BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TIPOFF MEDIA DAY

October 23, 2024

T.J. Otzelberger

Iowa State Cyclones

Media Day Press Conference

T.J. OTZELBERGER: Well, the first comment I'll give is just so everybody knows, we try to uphold a high level of accountability in our program, and by virtue of me being late, apparently for this opportunity, there will be some sprints that I will have to follow up following media day today.

Just so we don't need to have a question about that.

But at any rate, it's great to be back here, great to see all of you. Excited. What a great time to be in the Big 12. Such a great league. So many great players, coaches, traditions, rivalries.

Absolute honor to play in this conference and to go up against the best night in and night out.

We're really fortunate with our group in terms of returning five players that were impactful to our team's success on the court last season. That's been huge for us. I think for anybody, when you can have continuity, that's a key component and driver of success for many programs and something that's going to continue to be a top priority for us is to make sure that we're developing the young men in our program, that they're having a great experience and opportunity, they're bettering themselves as men, as students and athletes at Iowa State, and they continue to see that value and that benefit and move forward with us.

Fortunate for that continuity. Excited about four impact transfers. When we go out and look for transfers we look for guys who like to do the hard work, who have played for really good coaches in winning programs and guys that can come in immediately and impact us in a positive way. Fortunate with our four transfers to do that.

Excited to get ready and get going with the season. Fortunate for the group that we have. Embrace the expectations that are in front of us. It's something that we've worked really hard to earn, and yet we realize that what people think of you in the preseason doesn't have a whole lot to do with anything once you get into February and March.

We're going to try to work hard every day on the practice court and be the best team we can be.