Jan 27, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger talks with center Dishon Jacobs (1) and guard Curtis Jones (5) on the sidelines against the Arizona Wildcats during the second half at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
AMES — He’d huff and pull. He’d occasionally blow his top. He’d sometimes demonstrably protest calls he felt officials got wrong — and all that did was make a young T.J. Otzelberger a mainstream college basketball coach.
But watching then-Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts’ reaction to being benched in the 2018 national championship game in real-time caused Otzelberger to take stock of his on-court demeanor. Hurts — now a recently-minted Super Bowl champion playcaller for the Philadelphia Eagles — didn’t grouse or throw a fit. He celebrated with his teammates after his replacement, Tua Tagovailoa, rallied them to a 26-23 win.
“The camera’s on him,” said Otzelberger, whose typically calm demeanor will likely be on display when the No. 10 Cyclones (19-5, 9-4) face Cincinnati (15-9, 5-8) at 3 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) at Hilton Coliseum. “Everybody’s looking for him to crack. Everybody’s looking for his body language. Everybody’s looking for him to get frustrated at that moment — and the camera stayed on him for the final two hours of the game, and the whole 30 seconds of the trophy (presentation), to him running on the field. So I think I learned so much from that, and I wanted to help our guys learn some things from that, as well.”
Otzelberger showed those videos to his players on Wednesday. But what did he hope they’d glean from the experience?
“So we’re looking at it as, how do we gain strength from him?” said Otzelberger, whose team has won two straight after sharpshooting forward Milan Momcilovic returned from a hand injury that sidelined him for nearly a month. “I know as a coach, I have, and I know our young people have. And then it comes around, people didn’t think he could be an NFL quarterback, wouldn’t get drafted, wasn’t good enough for this that and the other — (but he’s a) Super Bowl champion, right? Elite winner, gritty competitor. So we all have expectations of things we want to go our way, but I also feel like we all need to be be learning, we all need to be in the moment as much as we can, and (there are) a lot of learning opportunities out there.”
Learning to adopt an even-keel mentality helps breed consistency — and that’s one lesson Otzelberger plucked from Hurts’ ability to mentally shine in ego-testing moments. It also helps ensure that no situation is too difficult to navigate, whether it’s the Cyclones’ recent three-game losing streak, or any other adverse elements they’ll encounter as conference season winds down and the NCAA Tournament beckons.
“No matter what, man, no matter how you may be feeling, don’t really show too much emotion, even if you’re feeling down or may not be in the role that you want,” said 6-11, 270-pound transfer center Dishon Jackson, who leads ISU with 24 blocked shots. “Don’t ever show that. Be there for the team and always be present.”
The Cyclones seek to beat a Bearcats team that’s presently living up to its early-season expectations. Cincinnati rose to No. 14 in the AP rankings in early December, but dropped out after losing eight of its first 10 Big 12 games. The Bearcats then strung together three consecutive double-digit wins over UCF, BYU and Utah — and leading scorer Jizzle James is a big reason why. He’s averaging 21.3 points over those victories after scoring zero points in 19 minutes in a 63-50 loss to West Virginia at home.
“They’re playing with tremendous confidence,” Otzelberger said. “I think so much of this is, you look at timing and when teams encounter their portion of adversity, and then, when do you play them? Obviously, right now, a three-game winning streak (and) offensively they’re playing great.”
But, as Otzelberger noted, Cincinnati’s identity is based on stern defense, so his team’s composure and stoic approach to challenges will likely be tested — just as Hurts was when he was benched seven years ago.
“When Hurts was having some adversity, he kind of stayed the same throughout it,” said key ISU reserve Nate Heise, who’s one of five Cyclones averaging one or more steals per game. “So I think that’s something you can try to emulate.”
