Superstar freshman explains his strategy in the Cyclones' win over Baylor. Randy Peterson/The Register
AMES, Ia. — Scott Drew tried his darndest to recruit Lindell Wigginton. Baylor’s coach offered him a scholarship. They even scheduled an official visit.
Steve Prohm struck first, though. Iowa State’s coach offered, too, and Wigginton’s visit to Ames was scheduled a week before he was scheduled to visit Waco, Texas.
“No use making that trip, when I fell in love with everything and everyone at Iowa State,” Wigginton said after the Cyclones team for whom he stars not only finally won a Big 12 Conference game, but also preserved a late-game lead by beating Drew’s Bears, 75-65.
Wigginton decided during his Iowa State visit that his next stop after prestigious Oak Hill Academy in Virginia would be as a Cyclone, but first, he had a phone call to make.
“I had to call Coach Drew,” Wigginton said after scoring a career-best 30 points for a team whose records improved to 1-4 in the Big 12 and 10-6 overall. “I had to give him the respect that he gave me. It was kind of heart-breaking for them. They recruited me really hard. We had a bond. They recruited me for a long time, but it’s a business. I had to do what’s best for me.
“He said good luck on my journey — and that they’ll see me in conference play.”
Oh boy, did Drew ever see Wigginton on Saturday. He saw the recruit he couldn’t nab make 8 of 17 shots, including half of his 10 3-point tries.
He also saw Wigginton, known throughout college basketball as a scorer, play the defensive game of his life.
He guarded senior Manu Lecomte. He guarded a 16.5-point-per-game scorer who came into Saturday’s game making 40 percent of his field-goal attempts, including 41 percent from 3-point range.
On Saturday, Lecomte missed 10 of his 12 shot attempts. He missed each of his seven 3-point tries.
Everyone knows Wigginton can dominate offensively, but Saturday, he was darn-good defensively, too.
“Everybody’s going to look at Lindell, and say what, 30 points, right?” Prohm said.
“Five-for-10 from 3-point range.”
But ...
“He guarded Lecomte,” Prohm continued. “We put him on Lecomte — and Lecomte is an all-league-type player.
“That’s what I’m proud of Lindell for. He’s starting to understand that he has to compete on both ends.”
Iowa State’s unflappable rookie was part of the biggest flurry of the game, with the Cyclones trailing, 23-22, with 3 minutes, 48 seconds left in the first half.
Wigginton made two free throws. He then buried a 3-pointer with 3:21 left that provided his team a lead. He canned another 3-pointer; and don’t stop reading now.
Cameron Lard, another rookie that played well beyond his years with 11 rebounds, nine points and five blocked shots, kept a missed shot alive, and the result?
TAKEAWAYS: Lard scratching surface of potential, fan throws lemon at Baylor
Three-pointer by Wigginton at the halftime horn.
“Wigginton was a monster,” Drew said. “We recruited him and we knew he was going to be really good. Coach Prohm has done a great job with him.
“That stretch at the end of the first half was big,”
Wigginton scored 27 points during a five-point loss at Kansas last Tuesday. He enters Wednesday’s 8 p.m. game at TCU with nonfreshman-like stats that include making 18 of 37 field-goal attempts, including 9-for-18 from 3-point range, during his last two outings.
“He’s an elite scorer. He’s got great strength. He’s good off the bounce,” Drew said. “When you come from Oak Hill ... he’s just really good.”
No one’s saying what happened Saturday is a springboard of future greatness, but it’s a start. Baby steps, you know.
After losing late-game leads the previous three contests, Iowa State this time held its 62-58 advantage with 5:19 left.
They did it because everyone played well at the same time. They did it because point guard Nick Weiler-Babb was the calming influence he must continue to be. They did it because Lard and Solomon Young grabbed big-game rebounds — or at least tapped missed shots back so teammates could latch onto the ball.
“We started getting 50-50 balls at the end,” said Weiler-Babb, who again flirted with a triple-double to the tune of 15 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. “We played harder than we played in any other game.”
That obviously includes Wigginton.
“I felt good coming into the game,” Wigginton said. “I played good at Kansas, but we didn’t get the win.”
He also played well against the team that recruited him hard, only this time, it resulted in the first Big 12 Conference victory of his life.
Beating Baylor on a Saturday is a step forward in the process. Randy Peterson/The Register
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson has been with the Register for parts of five decades. Randy writes opinion and analysis of Iowa State football and basketball. You can reach Randy at rpeterson@dmreg.com or on Twitter at @RandyPete.