Peterson: Next for Iowa State basketball? A 20-game Big 12 Conference schedule

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AMES – JT Rock stopped me on the way out of Iowa State’s locker room after an NCAA Tournament victory against Washington State in Omaha.

“Look around,” the redshirt freshman suggested. “Look around.”

At what was I looking, other than a bunch of happy Cyclones who’d just advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16?

“The reason I chose Iowa State,” the 7-footer said. “This is it.”

This was his ‘it’ moment all right. It was the moment that should have struck every Iowa State fan, showing that T.J. Otzelberger’s program has every opportunity to raise the bar that became even higher during this wonderful 29-win run.

More: UNI guard Nate Heise transfers to Iowa State basketball

We didn’t even know who some of these guys were when they joined the program. Keshon Gilbert? Someone on staff during the summer told me to think DeAndre Kane, a former star who could do a lot of everything – around the rim and away from it.

“DeAndre could get the ball in the paint, at the rim and get to the foul line,” Otzelberger recalled. “Keshon is a dynamic player, too. He gets downhill, can live in the paint, gets to the foul line, and he’s a great finisher.”

Who was this Milan Momcilovic guy, other than a 6-foot-8 true freshman with eventual transferable NBA talent?

“I knew coming in that my offensive game was the strongest asset of my game,” he said last October. “I can shoot the ball, and that’s what I’m really good at, so that’s what I’ve got to focus on, and the defense has to come too.”

Iowa State redshirt freshman JT Rock is excited about what the 2024-25 season holds.

Said Otzelberger: “When you’re 6-8, 6-9, and you’ve got a high release and a quick release on your shot – when it’s going well, there’s not a lot anyone can do about it. He’s done a great job.”

With Tamin Lipsey, Rob Jones, and Tre King rounding out what would become a season-long first five, those of us fortunate enough to be around the team daily knew this season…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/peterson-next-iowa-state-basketball-105514589.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2024-04-04 10:55:14

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