Iowa State men’s basketball preview: Looking at Clayton Custer
By Doug Winkey
It’s another installment of the Iowa State men’s basketball previews. We already started player previews with a look at Sherron Dorsey-Walker. We will continue our previews with one of the most highly-touted freshman in Fred Hoiberg’s tenure, Clayton Custer.
More from Men's Basketball
- Iowa State basketball: Comeback over Iowa receives wrong attention
- Iowa State men’s basketball: Thank you, Fred Hoiberg
- Iowa State basketball: Never doubt Hilton Magic
- Iowa State Basketball: Cyclones gearing up for end of season
- Iowa State basketball: Cyclones destroy Texas Tech in Jameel McKay’s first start
Custer comes to Iowa State from the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas. He attended Blue Valley Northwest High where he went 94-6 in his career and played in the 6-A state championship game all four years. His senior year he averaged 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals per game as he led his team to their second straight state title. Custer was named the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and turned down offers from Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State.
Custer will be looked to act as relief for the loaded backcourt of Monte Morris, Naz Long, Bryce Dejean-Jones, and Matt Thomas. He’ll primarily backup Morris, but we could see another year of the two PG set with Morris and Custer similar to last year’s eventual pairing of Kane and Morris. It will be interesting to see how such a prolific winner and scorer translates his game to the most competitive conference in college basketball.
It is important to temper expectations with such a high profile recruit. While Custer has the potential to be amazing, he’s stepping into a somewhat crowded situation. He is also a tad undersized with a listed height and weight of 6 feet and 175 pounds even as he bulks up over the course of the year. Finally, it is important to remember Matt Thomas’ slow start last season and be prepared to just let the new guard develop at his own pace without a ton of outside pressure.
It has been years since famed Iowa high school stars Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison joined old Roy Williams at Kansas, but it still feels good to steal one back to wear the cardinal and gold. I know I’m excited to see what Custer can do and I hope you are too. What are your expectations for the new freshman?