Iowa State basketball transfer Tre King ‘can’t ask for anything more’

AMES — Tre King yearned to contribute, but couldn’t.

Not in games. Not during Iowa State’s stunning rise from a 2-22 season to the Sweet 16. Not until recently, when the former Eastern Kentucky standout finally became eligible after sitting out for nearly two seasons.

“Words can’t express how ecstatic I am to be back on the court,” said King, who hopes to keep boosting the surging No. 14 Cyclones off the bench when they face Texas Tech at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Hilton Coliseum. “I’ve never taken a day of practice or play for granted, so just to be back is a great feeling.

“I can’t ask for anything more.”

King toiled 592 days between his last game as a Colonel and his debut with ISU. The versatile 6-foot-7 forward made a splash in game one, scoring in double figures in a Dec. 18 blowout of Western Michigan. And he made an even bigger impact Saturday, scoring a Cyclone career-high 12 points while grabbing four rebounds in a pulse-pounding, 69-67, road win over No. 17 TCU.

“(He’s) another option for us to throw the ball to where he can go attack the rim and get to the goal,” said ISU Coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team (11-2, 3-0) started Big 12 play with three consecutive wins for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. “To say what our expectations or standards were and has he exceeded those? I don’t know.

“I do know this: He’s had basketball taken away from him for a long period of time and I know that he cherishes every practice, every workout, every opportunity he’s able to get out on the court, and I’m confident he’ll continue to play with that sense of urgency.”

Why? Because it’s required in a loaded league that features 10 teams ranked within KenPom’s top 41. ISU’s 3-0 start may be historic, but two wins have come in the final seconds — including the most recent one that hinged on a clutch 3-pointer by veteran guard Gabe Kalscheur that turned a one-point deficit into a two-point triumph.

“We don’t want to get complacent or feel satisfied with where we are,” said forward Osun Osunniyi, who’s averaging 9.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in Big 12 play. “We still have a long season left, but it feels good to be 3-0 with things to work on, things to learn.”

King’s swiftly learning he can greatly contribute to ISU’s success in the best conference in the country in terms of non-conference win-loss records. He scored five of his 12 points Saturday in a 1 1/2-minute span that helped the Cyclones turn a two-point lead into a seven-point advantage with 4:43 left.

He’s had at least one steal in each game he’s played and continues to provide vital energy off the bench — especially since leading rebounder Aljaz Kunc remains sidelined for the foreseeable future with a broken finger.

“Intensity on both sides,” Osunniyi said of King. “Offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, physicality.

“He’s making us better every single day.”

That’s because King’s grateful and humble to simply be playing, one season after serving as the head cheerleader for an ISU team that accomplished the best turnaround in program history.

“There’s always a place for energy and positivity and stuff like that, even when there’s adversity,” King said. “I felt like that was something I could bring no matter what the circumstances were.”

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