Who is the greatest Cyclone of all-time?

[pourcyne]

Greg Hester.

For four years, the crowd screamed his name at the end of every game.

 

[cyatheart]

Fizer may be the most dominate player I have seen at any point in time. Although he really only was on that level for one year, his first two years were good but his Junior year he was just unstoppable

Another guy that played on some horrible teams, but dominated everyone he played was Victor Alexander. Vic was an amazing post player, maybe the best true post we have ever had.

 

[VeloClone]

Roland Rocket. Has had an impact for decades past his playing days and part of the greatest upset in ISU history,

BINGO! Gary excelled in two sports at ISU and his achievements for ISU after his playing days alone would have him in the conversation of people who have done the most for ISU athletics.

 

[amishclone]

My "Mount Rushmore" of ISU Basketball is:

Jeff Grayer, Fred Hoiberg, Georges Niang and Monte Morris.

I think you could make a case for any of the 4 as the greatest, or the biggest impact, but Fred's still #1 in my book.

Isn't Grayer a Michigan fan today? Shouldn't he be kicked off the mountain for that?

 

[NWICY]

Good question. And you could make an argument for several different answers.

If you combine playing and coaching, which seems a little unfair, then it's Fred.
So let's look at guys just based on their time as players.

Note: I know I'm missing people. You all can make your arguments for them. I'm just going on who I best remember and my thoughts on them.

Jeff Grayer - Based on stats alone, he could easily be called the best Cyclone ever.
And when you look at the team results while he was here, they were pretty darn good, especially for an ISU program that was at a low point before Johnny got here. A Sweet 16 and two other tourney appearances were great for ISU at that point in time. But when you look at the total wins and compare them to the guys who just recently graduated, and even the guys from Floyd and Eustachy's era, it comes up a bit short. Now that's no fault of Grayer's. It's more a snapshot of where the program was at that time. He likely made the team that much better at a time when they needed him most. I wasn't watching basketball at that time, so I don't know him as well as some will. Maybe they can shed light on just how special he was. I believe he had injury problems in the NBA which limited his career, though he stuck around for a while. Depends how much you want to factor in professional career to Greatest Cyclone.
Still, a very good candidate for Greatest Cyclone ever.

Fred Hoiberg - He had a stellar career as a Cyclone and a very nice NBA career. One of the best shooters to ever grace the floor. Three NCAA appearances as well and a similar number of total team wins to Grayer during his tenure. Big part of building Hilton Magic and his success with Johnny and Tim Floyd led to Tim's best years before Tim left for Chicago. Cyclone Legend of course, but Greatest Cyclone ever based solely on his time as a player? Not sure.

Now we get into the Floyd and Eustachy eras. Some phenomenal players, though not all were here for 4 years to accumulate All Time stats.

Marcus Fizer - One of the most dominant players I've seen play for ISU. He just physically manhandled opponents. If he had stayed healthy he could have been much better as a pro as well. And if he hadn't been on those terrible Bulls teams. His 99-00 season was just phenomenal and he's relatively high on all time ISU lists because of it, having only been at ISU for 3 years. Had the team not struggled his mightily his first two years, he could have been much more dominant in an all time sense. The Elite Eight season, which coulda woulda shoulda been even better was an all time great season to be alive and be a Cyclone. So that alone puts him high on the list.

Jamaal Tinsley - If you're talking about the most talented player ever to wear a Cyclone uniform, Tinsley should definitely be considered in the top 5. He EARNED the Big 12 player of the year in 99-00 by dishing every kind of assist known to man and scoring at a darn good clip as well. Only two years at ISU really limits his all time stats, but impact on his teams was monumental. Huge part of ISU winning the Big12 two years in a row. This was when I was at ISU so it holds an even greater place in my heart and memory.

Sadly the Morgan and McDermott years had a surprisingly large number of very talented players, but they were all wasted on underachieving and disappointing teams. I care about them, but they probably aren't the Greatest Ever

Enter the Hoiberg era. The most successful in ISU history. Lots of good players and thankfully, even better teams.

Melvin Ejim - I'm surprised more people having mentioned him as I know he's a sentimental favorite and a great four years at ISU got him second on the all time rebounding list. While he was a essential part of starting the Hoiberg era, I don't think he's the Greatest Cyclone ever.

Royce MotherEffin White - (Middle name may not be accurate) - Possibly at the top of the Most Talented ISU players list, his one season was so good it earned the troubled player the 16th overall pick. Unfortunately everything went South from there professionally. At ISU he will always be remembered as the best player on the court among all the Kentucky lottery picks in the NCAA tournament. He almost singlehandedly willed us past them. White was the only player in the nation to lead his team in the five major statistical categories: points (13.4), rebounding (9.3), assists (5.0), steals (1.1) and blocks (0.9) that season. One of the best single seasons in ISU history. Can you imagine what ISU could have done with 4 years of Royce White? Or even just one more year in a Cyclone uniform to propel the 2012-13 team through the stratosphere. Not the Greatest Cyclone ever because he was only here one year. Greatest single season Cyclone, quite possibly. His success validated Fred's transfer strategy and lots of other teams have jumped on that bandwagon now. That success translated forward for Fred's coaching career as well.

Georges Niang - His scoring and over all play were something very special. As well as his affect on the program and the wins because of it. His injury in the 2014 NCAA tournament game against UCONN showed exactly how valuable he was. With Georges, a close loss could likely have been a win and an Elite 8 or better finish. Not a lot of players have had more impact on a program than Georges.

Monte Morris - Monte may be one of the few who can rival Georges impact on the Iowa State program. His assists records are amazing and he's also the steals leader. One of the best pure point guards to ever play the game in my opinion. Definitely in Iowa State history. Also the winningest player in ISU history with 100 wins.


Recency bias aside, I think Georges and Monte are the finalists for the Greatest Cyclone Ever title. I give the edge to Georges because of his overall impact on the program, but he couldn't have done it without Monte for three of those years.

Nice job Hopp. looking at your explanations they look really pretty darn sound. I could see sliding Barry Stevens in there because of his success on Orr's teams and starting our Flint connection. But I openly admit that I'm biased towards him because he was my favorite player when I was in school and the night he made it rain against Missouri was the night I became a Cyclone hoop fan for life win or lose.

My vote for most influential Cyclone player would be for Niang, he bleeds Cardinal and Gold and handles social media in ways most of us could only dream of.

Most influential Cyclone vote goes for Orr starting this whole wonderful madness we call Hilton Magic.

Best combined career player/pro/coach goes to Hoiberg.

 

[isu83]

Fred Hoiberg.
He is from Ames and went to ISU and was pretty darn good. And he coached here too. Yeah i dont like how he left. It is what it is!

 

[aauummm]

Roland Rocket. Has had an impact for decades past his playing days and part of the greatest upset in ISU history,

I agree on Gary Thompson. He also had a hand in getting Tim Floyd to ISU and he remains the important alumnus behind the scene in ISU athletics.

 

[Bret44]

Jeff Grayer is the greatest player in Iowa State Basketball history.

I am also saying this as someone who never saw him play live in Cardinal and Gold. Every clip I have seen I am just amazed by the pure power and finesse he played with.

 

[CoKane]

Georges Niang

 

[FerShizzle]

Player: Grayer was incredible...but Tinsley has to be the best player ever to wear the Iowa State uniform in my opinion. He was phenomenal!

Undefeated at the phog.

 

[hoopitup]

If Fred Hoiberg doesn't play basketball for Johnny Orr there is no Johnny Orr as we know him today. If there is no Fred Hoiberg the player there is no Fred Hoiberg the coach and there is no Georges Niang except maybe trolling us on twitter as a hok alum.

What? Orr had Hilton rocking well before Fred arrived. Stevens was a big get followed by Hornacek, who was originally a walk-on. Then he grabbed Grayer. That's where it started.

FWIW, Hornacek was incredible with the ball. He threw ball fakes and just saw the court so well. Such a smart player. I think u can make a case for a lot of people mentioned in this thread. But greatest Cyclone has to be Johnny. He got after the officials and the crowd loved it and him. Nothing like "Here's Johnny" playing when he walked out of the tunnel pumping his fist.

Anybody remember when he wanted to kick Woody Mayfield's a$$ at the Big 8 turney when that d-bag called Sam Hill for a walk? Horrible call.

 

[kentkel]

What? Orr had Hilton rocking well before Fred arrived. Stevens was a big get followed by Hornacek, who was originally a walk-on. Then he grabbed Grayer. That's where it started...
Anybody remember when he wanted to kick Woody Mayfield's a$$ at the Big 8 tourney when that d-bag called Sam Hill for a walk? Horrible call.

I remember watching that one on TV. For those that didn't get to see it, the call was "Niang vs KU at home" BAD!!

 

[CloneFan65]

My All-time Best Name Mt. Rushmore:

Lafester Rhodes
Hercle Ivy
Justus Thigpen
John John

 

[demoncore1031]

My all-time starting 5:

F Niang
F Fizer
F/G Grayer
G Hoiberg
G Morris

Who is the best of all-time? Thats tough, but I would say Grayer.

 

[inCyteful]

My Mt. Cyclone has six guys.
In order: Grayer, Fizer, Niang, Hoiberg, Morris and Hornacek.

Winner here.

Surprised more people don't have Hornacek on their list but I get that it is a generational thing. A name we heard about as much as Morris this year was Hornacek because it was his records Monte was breaking. Consider he was a freaking walk-on (thank you Johnny for bringing him in). Wonder what his point total would have been with a 3 pt line. And talk about a coach on the floor.

I'll go with this list.

 

[SNEDDS3]

Sam Mack, Best Cyclone to rob a drive-thru.

 

[HFCS]

Lifetime impact: Fred
Best peak season: Fizer
Most production as a player: Monte

 

[CYcoFan]

Pete Taylor deserves some kudos, too as stated earlier. I still miss him.

Not the greatest: LaFester Rhoades..... Loved him on the court. Off the court, not so much. He lived in the apartment above me and he was ALWAYS arguing with his GF. Had to bang on the ceiling to get him to shut up.

This. I can't believe the OP left him out or worse didn't think of him. The OP talks about growing up an Iowa fan yet going to ISU. How about graduating from the U of I and being the voice of the Cyclones? The OP's self titled "Godfather" probably looked up to Pete as well, or at least he should. Current voice not near as good

 

[bradnjen]

Doesn't make him the greatest Cyclone, but I think Hornacek had the best pro career. Made some big plays in NCAA tournament games. Should be in the conversation.

 

[fsanford]

My Mt. Cyclone has six guys.
In order: Grayer, Fizer, Niang, Hoiberg, Morris and Hornacek.

No Stevens is like leaving Washington off of Mount Rushmore..

Barry Stevens, the father of ISU hoops.