At that moment, Otzelberger said, he began to understand why a team needs to be bigger than the sum of its parts, a principle he shared with him as a young college assistant and as head coach at South Dakota State, Nevada-Las carried. Vegas and now in Iowa State.
Vander Meulen, 83, and the proud owner of a flip phone, sat in the Fiserv Forum on Sunday night, as he did on Friday, when he saw the Dadgers, the feisty Colgate and the Cyclones along the Louisiana State swallow. He played in Wisconsin and coached Otzelberger, a two-time captain for him – “I’m loyal to both,” said Vander Meulen – but he would look like a basketball connoisseur.
That certainly meant keeping an eye on the Point Guard matchup, which would have served as a referendum on Wisconsin’s recruiting elections. The guard received a commitment two years ago from Chucky Hepburn, a robust freshman with a sharp shot from Omaha, Neb., Handling Hunter, a smooth ball handler and fast defender who had a tragic upbringing, losing his parents when he was a teenager.
Hepburn’s importance was underlined by his contempt. With 4 minutes 37 seconds left in the first half, he twisted his ankle hard and had to be helped off the court with the Badgers ahead, 22-19. He watched the end of the game, standing on the crutch next to the Wisconsin bench, his left foot in a protective boot as the badgers, who best protect the ball in the country, turned 17 times.
Hunter, who scored a career-high 23 points, including two late 3-pointers to win the LSU, had an incredible shooting game. He made 1 of 10 shots and finished with 4 points. But he coordinated the offense and had six rebounds, five assists and three steals – all of which led to the Cyclones.
He also had a point to prove.
“They’re a capable team and have a pretty good Freshman Point Guard,” said Hunter of Wisconsin. “But they did not recruit me, so I had to leave my presence and let them know that you missed something that is pretty good.”
Shortly before, Hunter had collected a loose ball and thrown it into the air as the buzzer sounded, before running to the Congregation of Iowa State fans and doing a little dance near the Center Court – the beginning of a fire that , for a few cyclones, was also a happy way home.
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