Royce White, Iowa State's GOAT? More likely than you think?

One of the columns that has been making the rounds on the blogs this week comes from Marc Hansen of the Des Moines Register. In that column, Hansen tells a story of how a long-time Iowa State fan is convinced that Minnesota transfer Royce White will -- "Not could. Not might. Will." -- become the greatest Cyclone of all-time.

Now, the point of Hansen's column wasn't to say that White will be the best Iowa State player of all-time. His point is that with the infusion of talent this season -- with transfers Chris Allen (Michigan State), Chris Babb (Penn State) and Anthony Booker (Southern Illinois) joining White in becoming eligible -- and with the performances that White has had this summer -- he averaged a freakin' triple-double in a summer league, which is summer league but still insane -- that there is a hype surrounding the Cyclones that they haven't experienced in a while.


To his credit, White, who wasn't known for his levelheadedness in his time with the Gophers, answered the question about as well as you can ask him too.

"I'm happy somebody would think of me in that way," he told Hansen, "and it gives me motivation to try to achieve that on the court and off. It's an objective term and probably a little extreme, considering all the great players who’ve been here, but I’d like to be on the list someday. I think it’s achievable. Not for what I do individually as much as for what we do as a team. Hopefully, I can make a dent in Iowa State history that way."

Confident, but not cocky. Respectful yet motivated.

But let me ask you a question -- why not? Why can't White be the greatest player in the history of the Cyclone program? We're not exactly talking about North Carolina here.

There have been some quality players and quality teams in Iowa State's history. Jamaal Tinsley and Marcus Fizer teamed up to lead the Cyclones to within a few possessions of the Final Four. Craig Brackins averaged 20 and 10 playing on last place teams. Jeff Hornacek and Fred Hoiberg (also known as The Mayor and who is currently the head coach of Iowa State) both turned excellent college careers into long NBA careers. Jeff Grayer -- who, for my money, currently holds the throne -- was an all-american and an Olympian.

With all due respect to those six players, that's a fairly reachable ceiling for White.

Granted, his talent on the court will never fully be on display unless he can tackle his issues off the court. And the two years he has spent watching basketball from the sidelines will make it difficult to shake off some of the rust. Saying he will, definitely, be the greatest Cyclone of all time is premature.

But so is saying he won't.