AMES, Iowa (AP) Five months ago, Iowa State's Steve Prohm was the coach at mid-major Murray State. Now he's in charge of one of the big favorites in the Big 12.
Prohm officially began his first season in charge of the Cyclones on Tuesday with the team's annual media day.
Iowa State has all the pieces to make a run at the league title and more - provided that Prohm can handle coaching college basketball at the highest level, of course.
In the minds of Prohm's players, the Cyclones have nothing to worry about.
''Coach (Prohm) is in here earning our trust and our respect every day,'' said senior forward Georges Niang. ''Even though he's not trying to cross any of our toes, he puts his foot down when he needs to and lets us know that stuff needs to get done. I think he has a great combination of how to keep us motivated...and still be stern and be able to get the most out of us.''
Fred Hoiberg's departure for the Chicago Bulls after five mostly successful seasons gave Prohm a shot at a national title. The roster Hoiberg left behind for Prohm is loaded.
Niang, a likely preseason first-team All-American, second-team All-Big 12 point guard Monte Morris and league defensive player of the year Jameel McKay headline one of the nation's most talented starting units. Throw in veterans like Naz Long, Matt Thomas, Abdel Nader and transfer Deonte Burton, and Prohm might just have the best roster a new Power Five coach has inherited since Bill Guthridge took over for Dean Smith at North Carolina in 1997.
Guthridge reached the Final Four with his first team.
Prohm isn't shying away from the notion that Iowa State is among the handful of teams with serious national title aspirations.
''Yeah, they're realistic,'' Prohm said when asked about the sky-high expectations for this year's team. ''I think we have the opportunity to have a very special season.''
The similarities between what type of styles Prohm and Hoiberg use was cited as a big reason why Iowa State hired him. Hoiberg even lobbied for Prohm to athletic director Jamie Pollard during the hiring process.
To that end, Prohm is going to let his players have a ton of input on how they play. Prohm doesn't plan many changes, just tweaks that mostly involve techniques to improve Iowa State's somewhat inconsistent rebounding and defense.
''I don't need to say, `This is the way we're doing things guys because this is the way I did it.' That's stupid,'' Prohm said. ''I need to meet these guys halfway.''
Prohm also acknowledged that he'll be doing quite a bit of learning himself this season. But Prohm said he intends to embrace the unique opportunity he's been afforded.
''This is a great situation to walk into. No question,'' Prohm said. ''Is there pressure? Yeah. But who wants a job with no pressure?''
