason and molded into another NCAA tournament-worthy team.

Kalscheur wasn’t surprised the revamped Cyclones — who start Big 12 tournament play at 11:30 a.m. Thursday against No. 10 Baylor at the T-Mobile Center — could come together and have success on a scale few viewed as possible.

After all, the sixth-year senior had stood at the center of the biggest turnaround in program history the previous season.

“We kind of knew that the guys coming in, the freshmen and the transfers, they knew how special this was and how much of a turnaround that the four (returning players) here that stayed made, how much of an impact that made,” Kalscheur said. “They wanted to be part of that.”

And put their own stamp on it.

Last season, Kalscheur and fellow ISU returners such as Robert Jones and Aljaz Kunc helped the Cyclones advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016. That stunning turn of events came on the heels of a dismal 2-22 season that ended Steve Prohm’s stint as ISU’s head coach and ushered in the T.J. Otzelberger era.

This season, newcomers such as Jaren Holmes, Osun Osunniyi and Tamin Lipsey — two former St. Bonaventure teammates and a freshman from Ames High School — helped propel the Cyclones (18-12) into a top-half league finish and what’s likely to be a No. 7 seed or better in next week’s NCAA tournament regardless of what happens this week.

All of which begs the question: How? It’s not alchemy. It’s not smoke and mirrors. It’s simply rooted in a team-wide conviction that the sum is far greater than the parts — and it’s now a twice-proven formula for success.

“I think we know what we have,” said ISU senior forward Tre King, who was a sit-out transfer from Eastern Kentucky last season. “As a group, we’re not the flashiest. None of us came in with five stars or anything and all the accolades. We’re just a bunch of guys who are unselfish, who work hard and do the little things well.

“When we’re all bought into that, the things that we have done, or will continue to do, are no surprise to us.”

That would include beating the talented Bears (22-9) for the third time this season and second time in six days. The Cyclones dominated Baylor, 73-58, Saturday in Waco, Texas, to complete a regular-season sweep for the first time in 10 years.

“They’re gonna make adjustments,” Otzelberger said. “They’re gonna try to get the game going up and down more. They’re gonna probably play four guards more and try to skip the ball around, and drive closeouts and do things to get the game that they want, (so) they can be more successful.”

The Cyclones have certainly made significant adjustments throughout Otzelberger’s first two seasons, helping to produce rousing results few viewed possible outside the program.

“We’re so connected as a group that when we come together it’s hard to stop us,” Lipsey said.

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