Wayne Morgan says he doesn’t care if he was not the first choice because in the end he was THE choice. Morgan was introduced as the 17th men’s basketball coach at Iowa State, ending more than two weeks of controversy that began with reports of Larry Eustachy’s post game partying at Missouri and Kansas State and his eventual ouster as coach. Cyclone athletic director Bruce Vande Velde introduced Morgan at a news conference in the Jacobsen Athletic Building on the Ames campus. I-S-U President Gregory Geoffroy called the national publicity from Eustachy’s behavior “embarrassing” and is confident Morgan will help restore the image of the program. He ways Morgan has made a commitment to the University and to him personal that he will always be an outstanding ambassador for the university in everything he does. Geoffroy says the announcement can let the basketball program move forward. He says “we’ve resolved a very difficult situation.” Morgan says he wanted the job from the beginning and did not take long to accept it. He says he got a call just before five o’clock as Van De Velde asked if he had time to sit down and talk, and he says he immediately replied, “yeah, I’ve got some time.”Morgan says when the controversy began his first goal was to take care of the current players and stay in touch with the incoming recruits. He says a week and a half into the process, Van De Velde asked him what would happen if he became the coach, and he says it was at that point that he became a candidate. Morgan felt as qualified as any of the finalists and never felt he was out of the running. He says Van De Velde talked to him throughout and told him the things said in the paper weren’t what was happening. Morgan says his first priority is to the players but wants to help heal the wound of the past two weeks. He says ISU has special fans and special people that need to come together, as he says he has players that will “kill themselves” to do what it takes to win. Morgan joined the Cyclone staff last year and felt it would be a good way to move up the ladder. He says he knew Eustachy prided himself in getting his assistants jobs, but says he never dreamed he’d replace Eustachy. He says, “We all know now there is a God.” Morgan was the first choice of the Cyclone players and senior guard Jake Sullivan appreciates Morgan’s honesty. He says Morgan tells you straight out what you’re good at and what you’re not good at. Sullivan says with the controversy over he can concentrate on putting together a great senior campaign and he doesn’t mean from a scoring standpoint. He says he wants to win, as he has one year left and wants to prove he can win while leading the team. Prior to joining the Iowa State staff Morgan was the head coach at Long Beach State from 1986 to 2002.