What went wrong for Iowa State last season wasn't surprising. New coach and former Cyclone star, Fred Hoiberg, left an executive position with the Minnesota Timberwolves to return to his hometown to rebuild his alma mater's team. He inherited a program that was in disarray and had just three scholarship players returning, so expectations were not high.
In fact, Hoiberg's first team ended up with a respectable 16-16 overall record that included non-conference wins over Creighton, Virginia and Iowa. And while the team struggled in the Big 12 and dealt with some off-the-court issues, a talented group of transfers will provide a quick fix that could make this year's Cyclones a postseason club.
To read more about the Iowa State Cyclones' 2011 season and what they must do to be in the NCAA tournament, you must be an ESPN Insider.
Fran Fraschilla
College BasketballABOUT THIS BLOG
College Basketball Experts
Fran Fraschilla is an analyst for ESPN and was previously the head coach at New Mexico, St. John's and Manhattan.
Joe Lunardi is the resident bracketologist for ESPN.
Seth Greenberg is an analyst for ESPN and was previously the head coach at Virginia Tech, South Florida and Long Beach State.
