Prohm settling in at Iowa State after first two weeks

AMES - Before there were dreams of being a college basketball coach, Steve Prohm entertained the possibility of a career off the hardwood.

The new Iowa State basketball coach would have only been marginally removed from the action, however. Prohm was just a freshman on the basketball team at Division III Ogelthorpe University, but found himself at a crossroads of sorts.

'Obviously you want to play in the NBA, and I kind of knew that wasn't going to happen,” Prohm explained in a slight southern drawl. 'So to be honest, I really wanted to be a broadcaster first. I wanted to be Dick Vitale.”

A vibrant personality and passion for the game had Prohm's sights set squarely on wearing a headset, analyzing and commenting on the game he loved. So he left the Ogelthorpe squad midseason and transferred to Alabama the next year.

But when he got to Tuscaloosa, Prohm diverted his career path again. He joined the Crimson Tide bench as a student assistant and manager, a position he would hold for five years.

So what about that broadcasting career?

'I just figured if I had a successful coaching career it would be easier to get into broadcasting so I went with that route,” Prohm chuckled.

'Once you become a coach, you've just got to jump all in and go for it. I've been fortunate enough to be around good people and guys that helped me a ton, some really good players and that's why I've been able to have some success.”

That detour from a job in broadcasting has certainly paid dividends for Prohm thus far in his coaching career. Stops at Centenary, Southeastern Louisiana, Tulane and Murray State as an assistant all brought Prohm to the last four years as the head coach at Murray State.

Now two weeks since he took the job at Iowa State, Prohm sees things finally starting to take shape.

His to-do list was especially long due to the time of year in which he was hired by Iowa State. One of the last boxes to remain unchecked is finding a home for he and his family when his wife, Katie, and son, Cass, are in Ames during the weekend.

'I need to get a house now so I can get out of the hotel, but that's going to be a little bit of time,” Prohm said. 'The biggest thing right now is trying to figure out a way to get back into some type of shape. I'm just eating bad and staying in the hotel, but everything is good. I've got my staff in place and things are starting to slow down and settle in.”

Putting that staff in place is the most recent area of that lengthy to-do list to be completed. Assistant T.J. Otzelberger and Director of Basketball Operations Micah Byars were retained while William Small (Murray State), Daniyal Robinson (Loyola Chicago) and Special Assistant to the Head Coach Neill Berry were all brought on board.

The new ISU staff was forced to hit the ground running with recruiting periods in full swing, but Prohm has seen the fruits of his staff's labor in a short time.

Prohm's staff boasts ties to the Midwest and South and will put points of emphasis in both places having two scholarships - possibly three depending on the 'up in the air” status of Georgios Tsalmpouris - available for the fall.

The Cyclones are in the middle of their second full week of summer workouts and that's where, Prohm said, he's felt most at home in the short time he's been in Ames.

'When you get out here, basketball is basketball,” Prohm said. 'I'm going to coach those kids the same way I coached them at Murray and coach them the right way. I'll respect them, teach them, love them.”

As for that career in broadcasting, Prohm has plenty of other things to think about for now.

'The biggest difference is that there's a whole lot more people here,” he smiled. 'I'm just trying to learn all the managers' names.”

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