The Professor

Just about everytime junior point guard Bryan Petersen touches the basketball, you can hear a small chant of Iowa State students yelling, "the professor," in reference to the And One basketball player. Maybe it is a justified nickname for the junior college transfer who was known as "pistol Petey," in high school. In his last six games, Petersen has 29 assists and just one turnover. Following the Iowa game, he went on a three game stretch without any turnovers, including a 13 point, 7 assist performance against Texas Southern.
"I think it's getting more compfortable and experience," Petersen said following the game. "I've been through two college basketball seasons so I kind of know what to expect a little bit."
Cyclones' coach Greg McDermott is also expecting him to teach a few of the younger guys like Diante Garrett and Cameron Lee some things. Now, that's a professor.

Lucca not freed

Thank goodness those, "free Lucca," chants aren't getting old. Looks like we're going to be hearing them for the rest of the season. Iowa State officials confirmed today that the freshman guard would have to sit out the entire 2007-08 season for his participation on a team in Germany. Throughout the ordeal, Staiger has told me on several occasions that he was not paid for his services. Now that he's out for the entire season, he's got to be looking to next season, and for many fans, those expectations are pretty high. His senior year, Staiger averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. That stat that I look at is how many fans have rallied behind the freshman. How many kids have come up to him during games asking for autographs? How many posts by angry fans have been made fighting for him to get back on the court? Those are the expectations he'll have to live up to and if he doesn't, he may hear different chants next year.

Mike Taylor update

Former Iowa State guard Mike Taylor’s career in the NBA’s Developmental League lasted about as long as his 2007-08 season with Cyclones.
Taylor, who was dismissed from the team during the summer for not meeting coach Greg McDermott’s expectations, was signed by the Idaho Stampede on December 6. Tonight, Stempede officials confirmed that Taylor was cut by the team after a short stint.
Now, he’s about as easy to find as Waldo.

Texas Southern vs. Iowa State, 2nd half

Never mind. Bryan Petersen jump in bounded a pass via alley up to Craig Brackins and has just turned into the most exciting part of the game.
Iowa State 63, Texas Southern 40.

Texas Southern vs. Iowa State, 2nd half

And for the record, the "free Lucca," chants never get old. The image of him in street clothes during games does though.
Iowa State 58, Texas Southern 40

Texas Southern vs. Iowa State, 2nd-half

It's 56-32 Iowa State with 15:00 to play in the game. The most exciting thing, watching Staiger sign autographs for a few fans. I wonder if he signs them, "free Lucca Stagier."

Texas Southern vs. Iowa State, 2nd half

We have a Harrison Barnes sighting. The Ames native is sitting with freshman guard Lucca Staiger in the stands by the bench.

Texas Southern vs. Iowa State, 1st half

Most of the talk this week has been about how senior Jiri Hubalek has been in coach Greg McDermott’s doghouse. The only house he’s in is his own. The center has a double-double just in the first half and ended the half with 11 rebounds and 15 points. That’ll give Cyclone fans something to talk about.

In need of some good news

Cyclones’ athletic director Jamie Pollard, coach Greg McDermott, and freshman Lucca Staiger have a conference call scheduled for Tuesday with the NCAA. It will be an opportunity for Staiger to plead his case with someone actually listening. If you’re Staiger, what can you possibly tell them? He’s repeatedly said he did not accept any money for his participation on the German team. With the loses of freshman Marcus Brister and Clayton Vette, ISU is in desperate need of some good news.

Vette leaving

ISU officials just confirmed that freshman forward Clayton Vette is leaving the team for personal reasons. How much more can this team take?

It's about time

For the first time this season, freshman guard Lucca Staiger will be presenting his case, to an actual person. Cyclones' coach Greg McDermott said during his radio show last night that Staiger, athletic director Jamie Pollard, and himself would have a teleconfernce call with the NCAA on December 18th to present their case. I've talked with Staiger throughout the season and the freshman has maintained that while other players on his team were paid for their participation, he was not. At least this time, he'll have someone else to talk to about it.

Iowa vs. Iowa State, wrestling

Maybe it’s the fact that both basketball teams are in the midst of rebuilding years, but yesterday’s men’s basketball game between Iowa and Iowa State was not sold out. Today, the Cyclones host the Hawkeyes in wrestling and officials don’t expect there to be an empty seat in the house. Maybe it’s David vs. David with No. 1 facing off against No. 2. Regardless, if you’re a wrestling fan, nothing but good things can come out of today’s meet.

Some big questions

Where has Clayton Vette gone? The freshman from Waverly-Shell Rock was expected to see some playing time after injuries to Rahshon Clark and Jiri Hubalek, along with the announcement that guard Lucca Staiger would be missing the 2007-08 season. He’s averaging 6.2 minutes per game, didn’t make the trip to Oregon State, and sat out of the Iowa game. Is he heading down the same road as Marcus Brister? Which brings up an even bigger question, how many more hits can this team’s roster take?

Iowa vs. Iowa State, gameday

I called the Iowa State ticket off today. Tickets are still available for the Iowa vs. Iowa State men’s basketball game. During the football season, I did a story after the Northern Iowa game about whether or not fans were going to keep coming to games. Looks like maybe I should be doing the same for basketball. Here is the key question most fans are probably asking themselves when deciding to come to games; am I going to see Wesley Johnson playing? Do I want to see a team that is averaging 57 points per game? What do you want to see? Are you calling the ticket office today too?

Here come the Hawks

No guarantees this time, just facts. During Wednesday’s press conference, I asked forward Rahshon Clark what a win against Iowa would do to the team confidence.
“It’ll boost our confidence up a little bit,” said Clark who guaranteed a win earlier in the season against Minnesota.
At this point in time, you’d have to think a Hawkeye win would be huge for the team morale. The Cyclones are coming off instate losses to Northern Iowa and Drake. They’re trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak to non-conference teams at home since the 1975-76 season. They’ve been looking for win No. 400 at Hilton Coliseum for over two weeks now and who better to have it against then the Hawkeyes. Look at what a win against Iowa did for the football team. Had it not been for a blocked field goal and a special team’s meltdown in the fourth quarter, they leave Toledo with a win. No matter how you look at it, a win against Iowa would be big. Now, that’s a guarantee.

One man's ballot

I don’t have a vote in for the Heisman, but here’s my pick. I’ve watched plenty of Florida games and there’s no reason why you can’t be impressed with the consistency of Gator’s quarterback Tim Tebow. The sophomore completed 217-of-317 passes for 3,132 yards 29 touchdowns. More impressive, look at the schedule he dealt with.
-Western Kentucky
-Troy
-Tennessee
-Mississippi
-Auburn
-LSU
-Kentucky
-Georgia
-Vanderbilt
-South Carolina
-Florida Atlantic
-Florida State
I’ve had finals easier than this. You have to be impressed with Missouri’s Chase Daniels and Kansas’ Todd Reesing, but Tebow has my vote, even ahead of Darren McFadden. Then again, I don’t have one.

Getting back on that horse

Word out of the Northern Illinois camp is that former Cyclones’ coach Dan McCarney has interviewed for the coaching vacancy there. Good fit? Bad fit? You can’t blame the guy for wanting to get right back on the horse. I spent the past week working on a 150th anniversary of Iowa State story on football. Every source I talked to brought me back to two names; Jack Trice and Dan McCarney. If McCarney can do the things to Northern Illinois he did at Iowa State, they’ll probably name a stadium after him too.

Reporting the rumor mill

Did you happen to catch Cyclones' coach Greg McDermott's interview on Jon Miller's show? The second year coach said that due to a number of isssues, his second season was like starting over again.
Some of those issues:
-The dismissal of Mike Taylor during the off-season.
-Injuries to Wesley Johnson, Jiri Hubalek, and Rahshon Clark.
-Lucca Staiger being ruled ineligible.
Now, there are rumors floating around that McDermott might be seeking a medical redshirt for Johnson who has spent his first two games back, hobbling up and down the court. It's just speculation at this point but how big of a blow would it to not have Johnson for the entire season? Which of these issues bothers you the most?

Interesting side not

Northern Iowa lost tonight but had the Panthers won, it would have created an interesting situation. If UNI had managed to continue their run, it would have put the Cyclones in a position to have played possibly two national championship teams in one season, considering the possibility that Missouri could find their way into the BCS national championship. If that doesn't speak volumes of a tough schedule, I don't know what does?