Dedric Willoughby Passes Away at 49

twojman

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Was there a game where Willoughby hit like 3 threes in some like the last 90 seconds to win a game? Am I crazy?
 

VegasCy

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When DW was at ISU, I was going through a rough time. My parents were going through a divorce and it was hard to cope with the reality of the situation. Cyclone basketball got through some rough times and Dedric will always be my favorite Cyclone all all-time because of it. RIP 22.
 

t-noah

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Feb 2, 2007
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My heart is broken. I starting following ISU basketball when Johnny Orr came to town, and Dedric was the best shooter that I ever saw, bar none. I am confident that he holds the ISU record for four-point plays. He got his shot off so fast that opponents often fouled him on his release. It wouldn’t shock me if he had twenty four-point plays during his best season.

I was fortunate to be at Kemper Arena when Dedric led ISU to their first Big 8 championship versus KU. That’s where Hilton South first became a thing. I will be forever grateful what he did for ISU basketball. RIP Dedric.
How about the 3 by Jacy Holloway near the end? Wow! Way to go Jacy!

They had to triple team Pratt, on the Holloway 3! What a great game by Pratt, MVP that game!
 
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cyatheart

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There is an article on cyclones.com that says he moved back to Ames with his family in 2011. Said he wanted to finish his degree and raise his family in Ames, planned on being in Ames for 10 to 15 years. Does anyone know if he finished his degree or what became of all this?

 
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brett108

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Tyrus shot for a better percentage from 3, but Dedric could play defense (especially before the injuries), and could break people down and drive to score or at least get to the line (also before injuries). Dedric was poetry in motion when healthy. And he was CLUTCH.

I really enjoyed Tyrus, but I would trade hime for Dedric any day of the week.
This makes sense when you understand the opposition wasn’t keying on Tyrus. He was not the focal point of the offense. Dedric was, had the defensive pressure on him, and still delivered because he needed almost no space to put up good attempts.
 
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brentblum

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Don’t usually make requests for content but this might be a place where someone like @brentblum could write up a short article about what he meant to a group of Cyclone fans to inform some of the younger people.
Blum and I are the same age. Guessing this was tough news for him
Couldn’t sleep last night so put together a column that will run later today. Still hard to process.
 

WISCY1895

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Couldn’t sleep last night so put together a column that will run later today. Still hard to process.
Can’t even begin to imagine how hard this hit you. But I greatly appreciate you taking the time to write something. We need to honor his legacy and how much he meant to a lot of young Cyclone fans.
 

ruxCYtable

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DAMN.

He took one hell of charge* to win the the game against UCLA. ….. on hell of a charge. Team above self.


*charge wasn’t called, we lost the game based on officiating.
I remember going to the very first exhibition game with you in that 95-96 season. We kind of chuckled when they ran out, like, "Who the hell are these guys?" By the end of the night, we were like okay, there might be something here, and the rest is history.
 

jsb

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I think that Iowa State introduced the bird in the blender logo right around the 1996 Big 8 tournament.
 

Billups06

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Couldn’t sleep last night so put together a column that will run later today. Still hard to process.
Great column, Brent. Similar sentiment. For many on this board, Willoughby's teams were kind of the 'coming of age' for Iowa State basketball. I was late elementary/early middle school during Dedric's time at Iowa State. I obviously remember watching the Hoiberg (as a player) teams but was a little too young to really follow them (games on tv were difficult back then!)

I was fortunate enough that my family had ISU basketball tickets when I was a kid and living near central Iowa made it very convenient for weekday games (at least for an elementary school kid). Those Willoughby, Cato, Patt, Holloway, Bankhead teams were first games I remember begging my parents to bring me with. At that time, Dedric and Iowa State basketball were larger than life to me. Tough to see a childhood hero pass away. Would be great if Iowa State honors him and his family during the upcoming season.
 
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theshadow

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I think that Iowa State introduced the bird in the blender logo right around the 1996 Big 8 tournament.

Rolled out in March 1995, just before the tournament. Football uniforms had it for Mac's first season.
 
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NickTheGreat

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I was shocked to hear this earlier this morning. He was one of the first individual players I remember really knowing the name of and following. Before that, I was just kind of a "did the team win" type of fan.
 
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