While Iowa State seems to have less depth in the post, the talent level among the big men is impressive.

Headlining the bunch is Niang (6-8, 230, Methuen, Mass.), who returns as a preseason All-America pick and one of the nation’s most difficult matchups. He is fifth among all active Division I players with 1,510 career points and is the only one with 1,500 points, 450 rebounds and 300 career assists.

Niang provides Prohm with a versatile player with a lot of game experience (103 games played and 91 starts).

“Georges, he’s extremely unique, and what makes him so special is that I think he’s an unbelievable ambassador at this university,” Prohm said. “The biggest thing I want to challenge Georges with is being good every day, not living in peaks and valleys, containing his emotions at times, but still playing with great spirit and not putting undo pressure on himself.

“He’s different than anyone I’ve ever coached, in the sense that I really never coached the true skilled forward,” Prohm added. “So coaching him is going to make me a better coach and I’m excited about that part of it. When you coach a great player, you’ve got to listen to them and take their advice at times. I think Georges knows that he can come into my office and we can talk about different things. If he has ideas we can share I want to hear them.”

Alongside Niang will be McKay (6-9, 225, Milwaukee, Wis.), who is one of the most prolific shot blockers in school history. In just a half-season last year, McKay averaged 11 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game on his way to earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.

McKay’s ability as a shot blocker and to run the floor are something that Prohm will be able to use while playing his preferred style.

“Jameel can really put pressure on the rim on both ends of the floor,” Prohm said. “If he runs the floor every time he’s going to get points from simply running from A to B. We want to play fast and he is what we want from our 4-5 man. Ideally we want to put pressure on the basket early in transition, the first six, seven or eight seconds of the shot clock, and Jameel can definitely do that.”

Prohm’s expectations for McKay and Niang are two-fold.

“The biggest thing I’m looking forward to is when they walk out on senior night, knowing they had an amazing season,” Prohm said. “I want to know that we’ve maxed out in the regular season and that we’re really heading in the right direction going into the postseason.

“This front court is huge,” Prohm adds. “Those guys have to rebound the ball. We really need Jameel to protect the basket and we’ve got to score around the basket. But a big thing for us, because we’re not very deep in those positions, is that we need to keep them out of foul trouble. The leadership of Georges and Jameel is going to be very important for our younger post players.”

The younger post players that Prohm speaks of are Simeon Carter (6-8, 215, Charlotte, N.C.) and Brady Ernst (6-9, 215, Clinton, Iowa), a pair of freshmen that signed this summer and will have an opportunity to make an impact in their first year as Cyclones.

Ernst was Prohm’s first commitment as head coach at Iowa State. He recently began participating in basketball activities after suffering a knee injury near the end of his senior season at Clinton High School.

“Brady is just getting back from his knee injury and we’ll continue to slowly integrate him into team practice,” Prohm said. “When he gets back fully I expect he’ll be a grit guy, a tough guy for us. He’s someone that is going to throw his body around and really make those older guys compete in practice.”

Carter arrived in Ames in August after originally signing with SMU.

“I’m really excited about Simeon,” Prohm said. “The thing we have to remember is that he wasn’t here this summer, so he’s what I call a true, true freshman. He’s still trying to figure everything out and get through some of the growing pains. His upside is really, really high. My hope is that he’ll be fully adjusted by the time we start Big 12 play, not just to help us this year but also to be a strong, stabilizing factor up front for these next couple years. Having to play against Georges and Jameel is going to make him a better player.”

Iowa State's Hilton Coliseum took over the national men's basketball spotlight.

Aug. 10-20, 2015

"A Storm Is Brewing"