SportsLine.com Report
June 5, 2000
Before last season, Iowa State was probably best known as Jeff Hornacek's alma mater.
Thanks to the exploits of Marcus Fizer, that may no longer be the case.
The Big 12 Player of the Year and a first team All-American, the 6-8 Fizer turned a lot of heads by leading the Cyclones to a 32-5 record and their first berth in the Elite Eight since 1944. Iowa State also captured its first conference title since 1945, knocking Kansas off its customary perch in the process.
Now Fizer is on his way to the NBA and coach Larry Eustachy is hoping to keep the Cyclones atop the Big 12 with some savvy junior college recruiting. Heading his recruiting class will be 6-7 Juco transfer Tyray Pearson, an athletic forward whose game (Eustachy hopes) is similar to Fizer's.
Regardless of what Iowa State does in 2000-01, the Big 12 has plenty to build on. Six teams made the NCAA Tournament last season, with Oklahoma State and Iowa State advancing to the Elite Eight.
After finishing fifth in conference play, Kansas gave No. 1 seed Duke a scare in the second round of the tourney before bowing 69-64. The only first round loser among the six teams was Missouri, which lost to eventual Final Four participant North Carolina 84-70. Overall, the Big 12 was a very respectable 9-6 in the Big Dance.
Conference champion
Considering preseason predictions had Iowa State finishing last or next-to-last in conference, the Cyclones had to be very satisfied with their remarkable season. After beating Kansas twice in conference play, Iowa State ran the table in the Big 12 conference tourney to end Kansas' three-year reign.
The youthful Jayhawks, who were heavy favorites in the preseason, struggled to find an identity (see: Eric Chenowith) and found themselves out of the running for the second consecutive season.
Defending conference champion Texas was neck-in-neck with the Cyclones until a Feb. 22 loss in Ames gave the Cyclones all the cushion they would need.
Biggest disappointment
It's hard to call Kansas a disappointment at 24-10, but the Jayhawks couldn't get any consistency out of their vaunted big men, notably Chenowith. At times, the 7-1 center out of Orange, Calif., played with a complete lack of passion and looked utterly lost on the court. Lester Earl, the much-maligned LSU transfer, proved equally inept in the low block.
Biggest surprise
It's tough to say which is a bigger surprise, Iowa State winning the conference title or Kansas finishing fifth. In this case, we'll go with the Cyclones.
Coming off a 15-15 season, Eustachy inserted Juco transfers Jamaal Tinsley and Fizer into the lineup and -- shazam! - the Cyclones reel off 32 victories and give eventual national champion Michigan State its toughest game of the NCAA Tournament.
Player of the year
Marcus Fizer, in a runaway. He led the conference in scoring (24.8) and shot nearly 57 percent from the field while leading the Cyclones to a 14-2 record. How he did it might have been the most impressive aspect. The big guy showed NBA game, punishing foes on the inside and showing a nice touch from every spot on the floor. It was hard to argue with his decision to leave for the NBA.
Chris Mihm, Texas' 7-foot center who averaged 17.7 points and 10.5 rebounds, comes in a distant second.
Coach of the year
Eustachy was named National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press and the United States Basketball Writers Association, so we'll give him the nod here. In just his second year in Ames, Eustachy vaulted the Cyclones past such coaching luminaries as Roy Williams and Eddie Sutton.
The future
Despite the early departures of Fizer and Mihm to the NBA, the Big 12 is looking strong.
Kansas returns virtually everybody (which might not be a good thing). Junior point guard Jeff Boschee made big strides toward the end of last season, and he still has Kenny Gregory flanking him in the backcourt. If Roy Williams can light a fire under Chenowith and Luke Axtell can stay healthy, the Jayhawks should return to the top of the Big 12.
Iowa State has Tinsley back at the point, but will have to fill Fizer's considerable void. Fortunately for Iowa State fans everywhere, Eustachy has proved quite adept at scouring junior college's for a quick fix.
Oklahoma State loses Doug Gottlieb (the No. 1 pick of the Oklahoma Storm in the USBL draft) and Desmond Mason, but Eddie Sutton has one of the top recruiting classes in the nation coming in. Heading that class will be 6-1 point guard Maurice Baker out of Dixie College in Utah.
Kansas State and Nebraska saw some turnover in the coaching ranks as Tom Asbury and Danny Nee were let go after disappointing seasons (and, in Asbury's case, a sub-.500 record in five years on the job). Jim Woolridge takes over at Kansas State and Barry Collier, whose Butler team nearly upset Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, steps in at Nebraska.