Twisting the Big Eight race

Sporting News, The, Feb 19, 1996 by Kyle Veltrop

Question: What do you get when you combine two Sun Belt reserves, two junior-college transfers and a returning point guard who scored less than one basket a game last season?

Answer The most surprising team in the Top 25.

Meet Iowa State, a team that was supposed to reside in the Big Eight rubble. Expectations were rightfully low after the Cyclones lost 95 percent of their scoring from a team that won 23 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

In his first year coaching Iowa State, Tim Floyd inherited a cupboard full of Fred Hoiberg, Julius Michalik and Loren Meyer (who rank third, fifth and 13th, respectively, on the school's career scoring chart). For his second season, Floyd was left with crumbs.

"Tim Floyd had to build that team," Kansas Coach Roy Williams says.

Thus far, it looks as if it has been built to NCAA Tournament specifications. The Cyclones are 17-5 and their 6-2 conference mark is only bettered by league behemoth Kansas (19-2, 7-1), which suffered its first Big Eight loss Saturday at Missouri, 77-73.

"We wouldn't have dreamed for this kind of record," Floyd says. Particularly considering the eclectic components:

The surging ex-Sun Belters: Dedric Willoughby, who was a reserve on Floyd's last two teams at New Orleans, has replaced Hoiberg as Iowa State's go-to guy and has led the team in scoring 16 times. Willoughby, a 6-foot-2 junior guard who averages 20.8 points per game, has evolved from a one-dimensional 3-point shooter at UNO into one of the best scorers in the nation. In Saturday's 74-59 thrashing of Nebraska, Willoughby scored a career-high- 29 points. In the last seven games, he has scored 20 or more points six times.

Kelvin Cato's progress, though, is even more remarkable considering that he has played 40 organized games in his life. The 6-11 Cato didn't play basketball at Lithonia High in Decatur, Ga., but his AAU play earned him a scholarship to South Alabama. Coming off the bench, he set a school record with 85 blocked shots in 1993-94, but he transferred to Iowa State. He is averaging 9.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and more than two blocks a contest.

"He gets better every time out," Floyd says. "There may not be a better athlete inside in the league.

The junior-college forwards from the west: The College of Southern Idaho delivered 6-6 Shawn Bankhead. From Eastern Utah came 6.3 Kenny Pratt.

Bankhead's eight points a game have helped ease the departure of Mchalik and Meyer. His season-high 23 points led the Cyclones past Colorado January 24.

Pratt's play has struck up comparisons with Oklahoma's Ernie Abercrombie, another rugged Big Eight forward who plays much bigger than his size. Pratt's 14.1 scoring average trails only Willoughby on the Cyclones; his 6.0 rebounding average ranks second to Cato.

"Pratt creates a lot of matchup problems," Floyd says. "He finishes a lot of shots and has a great ability to get to the free-throw line."

The point guard who was afraid to shoot: Last season, Jacy Holloway scored 61 points -- the entire season. In 34 games. In 21 starts.

As the only returning player who got any significant time in conference play last season, Holloway was being counted on for leadership and stability.

"He never gets any credit, but we couldn't live without him," Floyd says. "Our team would self-destruct."

Though still not a scorer (4.2 scoring average), Holloway takes care of the ball. In 1994-95, his assist-to-turnover ratio was nearly 4 to 1. Holloway has 102 assists to just 43 turnovers this season. And Holloway, a 6-foot junior, has even made 16 3-pointers after going 0 for 4 last season.

Different players, different styles, different origins. So why does Floyd keep getting similar results?

"With new guys, a real key is to get involved early to foster some kind of togetherness," Floyd says. "In the preseason, they'd lift weights together at 6 a.m., run at 7 and then go to breakfast. After class, they'd have individual workouts in groups of three for two hours. Then, they'd have free play from 3 to 5. They would then eat together and go to study hall until 9:30. They never left each other's side all day."

Another asset has been the free-throw line. The Cyclones have made 420 free throws. Their opponents have attempted 322. By far, Willoughby has made and attempted more free throws (140 for 177) than anyone in the conference.

Iowa State and Kansas State (14-8, 5-5), two schools picked to finish at or near the bottom of the conference, have shaken up the Big Eight Despite a three-game slide, the Wildcats are competing for postseason play, thanks to the combination of guard Elliot Hatcher (16.1 scoring average) and forward Tyrone Davis (14.3 scoring average).

"The two biggest surprises are Iowa State and Kansas State," Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton says. "You have to credit their coaching staffs. The teams are a lot alike. They play outstanding defense and have an outstanding player on the inside and an outstanding guard."

The Cyclones have a good lead on the Wildcats, Oklahoma and Missouri in the race for second place in the Big Eight. The teams that finish second, third and fourth are good bets to join the Jayhawks in the field of 64.