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Cyclones’ blind love

Sight unseen, German who’s sitting out proves popular


By Eric Petersen
For The Gazette
AMES — Iowa State’s most popular men’s basketball player hasn’t scored a point or pulled down a rebound this season.

He stays home on road trips and watches games from the student section at Hilton Coliseum. Yet Lucca Staiger gets e-mail and Facebook messages by the dozen from classmates and fans he’s never met.

“They always send me stuff like they feel bad for me or they can’t wait to see me on the court,” Staiger said. “I don’t even know how many. Tons. Every day.” The fan club grows by the day, a phenomenon that even has admiring teammates shaking their heads at the love affair Cyclone fans have for a player they barely know and have never seen in action.

“He’s one of the most loved players on the team and he hasn’t played one game,” said fellow ISU freshman and roommate Craig Brackins.

For Staiger, game day is the hardest of them all. The fan favorite couldn’t play if he wanted to.

The freshman from Baul stein, Germany, is sitting out the season per an NCAA ruling that Staiger’s club team in Germany provided excessive benefits to some of its players. ISU athletics officials did all they could to reverse the ruling, but all appeals were denied.

Staiger is reduced to cheerleader and practice player, counting the days until next season when he can put on a uniform and play in front of a packed house at Hilton Coliseum.

“It really hurts,” Staiger said. “And the worst thing is it’s not getting better. It’s the same thing every game. I thought I’d get used to it, but before every game it just hurts.” Staiger, 19, said he “nev er, ever” accepted money and his family and coaches at the Urspring Basketball Academy worked hard to preserve his college eligibility.

“I think I did everything right,” Staiger said. “I don’t know what I could do if I had to do it over again.” ISU Coach Greg McDermott has been critical of the decision-makers and their inability to see the situation for what it was. This is the first year the NCAA has controlled the process of certifying international players.

“I didn’t like the way it all went down, but it’s over,” McDermott said. “We have to move on.” Fans have thrown their support behind Staiger. Still, more than a month since ISU’s final appeal was turned down, members of the Cyclone Alley student section chant “Free Lucca” during breaks in games. A Web site by the same name — freelucca.com — has been up and running for months.

Staiger’s eligibility has been a rallying cry for Cyclone basketball fans.
“‘Free Lucca’ is around the world,” Brackins said. “We went to Oregon and people where chanting.” Back home in Ames, he’s beloved everywhere he goes. Teammates aren’t just being nice by keeping Staiger company to keep him from sulking.

“We don’t go nowhere without Lucca. He’s the life of the party,” Brackins said. “He keeps us laughing 24/7. He’s the most positive person I’ve seen.” Had Staiger’s case been finalized earlier in 2007, he might not be here at all.

Professional teams in Europe would welcome 6-foot5, 210-pound guards who can shoot the lights out. But Staiger dreamed about playing big-time college basketball and getting an education.

“I could have made money the whole time and I didn’t,” he said. “I could have helped my family out so much. I had offers for $4,000 a month. That’s more than my parents make together.” McDermott’s advice? Stay at ISU or he’d regret leaving. Staiger agreed.


Iowa State Sports Information
Iowa State’s Lucca Staiger (left) gets instruction from assistant coach Jeff Rutter during a practice this season in Ames. He is sitting out this season under an NCAA ruling.


Iowa State Sports Information
Iowa State’s Lucca Staiger, who is sitting out this season because the NCAA ruled him ineligible, goes up for a shot during a practice session in Ames this season.