Cyclones seek frontcourt boost

Iowa State had always planned to lean on its deep and talented backcourt and hope that its rebuilt frontcourt would hold its own this season.

That hasn’t always been the case so far.

Iowa State (8-3) has gotten decent production from senior graduate transfers Darrell Bowie (8.5 points, 6.5 rebounds per game) and Merrill Holden (4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds).

But the competition, starting with Friday’s Big 12 opener against Texas Tech (11-1), is about to get a lot tougher — and the Cyclones know they’ll need to be stronger inside to compete in one of the nation’s toughest conferences.

“We’ve got to rebound better. We’ve got to be more physical,” coach Steve Prohm said. “We’re going to need those frontcourt guys to produce, especially going into Big 12 play when we’re going against a lot more size.”

In Iowa State’s defense, putting together a solid frontcourt for 2016-17 was always going to be a challenge.

The downside of having two multiyear frontcourt starters in Georges Niang and Jameel McKay was that Prohm couldn’t offer recruits immediate playing time until the last cycle. Still, the Cyclones landed a highly touted center in Emmanuel Malou. But he opted to declare for the NBA draft rather than play for them last summer.

Prohm responded by signing Bowie and Holden, with 6-foot-9 prep star Cameron Lard also expected to contribute immediately.

But Lard didn’t qualify under NCAA guidelines and spent the fall semester getting his academics in order. Prohm expects Lard to be available soon, but he’s likely to take a redshirt year.

Around the nation: Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes scored 23 points apiece as No. 20 Florida State (12-1, 1-0 ACC) used a late 17-0 run to defeat visiting Wake Forest 88-72. ... Tennessee guard Jordan Bone is expected to play in the Volunteers’ Southeastern Conference opener Thursday at Texas A&M after missing nine games with a foot injury. Bone is averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 assists per game for the Volunteers (7-5). AP