Iowa State Basketball: Cyclones snag Merrill Holden

Help is on the way for Iowa State basketball’s thin front court.

Saturday night, the news broke that Iowa State had picked up a graduate transfer big man, Merrill Holden, from Louisiana Tech. He chose the Cyclones over multiple schools, including West Virginia, Cincinnati, Alabama, and UNLV.

Louisiana Tech transfer Merrill Holden told @CBSSports that he has committed to Iowa State. Immediately eligible. Huge for Cyclones.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 8, 2016

The 6’8″, 215 lb forward joins a group of bigs that will feature fellow graduate transfer Darrell Bowie out of Northern Illinois. The former Nebraska high school and JUCO prospect averaged 8.1 points per game (on 52% shooting) in just 23.4 minutes. He also snagged five rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest.

He looks like the type of bruiser that will help the Cyclones in gritty situations, but he is no Georges Niang or Jameel McKay.

That’s why this addition is critical. Holden has experience and the best way to counter a lack of stardom is to build depth.

This commitment is particularly key because of an uncertain situation involving JUCO forward Emmanuel Malou.

The former Yuba (CA) CC player is under NCAA scrutiny regarding his eligibility stemming from a time at a Des Moines prep school. He has filed paperwork for the NBA Draft and is engaged in workout conversations in the event he is not cleared for college play.

This would likely move Holden from first big off the bench to starting center.

If Malou is forced to go pro, his vacancy would free up a scholarship for Holden as Iowa State is currently at the 13 scholarship limit for 2016-17.

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Competing at the five spot for the Cyclones are several other players. The aforementioned Bowie, athletic sophomore Simeon Carter, and two freshmen, Cameron Lard and Brady Ernst, are all in varying states of readiness for college basketball.

Except for Bowie, none of these guys have seen enough court time to demonstrate what they can do on the floor when given proper time and preparation. There is also a chance that someone from the younger ranks will transfer out of the program due to a positional logjam.

Even if Malou decides to pass on the May 25th NBA deadline AND succeeds in receiving NCAA clearance, Holden will be a very important sub with size, toughness, and experience. He has some holes in his game, namely six foul-outs in 23 games and was typically the fifth offensive option for LTU.

None of this is actually a huge detriment with next year’s likely focus on guard play and a plethora of versatile small-ball options. Holden isn’t a program-changer, but he isn’t being brought in to do that.

If I’m guessing, I say that Holden starts at center, but plays about 25 minutes per night. Guys like Deonte Burton, Bowie, and whomever else is on the roster at forward will rotate at some point. For stats, I could see seven points and 5-6 rebounds, with a block a night thrown in for good measure.

Truthfully, there are still enough new bodies and shifting pieces to accurately project a rotation that could feature as few as three guys, or as many as seven if nobody separates in practice.

Whatever the end result of Malou’s NCAA investigation and NBA adventure, Holden is still a big snag for a team that didn’t have a lot of experience at forward.

Worst–case scenario, he turns into a Percy Gibson-type guy that does a lot of little things and is a presence in the locker room. The most that will ever be asked of Holden is to grab rebounds and make opposing bigs work for their points.

Next: Shockers enter a new era without Baker, VanVleet

Any offense will be a pure luxury.

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