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AMES – Joshua Jefferson would ride his stationary bike day after day. With each revolution of his legs, he’d strengthen his body and the surgically repaired knee that was keeping him from practicing with his new Iowa State men’s basketball teammates.
It had to be agonizing.
After missing half a season back at St. Mary’s with the injury, he arrived at his new program, one with true Final Four aspirations, only to be relegated to the sideline and that dang bike.
It offered Jefferson, though, the perspective of a spectator. Of observer. Of researcher.
And he came to a clear conclusion about his new team.
“They share the ball at an extreme rate. They play extremely hard,” Jefferson said Thursday on the eve of the Cyclones’ final summer practice. “Very coachable players. We don’t talk back. We just get it done.
“That’s what my biggest takeaway is – how hard and together they play.”
What Jefferson discovered throughout those practices was the Cyclones’ secret sauce under fourth-year coach T.J. Otzelberger. Which, of course, isn’t so secret at all. Iowa State has willed itself to three straight NCAA Tournaments, a pair of Sweet 16s and a Big 12 Tournament championship on the strength of a boring, but incredibly difficult philosophy.
Do the hard work every single day. And do it together. Whether it’s June or November or March. It doesn’t matter if you’re coming off a 2-22 campaign or if you’re preseason top-10. Do the work. Few things can bond people together than the hard work done in pursuit of a singular goal.
More: The cell phone game that has captivated and connected the Iowa State basketball team
That is who Iowa State basketball is at its core under Otzelberger.
Yes, the players, the talent, the game plans, and the sets are all integral to success, but they all flow from that earned identity.
“Maybe the fact that you return a lot of guys you feel like there’s a base and a foundation more so in place earlier of how things need to go,”…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/hines-cyclones-2024-25-season-193447778.html
Author : The Des Moines Register
Publish date : 2024-08-01 19:34:47
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