Iowa State big man Robert Jones is addressing his biggest weakness this summer

AMES — Robert Jones stands tall, the last of the true originals.

The unheralded big man from Prior Lake, Minn., was one of the first players to transfer to Iowa State when T.J. Otzelberger and his staff took over the program before the 2021-22 season — and now he’s one of he team’s toughest.

The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Jones plays in spurts, providing physicality around the rim and solid passing from the high post. He’s known for his “Big Rob Energy,” but aims to add a touch of calm to his game, as well, especially at the free-throw line.

“Cyclone fans know,” Jones said with a slight chuckle, “that’s the biggest step I need to take in my game.”

The entire Big 12 knows. Jones — despite averaging just 17 minutes a game — attempted the fourth-most free throws on the team during the 2022-23 season. He made a mere 40.3 percent of them, but that proved to be a marked improvement.

Jones shot 29.7 percent from the line in his first season as a Cyclone, so he’s developed a plan to turn progress into proficiency for the final stage of his collegiate career.

No pressure. No anxiety. No excuses.

“I was kind of like, ‘My team’s counting on me,’ like, ‘I need to make them,’” Jones said of his past struggles at the line. “So that kind of puts a little fear in. But now it’s more like, ‘I will make it.’ I shoot enough shots every day to know that I can make it.”

How many, though?

“I try to make 100 to 150 a day,” Jones said. “Try to go on streaks of 10 in a row, just to kind of put that pressure on me on the ninth one. Different things, different looks at it — just trying to build up that confidence, seeing the ball go in the hoop every time I shoot it, that sort of thing.”

But will it work? Only time will tell, but testing how well his repetition-based approach to improvement is working next month in the Bahamas should help him gauge his progress.

The Cyclones will be overseas Aug. 4-10 and will compete against the Bahamas Select Team, Zalgiris-2 (Lithuania) and Obras Basket (Argentina) during that span.

“It’s absolutely a blessing, especially with a really new team like we have right now,” said Jones, who averaged 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds last season.

Jones is used to “new teams.” When he helped form a new group in Otzelberger’s first season at the helm, fellow transfer Izaiah Brockington starred as the top scorer and ISU shocked the college basketball world by going from a two-win season to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16. Another relatively new team propelled the Cyclones back to the tournament last season — and now a blend of talented true freshmen and slick-shooting transfers are learning how integral behind-the-scenes work is to the team’s success.

“There are a lot of new guys and guys getting familiar with each other’s games, and what their strengths are,” Otzelberger said. “So for us, we work hard to create a competitive environment that’s game realistic, which allows us to see and learn those things hopefully sooner that way. You see where guys struggle, where things get exposed and then where did they play to their greatest strengths.”

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Jones’ strength flows from the energy he provides, but if his preseason work at the free-throw line bears fruit, he’ll perform at a whole new level in his final season — just as guard Gabe Kalscheur did last season.

“Just having that confidence of, like, ‘OK, it’s working,’” said Jones, who recently hit 50 of 58 free throw attempts during one of his foul shooting sessions. “‘What I’m doing is getting me better.’"

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