The rebirth of Iowa State basketball under head coach Fred Hoiberg has been no happy accident. Hoiberg arrived in Ames in 2011 with a plan, and the Cyclones now have three straight NCAA Tournament appearances to show for it. Even as this year's team graduates its two best players, guard DeAndre Kane and Big 12 Player of the Year Melvin Ejim, Hoiberg seems to have a knack for thinking one step ahead. That much was clear over the weekend when UNLV's Bryce Dejean-Jones became the latest graduate-transfer to chose to spend his final year of eligibility with Hoiberg.
Iowa State hits big on the transfer market again with Bryce Dejean-Jones
Fred Hoiberg and Iowa State have two more big-time transfers coming in next season.
Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Dejean-Jones will slide into the Cyclones' backcourt next to Monte Morris, who impressed last season as a freshman point guard. It's difficult to expect anyone to fill the sizable void left by Kane, but Dejean-Jones certainly seems like he fits the profile of what Hoiberg is looking for.
Kane became a special player for the Cyclones last season because he was able to stuff the box score — finishing the year by averaging 17.1 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game and 5.9 assists per game. Dejean-Jones might not reach those lofty plateaus, but he has the all-around game to compliment Hoiberg's pace-and-space offense. Dejean-Jones led UNLV in scoring a year ago by averaging 13.6 points per game, and he also chipped in three assists and 3.7 rebounds per night. The biggest similarity between Dejean-Jones and Kane is how they landed in Ames with Hoiberg. Both were graduate-transfers.
If the transfer market is college basketball's version of NBA free agency, Hoiberg might be Pat Riley. It started with Royce White, the now infamous forward who left Minnesota as a freshman before becoming a first round NBA draft pick after one year of tutelage from Hoiberg. White has a well-publicized ongoing battle with anxiety that has limited his NBA career. To this date, the only place he's ever really found a home in a basketball sense was at Iowa State.
Kane was the star transfer a year ago at this time, coming from Marshall with a reputation as a guard with a volatile demeanor. Hoiberg took a player who led NCAA in technical fouls twice and turned him into a heady point guard who was able to channel his emotion for the good of the team.
White and Kane are a pair of big-time examples for Dejean-Jones to live up to next season, but he won't be alone. Iowa State is also welcoming in Marquette transfer Jameel McKay, who will be eligible to play on Dec. 20, 2014. McKay will have one and a half years of eligibility left and gives Hoiberg something he's never had in Ames: a legitimate rim protector.
The 6'9 McKay comes to Iowa State after twice being named an All-American at Indian Hills Community College. He never played a game for Marquette before deciding he would rather be in Ames. The Cyclones started 6'6 Dustin Hogue at center last season, so the insertion of McKay next to him in the frontcourt gives Hoiberg some much needed size.
Programs are supposed to rebuild after losing players of Kane and Ejim’s caliber, but Hoiberg has never had time for that. He’s reloading with a pair of transfers again, and it should have Iowa State in the mix for the Big 12 title.
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