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BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY

October 24, 2018

Steve Prohm

Kansas City, Missouri

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by Iowa State Coach, Steve Prohm. Coach, your thoughts about the upcoming season?

STEVE PROHM: Thank for having me. Great to be here. Already really ready to get started on the new year, excited for where our guys are at, Media Day means the season is right around the corner with scrimmages and exhibitions and obviously our first game in a couple weeks. I think we have made a lot of strides in the things we had to do to get better to put ourselves back on the map to get back to the NCAA tournament. I think we have worked on building our team with our chemistry, our depth, sharing the basketball and decision making. Very pleased with where we are right now. Long way to go, but I'm excited about the opportunities that this team presents.

Q. Cameron Lard is obviously a guy a lot of people are wondering about. What's his status and how prepared is he to play mentally and physically?
STEVE PROHM: You know, Cameron is a separate situation. But in regards to Cameron, it's been public. My first and foremost as a head coach is to invest in these kids to get them better, socially, spiritually, academically and athletically. That's my mission as a coach. Cameron has got some situations that he's got to get better in, with his daily habits and in a lot of areas.

The one thing I'm happy about is he's made a lot of strides from the day he got on campus to where he's at right now. But like he knows and I know, there will be some disciplinary measures that I've got to hand down once our season starts and at that time, you know, I'll talk about that further. Right now he's making good strides, but he's got a little ways to go.

Q. You're familiar with Dean Wade Preseason Player of the Year for the Big 12. I'm doing a story on him and I was curious about the strides that I've been able to see him make in his career and the growth that he made last year?
STEVE PROHM: I've seen him for really this is my fourth year, it will be his senior year and you can go back and watching him go against Niang as a freshman when he was an upperclassman as a senior and the strides he's made in his leadership role and his skill level. He's a tough, tough match up for us and he probably would have played at the next level this year. He could probably answer that better than me. He brings skill, versatility. You've got to decide how you want to pick and roll and how you want to guard him in the spot. He's one of the guys at the 4 spot or the 5. Wherever they play him, that's had a lot of success over the last several years. It's fun to watch guys when they stay for their senior year. But to see his strides offensively, he's been terrific and that's why he's the Preseason Player of the Year and why they're picked second in the league. But they've got more than him as well, but he's been terrific in his growth.

Q. With Lindell, what was the process when he thought about turning pro and how do you help him navigate what his best option was?
STEVE PROHM: This is the first year. I've had a couple of kids in that situation, in that position, could have left, could have stayed, a couple stayed, one left. This is the first time going through the process where the rules had changed to where you could have the paid workouts and be able to come back to school.

It's a little different navigating that. He's got an unbelievable support system back home. His father was great through the process. Lindell was great. I think the best thing that that process taught all of us, I think we got closer. Though you go through some bumps along the process, throughout the spring and summer, I think right now our relationship is as good as it's ever been. I think he understands, hey, here is the three things you've got to get better in: decision making, can you make others better and can you defend multiple positions? If you can do that, sky is the limit for you. Once we have a great season this year and then play for Iowa State. That's my message to him. Scouts have been there. We have had several scouts there already, and I think everybody noticed how we are sharing the ball better this year, and he's not thinking score, score, score. He's taking the best option on the opportunities, whether that's shot, whether that's a pass. I think he's in a really good place. I think it was really good for him. What I've learned through that process is how to deal with the players and their families a little bit better because nothing is ever perfect. When he came back it was like, let's start from square one and go from here. It was really great. I'm really excited about what he can do. Back home somebody asked me who the most surprising player is right now, and I mentioned Lindell. And it's because he's doing the things we need him to do and I think it's because he has an opportunity to have a special year.

Q. Staying with Lindell, he obviously took the league by storm, coming on as a freshman and impressing a lot of people. As someone who recruited him, what were your thoughts on his freshman performance? Did it come as a surprise just how impressive he was?
STEVE PROHM: I don't know if it came as a surprise, just being honest. You want to recruit some guys that can come in and impact your program like that especially with the turnover that we had, losing Morris and Burton and Long and Thomas and all those guys that we had that year in 2017. There is one stat only him and Kevin Durant shot 40% from three and averaged over 16 points as freshmen. So he had a tremendous freshman campaign, but as a team we weren't good enough and that's been my message to him is let's do that and let's have a special year as a team and I think he will get the recognition he deserves because he's made a lot of great strides.

Q. Coach, can you talk a little bit about your non-conference schedule? The Maui Invitational presents an interesting challenge.
STEVE PROHM: Right away we've got Missouri at home, not skipping over we open up with Alabama State, but we've got Missouri at home, obviously that's unfortunate for Porter, what he's going through now, you hate to see that with any team or any kid, especially a 19, 20 year old kid. But we've got Missouri at home and Arizona opening up in Maui. It is the first year Chaminade is not in the tournament so we have Gonzaga and Illinois on our side and the other side is Duke. San Diego State, Auburn and Xavier. We have Iowa on the road and Ole Miss on the road and our conference schedule down the road, but our non-conference is going to test us. It's going to test us early and it's going to test us often. But there are a lot of opportunities to get resume-building wins and get us back into the national recognition where we need to be.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you very much. We wish you the best of luck for the season.

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