Bahamas summer competition great for Cyclone newcomers

AMES, Iowa (KCRG) - The Iowa State men’s basketball team has landed in the Bahamas for their foreign trip. It marks the fifth summer excursion for the Cyclones in program history and comes at a good time for their roster which is filled with a handful of new faces.

The Cyclones have six returning players from last year’s team and welcome nine newcomers.

The team arrived in the Bahamas on Friday and will participate in three games against international competition from Aug. 4-10. This will be the first live game opportunity for the team to incorporate their news pieces.

“We built this mindset that everything’s about winning. We want to win in everything we do. That’s going to be part of it, yet at the same time, getting those game minutes and experience for guys is going to be important. Seeing what they do when they’re out there,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said.

“I’m excited to obviously get out there and play someone new after going against these guys for a couple of months now,” said sophomore guard Jackson Paveletzke. “We finally get to go out there and play some new competition and really seeing what this this group’s got.”

“I think this trip will help a lot. When I was at Buffalo, we went to Cancun and the Virgin Islands, so those brought us together more. You’re with your teammates out the country. It’s really cool. It’s a great experience and I’m looking forward to it.

Iowa State will face the Bahamas Select Team on Aug. 6.

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