AMES, Iowa- Jamie Vanderbeken will make Cyclone history when he first steps on the court in Hilton Coliseum in 2008-09. The 6-11, 240-pound forward from Belleville, Ontario, will become the first Canadian to don an Iowa State men’s basketball uniform. Vanderbeken, who recently arrived in Ames, didn’t realize the significance when he signed a letter of intent in April.
“I guess it is kind of special to be the first Canadian to play basketball at Iowa State,” Vanderbeken said. “It is pretty much all hockey where I come from and basketball is slowly catching up.”
Vanderbeken’s hometown of Belleville is located near the shore of Lake Ontario across from New York state. He won’t have too much of a problem getting acclimated to United States culture, however. Vanderbeken played the last two seasons in the U.S. at one of the best junior college programs in the nation at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. He averaged 14.1 points, earned second-team all-Region XIV honors and helped his team gain a top-10 national ranking in his final season at Tyler.
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