Iowa State basketball: Cyclones get Marial Shayok

Iowa State basketball grabbed its first commitment of the spring with Marial Shayok. What does the former Virginia Cavalier bring to the program?

Iowa State basketball has been quiet this spring. Several of Iowa State’s early targets elected to join other programs without visiting Ames. The drought ended when Virginia transfer Marial Shayok committed to ISU late last night.

This is a big grab for the team. Shayok will sit out next season but will be eligible for the 2018-2019 campaign.

Shayok hails from Ottawa (yet another Canadian for the Cyclones) and is listed at 6’5, 196-pounds. He averaged 8.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 20.6 minutes for the Cavaliers this past season. He shot 44% from the field and 33% from deep. Shayok notably scored a season-high 23 points in a tense NCAA win over UNC-Wilmington. Virginia’s style limited what Shayok could do on a given night, but he has plenty of scoring potential if he gets more minutes in Ames.

The biggest hurdle in Shayok’s transition from UVA to Iowa State is tempo. The Cavs’ adjusted tempo was a glacial 351st. That is the slowest in the nation. The Cyclones finished the year 170th and averaged roughly 10 more possessions per game. The raw numbers reinforce that observation if you aren’t an advanced stats junkie; ISU averaged a shade under 81 points per game as a team compared to Virginia’s 66 on similar shooting (47% for ISU, 46% for UVA). I have no doubt Shayok will contribute, but learning to play faster will be his main focus while he sits out.

Next: South Florida Bulls hunting down transfers

Shayok’s commitment leaves the Cyclones with just three more scholarships to fill for next year. The team is in the hunt for a few more guys and could definitely use a junior college or grad transfer to fill in a couple of gaps. Shayok could be the first domino in a productive spring recruiting session.