Iowa State senior forward Rashon Clark says the Cyclones will beat Minnesota on Tuesday night when the teams matchup in Ames. Clark made the comment after he was asked what he remembered about Gopher sophomore guard Lawrence Westbrook, who originally signed with I-S-U but was granted his release after former coach Wayne Morgan was fired.
Clark says Westbrook is a good player, but it was a bad choice for him to go to Minnesota, "Because we are going to beat them tomorrow." Clark backpedaled some after being asked why he was so confident. He says they’re going to give it everything they have and don’t want to lose games at home.
Clark says the Gophers play a much different style under first year coach Tubby Smith. with pressure defense and playing hard. Iowa State is 2-1 after a loss at Bradley last Wednesday night. Junior guard Bryan Peterson says it will be fun to get back in front of a home crowd. Iowa State will likely be without sophomore Center Wesley Johnson, who has been nursing a foot injury.
Cyclone coach Greg McDermott says that will make defending Minnesota’s inside duo of Spencer Tollackson and Dan Coleman even more difficult. McDermott says adding to that is improved play from the guards.
McDermott announced that freshman guard Marcus Brister is leaving the team and cited unspecified personal reasons. McDermott says they respect the decision and understand why he needs to go back to Texas. The Dallas, Texas, native played sparingly in the Cyclones first three games and McDermott says his absence will have an impact on depth at the point guard spot.