Hunter Reaffirms Commitment
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His highlights are pretty awesome. Looking forward to watching him next year
I think Walker has the skills and potential to be a very good backup and starting PG in the future. But he also has the size and length at 6'5 and almost 200 pounds to also play some on the wing and be very flexible. With that saying it wouldn't hurt bringing in another PG and roll with 3 on the roster. No telling when something will happen causing guys to miss time. Give me a 3rd PG that does not turn it over much and can hit the 3 and I would be happy.
Jorbo has better handles
Love/puke handles maybe.
Fired like Danny Mac. Going to have to explain that one. I know you feel Prohm was “wronged” but I’m not sure how you think 14-42 the last two years (Year 5 & 6) was excusable.
I have a guy in mind but I don't think TJ will make a run for him.
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Honestly, that’s when I started losing faith in Prohm. I was screaming from the rooftops that Wiggi AND Lard should have been starting the second half of that season.
Was this before or after lard couldn't follow the rules
Was there an in between?
If there was then he may have been someone who needed to be thrown out there while things were good to keep it going.
CSP seemed to send mixed messages.
Another great read from Matthew Bain of DMRegister about Tyrese Hunter. It's well worth your time. I don't want to see "TLDR" kind of responses. 
Inside Iowa State's relentless 3-week pursuit of Tyrese Hunter
To understand why Tyrese Hunter took a full three weeks to decide if he wanted to stick with Iowa State after the university fired Steve Prohm, the head coach he committed to, even though many peers in similar situations right now are quickly decommitting or entering the transfer portal, you need to know something about Hunter.
It's why he's "wise beyond his years," as his high school coach, Nick Bennett, says.
Hunter had lost both of his parents by the time he was 13. His father, Brian, died from a heart attack when Hunter was 6. His mother, Ida, died of kidney failure seven years later.
That forced Hunter to grow up fast.
"This is a kid who’s had to gain wisdom most people don’t have to," Bennett told the Des Moines Register on Saturday. "He is going to make decisions differently. He is going to look at things a little differently."
Translation: He's not going to rush. He's going to take his time.
That's exactly what he did with his college decision. Hunter took three weeks to get to know new Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger and his staff. He was methodical. He spent hours talking with the coaches, giving them an opportunity to show how he fit into their plans.
"Tyrese is not a knee-jerk-reaction type of kid," said Bennett, who has coached Hunter to a 53-1 record these past two years at St. Catherine's in Milwaukee. "He didn’t want to just do the, 'Oh, new coach? I’m out.' He didn’t want to just tweet something, 'I’m out of here.' He just said, 'Hey, I want to make sure I’m making the right decision. I want to hear what I need to hear. I want to gather information. I want to rest on it.'"
Hunter reaffirmed his commitment to Iowa State on Saturday. In the end, he told the Register it came down to his relationship with the new staff, the role they see for him in Ames and the way they made him feel like a priority.
How Hunter connected with the staff
Hunter said he was basically on FaceTime with an Iowa State coach "all day, every day."
"From the beginning, through the season when they were doing pretty bad, it was always a thought of, 'It could happen,'" Hunter said of Prohm getting fired. "But this was my first time through the process; I’ve never been through nothing like this. So, when it actually did happen, I just had to sit down and think: 'Was I going to open it up right away? Could I bet let out of my letter (of intent)?' Or anything like that. I just had to sit down and talk to my peers, coach Bennett and my brother.
"They hired T.J., and I was like, 'OK, I’m going to see where his head is at, if his head is on straight.' Because he recruited me back at UNLV. So I just wanted to see about that. And, man, we just built a pretty good relationship throughout the past couple weeks."
Daniyal Robinson and James Kane were Hunter's main recruiters on Prohm's staff, and he built strong bonds with both. When Otzelberger kept Robinson on staff, and when Robinson told Hunter how much he trusted Otzelberger, Hunter said that helped make Iowa State more appealing.
Bennett said a handful of schools reached out to him to check in on Hunter, who they couldn't talk to because he was still signed with Iowa State. But Hunter was focused on giving Iowa State a fair shake. After every talk with Otzelberger, Bennett said, Hunter just kept getting more and more comfortable.
"Ultimately, he said to me last week, 'Coach, this is just too good an opportunity to say no to. They’re offering everything I want,'" Bennett said. "Tyrese, for as flashy a player as he is, he’s a pretty simple kid behind the scenes. He’s not a diva. He just really wanted to feel a strong connection with the staff, and they definitely did that."
Hunter also emphasized how much Otzelberger and his staff made him feel like a priority. For a kid who just had his original head coach ripped away, that was important. He said he felt like Iowa State's "No. 1 focus."
"They really did make him feel special. They really did," Bennett said. "Coach Otzelberger really took the lead on this. He’s been heavily involved in it. I know how busy you are in the first month or two of a new job, and he certainly made Tyrese a priority through it all."
How Otzelberger sold Hunter on his vision
This part came down to some diligent film breakdown from Iowa State's coaches.
During the Zoom visits, Hunter said Otzelberger not only would review Hunter's film in detail with him, he would also review current Iowa State players' film, as well as film of other players the Cyclones are recruiting, to show exactly how Hunter would fit in as the floor general leading the show.
It was painstakingly detailed, and Hunter appreciated it.
"It stood out. Just knowing that they’re taking their time with me and just fitting the pieces around me, too, and around the program to help everybody out," Hunter said. "Knowing their style of play and how they’re going to get up and down the court. And then just my future teammates – who I’m going to be playing with, who they’re going to surround me with."
So, how does Otzelberger see Hunter fitting into his plan for the future?
"Just that dog. That gritty point guard that helps everybody out, gets everybody involved," Hunter said. "Getting that started. I feel like they need that push, that energy guy, and I could be one of them and get everybody going out there.
"I’m just ready to get the magic back in Hilton (Coliseum). There are people that say it’s gone and stuff like that, but I really see the potential throughout the whole program and the team itself. So I’m just really ready to get out there and just show everyone."
Inside Iowa State's relentless 3-week pursuit of Tyrese Hunter
To understand why Tyrese Hunter took a full three weeks to decide if he wanted to stick with Iowa State after the university fired Steve Prohm, the head coach he committed to, even though many peers in similar situations right now are quickly decommitting or entering the transfer portal, you need to know something about Hunter.
It's why he's "wise beyond his years," as his high school coach, Nick Bennett, says.
Hunter had lost both of his parents by the time he was 13. His father, Brian, died from a heart attack when Hunter was 6. His mother, Ida, died of kidney failure seven years later.
That forced Hunter to grow up fast.
"This is a kid who’s had to gain wisdom most people don’t have to," Bennett told the Des Moines Register on Saturday. "He is going to make decisions differently. He is going to look at things a little differently."
Translation: He's not going to rush. He's going to take his time.
That's exactly what he did with his college decision. Hunter took three weeks to get to know new Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger and his staff. He was methodical. He spent hours talking with the coaches, giving them an opportunity to show how he fit into their plans.
"Tyrese is not a knee-jerk-reaction type of kid," said Bennett, who has coached Hunter to a 53-1 record these past two years at St. Catherine's in Milwaukee. "He didn’t want to just do the, 'Oh, new coach? I’m out.' He didn’t want to just tweet something, 'I’m out of here.' He just said, 'Hey, I want to make sure I’m making the right decision. I want to hear what I need to hear. I want to gather information. I want to rest on it.'"
Hunter reaffirmed his commitment to Iowa State on Saturday. In the end, he told the Register it came down to his relationship with the new staff, the role they see for him in Ames and the way they made him feel like a priority.
How Hunter connected with the staff
Hunter said he was basically on FaceTime with an Iowa State coach "all day, every day."
"From the beginning, through the season when they were doing pretty bad, it was always a thought of, 'It could happen,'" Hunter said of Prohm getting fired. "But this was my first time through the process; I’ve never been through nothing like this. So, when it actually did happen, I just had to sit down and think: 'Was I going to open it up right away? Could I bet let out of my letter (of intent)?' Or anything like that. I just had to sit down and talk to my peers, coach Bennett and my brother.
"They hired T.J., and I was like, 'OK, I’m going to see where his head is at, if his head is on straight.' Because he recruited me back at UNLV. So I just wanted to see about that. And, man, we just built a pretty good relationship throughout the past couple weeks."
Daniyal Robinson and James Kane were Hunter's main recruiters on Prohm's staff, and he built strong bonds with both. When Otzelberger kept Robinson on staff, and when Robinson told Hunter how much he trusted Otzelberger, Hunter said that helped make Iowa State more appealing.
Bennett said a handful of schools reached out to him to check in on Hunter, who they couldn't talk to because he was still signed with Iowa State. But Hunter was focused on giving Iowa State a fair shake. After every talk with Otzelberger, Bennett said, Hunter just kept getting more and more comfortable.
"Ultimately, he said to me last week, 'Coach, this is just too good an opportunity to say no to. They’re offering everything I want,'" Bennett said. "Tyrese, for as flashy a player as he is, he’s a pretty simple kid behind the scenes. He’s not a diva. He just really wanted to feel a strong connection with the staff, and they definitely did that."
Hunter also emphasized how much Otzelberger and his staff made him feel like a priority. For a kid who just had his original head coach ripped away, that was important. He said he felt like Iowa State's "No. 1 focus."
"They really did make him feel special. They really did," Bennett said. "Coach Otzelberger really took the lead on this. He’s been heavily involved in it. I know how busy you are in the first month or two of a new job, and he certainly made Tyrese a priority through it all."
How Otzelberger sold Hunter on his vision
This part came down to some diligent film breakdown from Iowa State's coaches.
During the Zoom visits, Hunter said Otzelberger not only would review Hunter's film in detail with him, he would also review current Iowa State players' film, as well as film of other players the Cyclones are recruiting, to show exactly how Hunter would fit in as the floor general leading the show.
It was painstakingly detailed, and Hunter appreciated it.
"It stood out. Just knowing that they’re taking their time with me and just fitting the pieces around me, too, and around the program to help everybody out," Hunter said. "Knowing their style of play and how they’re going to get up and down the court. And then just my future teammates – who I’m going to be playing with, who they’re going to surround me with."
So, how does Otzelberger see Hunter fitting into his plan for the future?
"Just that dog. That gritty point guard that helps everybody out, gets everybody involved," Hunter said. "Getting that started. I feel like they need that push, that energy guy, and I could be one of them and get everybody going out there.
"I’m just ready to get the magic back in Hilton (Coliseum). There are people that say it’s gone and stuff like that, but I really see the potential throughout the whole program and the team itself. So I’m just really ready to get out there and just show everyone."
In 2 weeks, TJ and staff have been like “nope, we don’t have a Big 12 caliber roster”, cut many of them loose, and has rebuilt it. All within a couple of weeks. This team will be interesting to watch early on next year.
Wasn’t one of his things smoking pot or something like that? I personally don’t give two ***** about stuff like that.
I think it was doing that in the dorm instead of being at practice or something but not quite sure.
LW was pretty passive defensively and who knows how that communication or response went. If it was as simple as 'If you D up, you start' and he simply wouldn't then that's on the player. I think another issue was that he wouldn't insert LW until X time gone by in the half which is bad management. If some offense or spark is needed, you add that spark and see where it goes.
It's a gossip mill but I'm curious to see if more comes out about that team and other trends/experiences.
I am on record not liking us not wearing school colors -- that is, cardinal, gold, or white.
But if we're going to do a dark alternate jersey and shorts, I would much rather it was the "pure" black and white that the football team wears instead of the gray-green puke color that our current "alternatives" have.
Either that or a light gray color that still uses cardinal and gold, something like this...
The gray/greens are the worst.
