Randy Peterson
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January 06, 2025
I spoke with two Iowa State basketball legends Saturday. The first was Gary Thompson, who was one of about a million people mingling in Johnny’s before Saturday’s Cyclones games against Baylor at Hilton Coliseum. Thompson, aka The Roland Rocket, was a multi-season All-American and Iowa State’s first 1,000-point career scorer.
The other was Larry Eustachy, whose program went 57-11 over the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons. Four of the five Big 12 Conference losses during those two seasons went into overtime – two of which were double and quadruple OTs at Oklahoma and Missouri. The 2000 team was a win from the Final Four, and speaking of the Final Four . . . .
Yeah, T.J. Otzelberger’s current team isn’t just good, it’s elite. So many good shooters, that opponents can’t double-team someone. Eighth-best adjusted offense and defense. Lockdown defenders, especially on the perimeter. Depth. Just one loss to go with a last-second tip-in heartbreaker against second-ranked Auburn.
Although, the fourth-season head coach hasn’t reached that Thompson-Eustachy status quite yet, let’s put it this way:
The only thing missing are those two words – Final Four.
The Cyclones are 12-1 heading into Tuesday’s 7 p.m., game against Utah at Hilton Coliseum. They’re 41-9 over two seasons. Otz’ teams have won 26 games in a row at home. They’re 4-2 against Top Ten teams the past two seasons. They’re a No. 1 seed in all of the waaaaaay too early bracketologies.
True all that.
But slam the brakes on any fast-break belief this is the school’s best-ever best team – which to date was the team honored during Saturday’s halftime. Otzelberger is right, when he said after the game:
“It's great that we're able to win the game today . . . and we're just going to keep our head down, keep doing the hard work – and the games take care of themselves, if we keep our focus where it needs to be."
I went back to some newspaper clips from when Eustachy’s team won 13 consecutive games early during its run to 2000 Elite Eight.
“If I catch anyone looking ahead any farther than the next practice,” he said, “they’ll have holy hell to pay.”
Eustachy and I were talking, one-on-one, after his gaggle interview with reporters Saturday afternoon. During our chat, which mainly was about family and current job situations, I asked just how good T.J.’s team can be.
“As good as it wants to be,” Larry told me, just more than 20 minutes before the third-ranked Cyclones demolished No. 25 Baylor 74-55. “They play great offense. They’ve got scorers – many of them. And they’ve got great coaching.”
This Iowa State team has eight players that average 14 minutes or more. The 1999-00 team had eight that averaged more than 12 minutes. This team has five players averaging 10 points or more.
"We got so many weapons -- so many people that can score the ball," Keshon Gilbert said. "Just getting everybody touches, that just makes everybody feel good."
Eustachy’s team had three that averaged 11 or more minutes. This team has more quality depth in the post.
This team is fun to watch – as were the teams during those two magical seasons in the early 2000s.
“T.J.’s team reminds me a lot of our teams,” Eustachy said. “They stay in front of guys. They play as hard as anybody in the country, if not the hardest. They play hard; it’s refreshing to watch. You don’t see that these days.”
Eustachy was as intense a coach as I ever covered. We watched practices back then – at least some practices. His emphasis was aggressive defense. That’s Otzelberger’s Iowa State foundation, too.
“I like T.J.,” Eustachy said. “He’s a good guy. He’s a tough guy. They’re as similar a team that I had, out of all the teams I’ve seen since I’ve gotten out of basketball.”
And now, this word from Scott Drew, the Baylor coach.
“I’ve said it all year,” he told reporters from the podium. I think Auburn and them are the two best teams in the country.”