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Since we just got done with the 2017 NBA Draft, I thought it would be nice for a little Iowa State basketball history lesson on every player who’s been drafted from Iowa State. We all know Monté Morris is the latest, but do you know all of them?
1940s (1)
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1948 BAA Draft - Ray Wehde - Additional Selection, Boston Celtics
Ray Wehde played at Iowa State from 1943-1948 and was a member of the 1944 Final Four team. He scored four against Pepperdine, and he fouled out (with four fouls) early against eventual champion Utah.
He was the team’s leading scorer in three of his four years as a Cyclone, and he was the first Cyclone to ever lead the team in scoring as a freshman with 124 points on the year (or 7.8 ppg). He would earn First-Team All-Big Six in 1943 and 1947, a season in which he would have 8.3 ppg.
Wehde was also a fine track athlete, as the All-American finished fourth in the 120 yard hurdles in 1944. During training camp, the team slept in cots on the floor of Boston Garden. He was inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame Class of 2010.
1950s (3)
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1953 NBA Draft - Delmar Diercks - Additional Selection, New York Knicks
Delmar Diercks is the next Cyclone on the list. The 6’8”, 190 pound Mason City native played from 1950-1953. He scored 569 points over his three years, and by the 1952-53 season, he was averaging 17.7 points per game. He is sixth all time with free throws made per game in a season (6.14) and 17th all time for free throws made per game in a career with 3.51. Del was also a member of the 1953 Big Seven All-Star Team.
So where would all this free throw talent lead Diercks? Well, according to Robert D. Bradley’s The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts, he was picked by the New York Knicks. No professional stats could be found.
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1957 NBA Draft - Gary Thompson - 5th Round, 35th Overall, Minneapolis Lakers
Gary Thompson will be one of the first recognizable names in a sea of more or less unknown players. The “Roland Rocket” was the first basketball player in school history to score over 1,000 points, as well as the first multiple sport All-American in Iowa State history. He would be the Big Seven Player of the Year in 1957. He was also an outstanding shortstop on the 1957 College World Series team, hitting .311 with four home runs and 18 RBIs.
Legendary Kansas coach Phog Allen had high praise of Thompson, saying “Inch for inch, Gary Thompson is probably as good a player as the Big Seven has ever seen, and it’s seen some fine ones.”
Thompson was drafted 35th overall in the 1957 NBA Draft by the Minneapolis Lakers, and 33 spots later, legendary Syracuse running back Jim Brown was drafted by the then-Syracuse Nationals (now Philadelphia 76ers).
Gary never played with the Lakers; however, he did play with the Phillips 66ers of the AAU until 1962, when he took over as coach. He would later get into broadcasting for NBC, and would retire as a broadcaster in 2005. Gary is part of the inaugural Iowa State Hall of Fame Class of 1997.
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1958 NBA Draft - Don Medsker - 12th Round, 79th Overall, Cincinnati Royals
Don Medsker (July 18, 1937 - June 25, 2016) is the next Cyclone on the list, the 6’7-8” Colorado native shot 40.2% from the floor in his three years of play. His most notable shot was a 20-foot push shot against #1 Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain — said shot made the Cyclones win 39-37. He was quite good on defense as this article from The Times (Hammond, Indiana) explains.
Instead of playing, he went back to Colorado and got a Doctor of Law degree and had a career as an attorney. He passed away at the age of 78.
1960s (5)
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1961 NBA Draft - Hank Whitney - 4th Round, 37th Overall, Syracuse Nationals
Hank Whitney is the only Cyclone to ever play in the ABL, EPBL, ABA, and EBA where he did from 1961-1973. As a Cyclone, he averaged 10.3 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game. The 12.1 rebounds per game he averaged as a senior (1960-61) is still the third best mark in school history. In his last game as a Cyclone, he scored 34 against Kansas. On February 27, 1960, the 6’7” Whitney pulled down 22 rebounds, and just two days later he pulled down 23 against Missouri. He had 19 double-doubles that season, good for fourth best in a season in ISU history. He was the second African-American to ever play basketball at Iowa State.
In the Eastern Professional Basketball League, he scored 28.4 points per game with the Allentown Jets in the 1966-67 season, which would be the highlight of his professional career. In 2013, Whitney was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.
Article about Whitney. Professional stats.
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1963 NBA Draft - Vince Brewer - 6th Round, 52nd Overall, Syracuse Nationals
Vince (Vinnie) Brewer was named Big Eight Conference Tournament MVP in 1959, and he scored 14.1 a game and averaged 9.2 boards a game. Per the December 11, 1961 issue of Sports Illustrated, Brewer is “a hot-shot junior, who scored 366 points in his sophomore season and then dropped out of school for a year.”
Brewer scored 22 points in a 1959 game against Washington, the then-high-water mark for single game scoring at Iowa State. Brewer finished his Cyclone career with 1,027 points.
The cager was dubbed a sparkplug by The Indianapolis Star on December 8th, 1962.
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1963 NBA Draft - Marv Straw - 11th Round, 77th Overall, St. Louis Hawks
1963 Male Athlete of the Year at Iowa State, Marv Straw scored 357 points to lead the 1962-63 Cyclones. Marv was also a first team All-Big Eight honoree in 1963. He pulled down 369 rebounds as a Cyclone, here is one of those rebounds.
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1968 NBA Draft - Zaid Abdul-Aziz - 1st Round, 5th Overall, Cincinnati Royals
Up next is one of my favorite Cyclones of all time, Zaid Abdul-Aziz (formerly known as Don Smith). I met Zaid 10 years ago at Ames Public Library where he was talking about his (very good) book, Darkness to Sunlight. Somewhere on one of my first cell phones is a picture of Zaid and 10-year-old me. Fun fact: Zaid chose the number 35 because he wanted to play until he was 35.
As a Cyclone, Zaid is one of the best ever, scoring 1,672 points and grabbing 1,025 rebounds over three years. In 1968, he was a third-team All-American and Big Eight Player of the Year. He’s second all time with 20 double-doubles in one season (1968) and has the most double-doubles in a career with 54 (he averaged 22.3 ppg and 13.7 rpg). The 22.3 ppg is the highest for a Cyclone over their career, and he also holds the season record for free throws made with 210. Zaid had 24 rebounds on three separate occasions.
His talent is seen in the video below.
Zaid was picked fifth overall by the Cincinnati Royals in 1968 and would also play with the Bucks, SuperSonics, Rockets, Braves, and Celtics. He retired in 1978, and he averaged 9 points and 8 boards a game.
He was inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame in 1998.
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1968 NBA Draft - John McGonigle - 11th Round, 137th Overall, Chicago Bulls
John McGonigle played from 1965-1968. The 6’3” Moline player averaged 10.7 points per game. In the 1966-67 season, he led the team in free throw percentage, hitting 51-69 (73.9%).
1970s (8)
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1970 NBA Draft - Bill Cain - 3rd Round, 42nd Overall, Portland Trail Blazers
Bill Cain is one of the single greatest rebounders in school history. Record-wise, he has the most rebounds in a season (396), most rebounds in a single game (26), and most rebounds per game in a season with 15.2 his last season. The New York native would be drafted 42nd overall by the Trail Blazers, however he got cut after a couple of months.
Cain’s basketball career came to a brief halt, so he went to Belgium to play a season and then he returned to Chicago to pursue a working career. He soon got a call from an agent in Vichy (France) to come back and play in France. He would play at Vichy from 1972-1975, even leading the team in scoring in ‘74-’75 with 843 points that year. Unfortunately, Jeanne d’Arc de Vichy was demoted to Nationale II (second tier) even with Cain’s outstanding play. In 1975, he became a French citizen after marrying a French woman.
From 1975-1983, Cain played with SCM Le Mans, and his goal going there was to help them win their first national title. Cain helped lead Le Mans to three titles: 1978, 1979, and 1982. He was also a member of the French national team from 1978-1980, appearing in 63 games and scoring 754 points. From 1985-1988 he played at Roanne which was in Pro-A/Nationale I at the time, but is now in Pro-B/National II. In 2002 he was inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame.
New Yorker article on Cain. L’orne hebdo article on Cain (en français).
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1973 NBA Draft - Martinez Denmon - 3rd Round, 52nd Overall, Boston Celtics
The Coffeyville J.C. transfer Martinez Denmon led the team in free throw percentage (67.1% and 78.7%) in 1972 and 1973. Martinez led the Cyclones in scoring in the first ever game in Hilton Coliseum, with 19 against Arizona. Denmon averaged 16.8 as a Cyclone. Also in 1973, he was named a 2nd Team All-Big Eight guard.
He was picked up 52nd overall by the Celtics. Currently, he is a strategic planner and educational consultant for a Brooklyn-based online education service called Amplify.
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1973 NBA Draft - Clint Harris - 5th Round, 77th Overall, Phoenix Suns
Clint “Butch” Harris transferred from Kilgore Junior College to spend two seasons as a Cyclone. He graduated with a Bachelor’s in education and was picked up by the Suns in the 5th round of the draft. He was honored as an All-Big Eight guard 2nd team in 1973.
Harris went on to become a high school basketball coach at Lovejoy and Venice High Schools. In 1987, he won a State Championship at Venice HS. Harris is a 1998 inductee into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He passed away in 2008.
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1973 NBA Draft - Tom O’Conner - 16th Round, 201st Overall, Cleveland Cavaliers
Tom O’Connor was the first Iowa State basketball player to be 7-feet in height. He scored 304 points in his two seasons as a Cyclone and pulled in 227 rebounds. O’Connor was also the last of three Cyclones picked in the 1973 NBA Draft.
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1974 NBA Draft - Robert Wilson - 3rd Round, 41st Overall, Houston Rockets
Robert Wilson transferred to Iowa State for his senior season because his previous school, Southwest Louisiana, was put on probation by the NCAA. The Indianapolis native averaged 16.2 ppg, and also led the team in free throw percentage with 76.7% made. The 6’6” forward played in two postseason all-star games in 1974: the Las Vegas-based Pizza Hut Basketball Classic and the Aloha Classic in Honolulu. He was drafted 41st overall by the Houston Rockets.
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1976 NBA Draft - Hercle Ivy - 4th Round, 61st Overall, Houston Rockets
Hercle “Poison” Ivy is one of the best scorers in Iowa State history not named Jeff Grayer. In the ‘74-’75 season, Ivy averaged 28.3 ppg, which is the highest in school history. He’s also a tenth of a point away from first in average ppg in a career with 22.2. Ivy dropped 43 (at the time, the single game record) on Colorado during the very abysmal ‘75-’76 season. His 737 total points in 1975 was the fifth highest mark in the nation.
Like Wilson, Ivy would be picked up by the Houston Rockets, where he would be cut a few days before the regular season. Had he made the team, he would’ve made $37,000 a year instead of the $4,000 he made just going through training camp. He did stay in Houston for a little bit, getting a job as a counselor where he worked with boys who had robbed, beaten, or shot other persons. "Those kids had no guidance. All they knew was what went on in the streets," said Ivy.
When Ivy was a student at Iowa State, he was kind of like Cardale Jones in that “we ain’t come here to play school.” However, he came back in 1978 to get a degree in physical education, and he had a full-ride scholarship which included: room, board, tuition, and books. The price? $2,945. ($11,458.48 in 2017) Ivy had the following to say about the importance of a degree via the Register: "You got to have money in order to live. With a degree, I can get more. I'm concentrating on learning to get out there and make some money in a capacity other than ball."
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1976 NBA Draft - Art Johnson - 10th Round, 165th Overall, New Orleans Jazz
Art Johnson has the fifth most rebounds per game in a career with 9.8 boards. He also averaged 16.4 points per game over his career.
The 6’7” forward would get drafted 165th overall by the New Orleans Jazz.
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1979 NBA Draft - Andrew Parker - 3rd Round, 46th Overall, Washington Bullets
Andrew Parker led the Big Eight in scoring in both 1978 and 1979, scoring 605 and 548 in each respective season. He is ninth all time with 391 free throws made in his career. Coach Lynn Nance called him “one of the best one-on-one scorers in the country,” according to the attached newspaper clipping. He was a first team All-Big Eight selection in 1978 and 1979. At the time he graduated, he was the 13th highest scorer in Big Eight history. He is third all time with 44 consecutive games with double digit scoring.
As a member of the Bullets, Parker went on a basketball tour in August-September 1979.
1980s (7)
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1980 NBA Draft - Dean Uthoff - 6th Round, 129th Overall, San Antonio Spurs
Dean Uthoff is Iowa State’s best rebounder ever with 1,233 in his career. He also has the second most rebounds in a season with 378 in 1978. That 378 mark was good for third best in the country that season. He was so good at rebounding that he led the Big Eight in rebounding all four seasons. He had 49 double doubles in his career, good for 3rd all time.
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1982 NBA Draft - Robert Estes - 10th Round, 210th Overall, Kansas City Kings
Robert Estes was the only Cyclone on an All-Big Eight team in 1981 as an honorable mention pick. He scored 1,259 points as a Cyclone and pulled down 634 rebounds.
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1985 NBA Draft - Barry Stevens - 2nd Round, 43rd Overall, Denver Nuggets
Barry Stevens (November 7, 1963 - February 21, 2007) is one of the most legendary Cyclones ever. In a overtime game against Missouri in 1983, Stevens hit a 18 foot jump shot to beat the No. 10 Tigers and create what is now known as Hilton Magic. In that game, Stevens scored 40 points. Thanks to that effort, Sports Illustrated dubbed him national player of the week.
He’s also the only Cyclone to score more than 40 twice, a feat he accomplished against Morgan State on January 3, 1985, when he dropped 47. Before Georges Niang came along, Barry was the 2nd all-time leading scorer with 2,190, and is now third all time, but that just shows the testament of skill he had playing without the 3-point shot. He was also a three time all-Big Eight from 1983-1985.
The Denver Nuggets picked Stevens up 43rd overall, and he would play until 1993-94 with Tri-City Chinook in the CBA.
Stevens would be inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame in 2004. Tragically, Barry passed at 44 due to a heart attack while exercising. He wasn’t the first Cyclone from Flint, Michigan, but he will always be one of the best Flint natives we’ve ever had. Fun fact about Barry: he was the one that got Fred Hoiberg interested in basketball.
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1986 NBA Draft - Jeff Hornacek - 2nd Round, 46th Overall, Phoenix Suns
Jeff Hornacek is maybe the second best walk-on ever at Iowa State. Who’s the first? Well, Stu Nezlek, obviously. Hornacek led the Big Eight in assists with 665 and is a member of the All-Century Team. He has the second most assists in Iowa State history. In a 1986 NCAA Tournament game against Miami (OH), he hit the game winner at the end of overtime to lead the Cyclones to their next game against Michigan.
The Phoenix Suns selected Hornacek 46th overall. He would stay with the Suns until 1992. He was also an All-Star in 1992. He became a member of the 76ers (1992-94) after the Suns traded him and others for Charles Barkley. Hornacek would then finish up his career as a member of the Jazz. Jeff scored more points in the NBA than any other player from the state of Iowa, totaling 15,659. His number is also retired at Hilton Coliseum and he was a member of the Iowa State Hall of Fame Class of 1999.
Hornacek is currently the head coach of the New York Knicks.
A May 2017 article from ESPN says Hornacek is the best player ever drafted 46th overall.
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1987 NBA Draft - Tom Schafer - 3rd Round, 54th Overall, Denver Nuggets
Tom Schafer played at Iowa State for two seasons. The 6’2” Chicago native really poured it on point wise in his final year, adding 495 more points than he did his first year as a Cyclone. In a December 1986 loss (87-89) against No. 5 Auburn at the El Paso Classic, he had 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Schafer’s best moment as a Cyclone came against #12 Oklahoma in 1987. The Sooners, who at one point were on top of Iowa State by 16, saw their lead disappear in the second half. Oklahoma at the time was the highest scoring Big Eight team (90 ppg) and three days before this game, they beat Nebraska 133-97. In the game, Tom had a career high 29 points and another career high 17 rebounds. His most important points of the night came with 0.4 seconds left — the lunging 14 foot shot went right through and the Cyclones pulled the upset.
Northwest Herald (IL) draft article. Des Moines Register draft article.
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1987 NBA Draft - Sam Hill - 5th Round, 112th Overall, Dallas Mavericks
Sam Hill was selected as CBS/Chevrolet Player of the Game against Michigan in the 1986 NCAA Tournament. In that game he had 11 crucial points in Iowa State’s 72-69 victory.
The Mavericks would draft him 112th overall.
In 2016, Cyclones.tv caught up with Hill at a practice session before the Sweet 16 game with Virginia. He’s currently an executive director at Clara’s House.
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1988 NBA Draft - Jeff Grayer - 1st Round, 13th Overall, Milwaukee Bucks
A member of the All-Century Team, Jeff Grayer recorded 2,502 points for Iowa State from 1985-1988. He became the first Cyclone men's basketball player to represent the United States on an Olympic team and his number is retired at Hilton Coliseum. Grayer played professionally until the 1998-99 season, where he finished up his playing days with the Quad City Thunder, in which he was second on the team with 18.5 points per game.
Grayer was also a 1999 Iowa State Hall of Fame inductee.
1990s (4)
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1991 NBA Draft - Victor Alexander - 1st Round, 17th Overall, Golden State Warriors
Victor Alexander is a member of the All-Century Team and is one of the most accurate shooters in Iowa State history with a career scoring percentage of 61.1%. From 1988-1991, Alexander scored 1,892 points for the Cyclones. He was a first team Big Eight pick in 1991.
The Golden State Warriors selected Alexander 17th overall in 1991. The Warriors in the 1992-93 season had three former Cyclones: Barry Stevens, Victor Alexander, and Jeff Grayer. In 1997-98, Alexander played with AEK Athens BC, and here are some of the highlights from his time there. He played professionally until 2004, where he finished his career with CSKA Moscow.
This fall, Alexander will be inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame.
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1995 NBA Draft - Loren Meyer - 1st Round, 24th Overall, Dallas Mavericks
Loren Meyer is a 6’10” Ruthven native that played at Iowa State from 1991-1995. In his 111 games played, he scored 1,280 points and had 677 rebounds.
He played professional ball until 2001, and in that time he played with the aforementioned Mavericks, Suns, Nuggets, and Cheshire Jets. In his last season with Cheshire, he was MVP of the BBL. In March 2009, Loren was inducted into the Iowa High School Basketball Hall of Fame.
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1995 NBA Draft - Fred Hoiberg - 2nd Round, 52nd Overall, Indiana Pacers
Fred Hoiberg is the first Ames High graduate on this list. While in school, he earned the nickname "The Mayor" and ranks in ISU's top-10 in three different categories. In 1995, he was named a First Team All-Big Eight member.
Hoiberg played 10 seasons in the NBA, playing with the Pacers, Bulls, and Timberwolves. He was inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2012, Hoiberg was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame.
The Mayor coached at ISU from 2010-2015, and is now head coach of the Chicago Bulls.
In that same article from earlier that featured Hornacek, Hoiberg is named the best NBA player ever drafted 52nd overall.
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1997 NBA Draft - Kelvin Cato - 1st Round, 15th Overall, Dallas Mavericks
Kelvin Cato is a member of the All-Century Team and one of the greatest shot blockers in school history. He recorded 189 blocked shots during his career. Kelvin spent some time with the Rockets before being traded away thanks to Yao Ming coming in. His last professional season was the 2006-07 season with the Knicks. He also had the “best” dunk ever in the NBA.
2000s (5)
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2000 NBA Draft - Marcus Fizer - 1st Round, 4th Overall, Chicago Bulls
In the 2000 Big 12 Tournament, Fizer would be named conference tournament MVP. He also has the record for most points in a season with 844 in the 1999-00 season. He scored 1,830 points over his career as a Cyclone. He would also be a first team All-American. Fizer’s dunk on 7-foot Longhorn Chris Mihm is one of the best dunks in Hilton history (Matt Thomas has the best dunk, obviously). Cyclone highlights.
Fizer is Iowa State’s highest draft pick ever. In 2015, Iowa State inducted him into their Hall of Fame.
He is currently the head coach of Hilton Magic Legends in the TBT Tournament that will take place this summer.
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2001 NBA Draft - Jamaal Tinsley - 1st Round, 27th Overall, Vancouver Grizzlies
Jamaal “just another gym” Tinsley is arguably the best point guard in Iowa State history. He has the best ball control skills I’ve ever seen and is one of five Cyclones ever to have a triple double, and the second in school history to do it.
In his 14th NBA game, Tinsley recorded a triple double. He also had a buzzer beater to end a quarter before Steph Curry made it commonplace in the NBA. Tinsley had real “street ball”-esque playing style. He played professionally from 2001-2013.
In 2016, he became a member of the Iowa State Hall of Fame.
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2004 NBA Draft - Jackson Vroman - 2nd Round, 31st Overall, Chicago Bulls
Jackson Vroman (June 6, 1981 – June 29, 2015) played two seasons at Iowa State. While a Cyclone, he was a subject of an NCAA violation due to then-head coach Larry Eustachy giving him $20 due to winning either a free throw contest or making important free throws in a game against Baylor. Vroman was a good player, scoring 834 points in his two seasons here. He started in 62 of the 63 games he played in as a Cyclone.
Vroman started his career with the Phoenix Suns in 2004. He would also spend time with the Hornets before playing internationally. In 2009, he was named MVP of the Asian Championship while playing for Iranian-based team Mahram Tehran BC. He was also a part of the Lebanon national team. He had a great buzzer-beater in 2010.
Truly a globetrotter (sorry, Naz), Vroman’s last team was Capitanes de Arecibo, a team in Puerto Rico. Tragically, he passed away from accidental drowning in 2015.
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2006 NBA Draft - Will Blalock - 2nd Round, 60th Overall, Detroit Pistons
Will Blalock scored 1,078 points in his three year Cyclone career before he decided to forgo his senior season and go into the NBA Draft. The Boston native would be MVP of the 2005 Rainbow Classic. He took part in the Stinson-Blalock-Clark dunk against Virginia in 2004.
As a Piston, he appeared in the following Christmas caroling video. He scored 25 points in the NBA and finished his pro career in 2013 with the Saint John Mill Rats.
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2008 NBA Draft - Mike Taylor - 2nd Round, 55th Overall, Portland Trailblazers
Mike Taylor only played one season at Iowa State, but in that one season, he was the leading scorer averaging 16 a game. He was let go after a series of arrests.
Taylor spent a year with the Idaho Stampede in the D-League before playing with the L.A. Clippers. As a Clipper, he dropped 35 in a 140-135 overtime win at the Knicks. Also as a Clipper, he had this outstanding dunk. In 2011, he was with the Iowa Energy.
Taylor has played all over the world in countries such as Serbia, Italy, Greece, Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey, and Lebanon.
He currently plays with South Korean team Anyang KGC.
2010s (5 so far)
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2010 NBA Draft - Craig Brackins - 1st Round, 21st Overall, Oklahoma City Thunder
Craig Brackins had many accolades as a Cyclone. MVP of World Vision Classic in 2008, a four time Big 12 Player of the week, a First Team All-Big 12 pick, and he even won a bronze medal in the World University Games. He scored 1,539 points as a Cyclone. 42 of those points were scored against Kansas in January 2009.
Brackins was traded to the 76ers from the Thunder upon being drafted. After a brief stint in the NBA, Brackins has spent most of his professional career playing internationally. He’s currently with Japanese team Shiga Lakestars.
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2012 NBA Draft - Royce White - 1st Round, 16th Overall, Houston Rockets
Royce White is one of the most electric players on this list. In just one season, he made all sorts of highlight plays. The Minnesota transfer is one of the best transfers to put on the cardinal and gold. Royce was First-Team All-Big 12, Big 12 All-Rookie Team, and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. He was the most recent Cyclone prior to Monté Morris to get a triple double.
White is currently with the London Lightning up in Canada. This past season, his team won the Championship and he won League MVP.
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2016 NBA Draft - Georges Niang - 2nd Round, 50th Overall, Indiana Pacers
Georges Niang. What a guy — so many memorable moments. Whether it was the kiss he blew to the Iowa student section, the air-bowl of cereal against Notre Dame, his eye getting bloodied against Kansas, etc. He’s second all-time in scoring at ISU and won the Karl Malone award in 2016. The Pacers drafted him 50th overall in 2016.
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2016 NBA Draft - Abdel Nader - 2nd Round, 58th Overall, Boston Celtics
Abdel Nader transferred from Northern Illinois to take part in the ‘14-’15 and ‘15-16 seasons at ISU. On seven occasions he scored more than 20 points, and, in addition to the above dunk, one of his best moments as a Cyclone came against Cincinnati.
The Boston Celtics drafted him 58th overall, and even though he was probably the best rookie in Summer League play, he spent last season with the Maine Red Claws were he would become Rookie of the Year in the G-League.
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2017 NBA Draft - Monte Morris - 2nd Round, 51st Overall, Denver Nuggets
Monté Morris is the chief competitor for “best point guard in school history” along with Jamaal Tinsley. In his freshman campaign, Morris had 134 assists. He’s the NCAA career leader in that assist-to-turnover ratio and finished his career with 1,708 points, 768 assists, and 225 steals. In 2017, Monté was recognized as a First Team All-Big 12 member.
The featured image for Monté is from 2016, when HyVee teamed up with the Flint, Michigan native to deliver 11 semis full of bottled water to Flint, whose water is/was contaminated with lead.
Stay tuned to see how Morris’ NBA career takes shape as he begins with the Denver Nuggets, who selected him in the 2nd round of last week’s NBA Draft.