The Owners Box: 12-14

Cyclone Fanatics,

My name is Jason Loutsch. I am the primary owner of CycloneFanatic.com. I hope that you’ve enjoyed some of the changes we have made to the site over the past few months. We’ve all worked extremely hard to make this the best Iowa State hot spot on the Internet and we’ll continue to do so.

I’m here today to share with you all my thoughts on the current state of Iowa State athletics. I plan on doing this quite a bit over the next few months so hopefully you’ll enjoy it.

What a great weekend for the Cyclones!

Let’s first talk about the basketball team: The word I would like to use to describe the game against Iowa is IMPROVEMENT. Iowa State was in complete control of that basketball game for 40 minutes against Iowa and there was never any doubt who the better team was. The only concern I have is that we need to learn how to keep the intensity up for the full 40 minutes. We should have won that game by at least 20 points, or even more.

We know that Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap are going to get their points. That’s a given. But I feel like the real key to the rest of the season is finding a true, consistent third scorer. That scorer could be a number of guys and I think that will be the case on different nights. Like he did against Drake, Lucca Staiger has that ability, as does Diante Garrett. We still really haven’t seen exactly how good LaRon Dendy can be. Scott Christopherson has the tools to drop 20 on a given night. The options are there. We just need some consistency.

Keep this in mind Fanatics. We had four games in eight days and lost three of them. We were exposed in our ability to rebound and our half court offense. Now, the team has another week to practice on those weaknesses. I have tremendous confidence in Coach Mac and the staff that we will continue to make progress heading into the Big 12 Conference schedule.

Now, onto football. Did anybody else see the NASDAQ opening today with Paul Rhoads and Jamie Pollard? How awesome was that? If you didn’t get to watch it live, you can see it HERE.

How cool is it that Iowa State University was involved with something that global? I love it. Last year, we were dreaming about going somewhere warm for the holidays. This year, that dream is a reality.

Words cannot express my excitement about the bowl game! I am so proud of Coach Rhoads and his staff for a great season. Six wins may not sound like that great of season, but remember our past four years? Not being in the postseason conversation was awful!

I hope all you fanatics can come to Tempe to help cheer on the Cyclones to a victory!


In a recruiting note, when is the last time ISU has had 23 commitments on Dec. 13? I think this speaks volumes for the future of our program. We only have three scholarships left to offer.

Let’s just hope that we can get some immediate help for the defense.

Thanks for all your support Fanatics!

Happy Holidays!

Jason Loutsch
 (owner)