Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger’s staff had an opening for an assistant coach as the Cyclones navigated through the month of December. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the fourth-year coach turned to a former player he recruited in Diante Garrett.
“I’d say over the 19 years I’ve been in Division I, I’m not sure there’s been a guy who loved to play basketball more than him,” Otzelberger said. “(Garrett) was a guy (who) when he was here playing, we’d have to chase him out of the Lied rec center or wherever there was a pickup game on campus because the guy couldn’t get enough basketball, and he was just loves to play.”
Garrett’s love for the game was a big part of why Otzelberger chose to bring him in with a focus on player development to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Stevie Taylor.
The former Iowa State point guard played professionally for 12 seasons, making stops in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz, as well as suiting up for the G-League’s Iowa Energy (at the time) before he ventured overseas.
“(He was) certainly an elite point guard, and we’ve got some of those guys on our roster right now who can really stand to learn and benefit from him that way,” Otzelberger said.
While in Ames, Otzelberger and his staff have built a pipeline through Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That’s where Otzelberger, then an assistant at Iowa State, found Garrett in 2004, going into his sophomore year of high school.
“When the opportunity presented itself, we were essentially feeling like after Christmas, it could be a good time to add him to our staff,” Otzelberger said. “What he’s able to bring to to the table in terms of his experiences as a Cyclone, as a professional, but then also as somebody who is terrific with player development, and loves spending time with guys on the court… It just felt like it would be a huge asset to add him at this point and give us a little bit of boost of energy and enthusiasm in our program.”
The Cyclones open Big 12 play on Monday with a road game against Colorado, who is undefeated this season at the CU Events Center.
Although Iowa State handled the Buffalos 99-71 in November’s Maui Invitational, Otzelberger knows going on the road in the Big 12 is a different challenge.
“They’ve been a team that has consistently been really good on their home court,” Otzelberger said. “When you enter league play, I think it becomes even more important when you go on the road that you’re a team that focuses on getting stops on the defensive end of the floor. You hear all the time, people will say, ‘well, defense travels.’ And really what that means is people on their home court, when they’re comfortable and able to do what they want to do – they’re going to feel good, and things, a lot of times, go their way.”
Iowa State is off to a 10-1 start and will enter Boulder as the No. 3 team in the country.
Like Otzelberger will typically stress, playing well on the defensive side of the ball will be of extremely important for this game.
“So as much as this team has been strong in certain areas, I think the area that we really need to be strong to be successful on Monday is going to be defensively,” Otzelberger said. “Guard the basketball, pressure the basketball, try to generate turnovers and score off our defense (and) win the rebounding battle, like we’re able to do last time.”
Iowa State will try to replicate that performance in its first game of conference play to its last as it tries to secure a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Bringing in a former player like Garrett who lives and breathes the sport might just be the perfect addition to help the current group navigate that path.
“You could see, even as he’s in our building here this morning, he’s in the gym early, getting shots up and getting working,” Otzelberger said Friday. “He just loves to play. So I think seeing that spirit, seeing that passion, enthusiasm for the game, is certainly contagious. And I think he could be a great mentor for guys who are looking to take the path that he did in terms of playing professionally after he could be a great source of advice as well.”
