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In the heart of Ames, Iowa, a basketball symphony is reaching its climax. Long eclipsed in the national spotlight, the Iowa State Cyclones are now a legitimate powerhouse with their sights firmly set on college basketball’s highest honor, a national championship. While every team in the country begins the season dreaming of climbing the ladder and hoisting down the net in front of a sold-out crowd in San Antonio on April 7, Iowa State is among the few who can actually make it happen. A target item on the list. Under the careful guidance of head coach TJ Otzelberger, this year’s team embodies a culture of toughness, camaraderie, tenacity, discipline, authenticity and most importantly, confidence. But to understand how this year’s cyclones reached their peak, you have to first understand where they are.
Last year, the Cyclones won their most conference games since 2001, finished second in the Big 12 Conference standings, and capped it all by defeating the then-No. 1 Houston Cougars in the Big 12 Conference Championship Game A happy ending. Then there’s the NCAA tournament. They easily defeated their first two opponents before losing to Illinois in the Sweet Sixteen. Alas, it’s back to the drawing board.
The scars of last season’s sudden exit from the Championship still linger. To many, such a setback might be a harbinger of decline, but not for Iowa State. Under the watchful eye of Coach Otzelberger, the Cyclones turned disappointment into a glimmer of hope. Every summer workout, every film clip, was filled with a single purpose: comeback. Anyone who knows anything about college basketball knows one thing: If you want to run deep and have a chance to win it all, start with your guards. Fortunately for Iowa State, they are led by a killer pair of Curtis Jones and KeShon Gilbert who have proven to be one of the best backcourts in the country.
Jones, a Minnesota native, epitomizes what the Iowa program represents. The 6-4, versatile swingman excels at putting the ball in the basket with a soft touch and plays with an infectious joy and spirit that permeates the entire team. After high school, he failed to receive an offer and ended up starting his college career at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa. After a stellar season, he took his talents to the University at Buffalo, where he played two years and became an all-conference player before eventually transferring to Iowa State last year.
Jones’ backcourt partner, Gilbert, was also underrated coming out of high school and was rated a three-star recruit. He had moderate success in his two years at UNLV and entered the transfer portal after the ’23 season to become a member of the Cyclones. The 6-4 starting guard made an impact in his first season in Ames, leading the team in scoring and earning a few honors: Big 12 Second Team All-Big 12 Tournament All-Big Ten 12 All-Tournament Team. Simply put, he is the engine that drives this team forward.
In addition to Jones and Gilbert, this year’s team features several key players from last year’s Sweet Sixteen team — their Big 12 junior guard Tamin Lipsey; Sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic earned a spot on the All-Tournament team in the Big 12 Tournament. This year’s roster also features another talented transfer: former Missouri Valley guard Nate Hayes (Northern Iowa), Joshua Jefferson (St. Mary’s University), Brandon Charter Fields (Seattle) and Dishon Jackson (Charlotte).
We’re halfway through the season, conference play is going well, and Iowa State is doing really well. If you don’t believe me, just ask Baylor Hall of Fame coach Scott Drew, who recently called Baylor “one of the two best teams in the country” after a tough loss to the Cyclones.
The Associated Press poll is slightly Not too generously; as of our press time today, the AP Top 25 poll had Iowa State ranked third. Yet, somehow, the Cyclone still seems to fly under the radar.
“Before we got here, it was always a burden on our shoulders. I didn’t feel like I or [Jones] Getting the recognition we deserve,” Gilbert said. “But it’s just more power. It’s just putting more fuel in the tank and adding fuel to the fire. So, that’s what it is.
“When you win, you get recognition,” Jones said. “Whatever victory brings, we’ll take it. We’re not really in it for the recognition, but that’s what comes with it.
If anyone is surprised by their dominance, you can bet it’s not anyone in their locker room. They expected this.
“Going into this season, we knew how good we could be. Me and Keshon always talk about what we’re going to do and what we feel we can do,” Jones said. “The results are in now, but it all started where last year ended. This year we did it right away; we already know what it is.
If you let them talk it out, they are just beginning to scratch the surface of their potential. Never mind that they’ve won most of their games so far by double digits.
“We didn’t even really play our best. I would say we played well, we played solid, but we still need to improve. It’s exciting because we still won easily. But even so, we There’s still room for improvement. That’s what great teams do, they find areas where they can improve and not just settle for winning the last two games by 20 points, but we’re hoping to win by 30. point.
It’s not far-fetched to imagine Iowa State racking up a few 30-point wins before the season ends. Well, there are several more I should say a 30-point victory. they had some victories At least It’s clear from their early non-conference slate that these Cyclones aren’t playing with their food. They know what’s at stake, and they’ve embraced what it takes to achieve their ultimate goal. No moments were taken for granted as they attempted to do something that had never been done in the history of the project. To wit: Gilbert and Jones said they couldn’t even imagine Coach Otzelberger ever mentioning the Big 12 Championship, let alone the National Championship; he emphasized taking it game by game, brick by brick.
The star backcourt made it clear they are keeping “the main things first.” They believe that their personal goals will be easier to achieve if they think about winning first.
Every team that climbs the ladder and is the last team standing has at least one thing in common: they all run towards Work, not away from it. In that regard, the Iowa State program, led by Coach Ozenberg, is well underway. We know the old saying: Nothing worth having comes easy.
“I’m not going to lie, Iowa State is not for everyone — if you don’t really love basketball, you’re not going to enjoy it. You’re not going to fit in here because basketball is everything,” Gilbert said. “We worked our butts off so we knew everything would fall into place.”
Portrait of Matthew Coughlin.
