After a run of enormous success under Fred Hoiberg and the first couple years of Steve Prohm, the Iowa State basketball program was expected to enter 2017-2018 in a state of rebuilding (or reloading, depending on who you talk to). The 2016-2017 team featured six seniors, five of which were major parts of the offensive rotation. Any team would be expected to take a dip after losing that many seniors, but Iowa State didn’t lose just any seniors.
First and foremost, the Cyclones lost the greatest point guard in school history (anybody suggesting otherwise is delusional) in Monte Morris, two of the 3-5 best shooters in school history in Matt Thomas and Naz Mitrou-Long, and one of the best off-the-dribble scorers of the past twenty years in Deonte Burton, all four of which are playing professional basketball.