Former Iowa State basketball stars will gather in Ames this July to honor one of their own and raise money for a charity that bears his name. The “ISU Hilton Magic All-Star Celebrity Game” will cap a weekend celebration in memory of Barry Stevens, who passed away in February after a heart attack.
Jim Hallihan was an assistant to Johnny Orr when Stevens joined the Cyclone program and helped turn it around. Hallihan says Stevens was the start of “Hilton Magic” as things really got going in Stevens’ sophomore year. He scored 30 points in a win over Minnesota and then 40 against Missouri, including a last-second shot in overtime.
Hallihan says Stevens also opened a recruiting pipeline to Michigan that was crucial in helping to turn around the ISU program. He says Jeff Grayer would never have come to ISU if it hadn’t been for Stevens. Hallihan says players form Michigan saw how Stevens was treated and decided to come there too. Hallihan says Stevens came to a school that wasn’t very good in basketball and made it good.
The game is July 21st and all the proceeds raised from the weekend will go to the Barry W. Stevens Educvation and Health Foundation and the Heart Association.