Blake Buchanan is spending his summer in Ames in more ways than one.
The Iowa State senior forward recently got into a pool workout with Dr. Cameron Chestnut, grabbing two heavy dumbbells, taking a breath and dropping underwater for a session Buchanan described as a different kind of challenge. He plans to work with Chestnut again in August, and for him the point was simple.
“It’s all just about breathing,” Buchanan said. “It was a lot of, like, holding your breath underwater.
I think it’s different when you can be explosive underwater. It’s not as hard on your body.
So I thought that was kind of cool.”
That workout is only part of Buchanan’s summer routine. The bigger grind comes from the daily work under head coach T.J.
Otzelberger, the kind of demanding offseason program that helps build one of the nation’s top defenses and fuels the transition game once the season starts. Buchanan is doing it for the second straight summer now, and he’s also helping the newcomers handle the pace.
“Obviously last year was a lot harder, a lot more draining,” Buchanan said, after averaging a career-high 8.5 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 63.6 % from the field last season. “Obviously, you understand what it takes, what you need to do every day.
So it’s been a lot easier (and) teaching the new guys has been fun. It’s been difficult at times.
Maybe a little frustrating at times, but that’s part of it, just learning, especially with the way we play.”
Buchanan has already shown what he can do around the rim. He led the team with 59 dunks last season and kept growing as a rim protector and interior defender. Now the next step is broader: more playmaking, more scoring and more ways to impact the offense.
“Just trying to maybe facilitate a little bit more (and provide more) scoring,” he said.
That evolution matters even more with Dominykas Pleta, another big man who made his mark on the offensive glass as a true freshman last season. Buchanan said Iowa State has spent more time this summer using two bigs at once, which means the frontcourt has to stretch its game beyond the paint.
“I think last year in the (NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16) against Tennessee we kind of learned that sometimes we need to have two bigs on the floor to match that physicality,” Buchanan said. “I think I’ve gotta figure out how to play more on the perimeter instead of just playing down low.”
For now, Buchanan and the rest of the veterans are leaning on every kind of workout and every bit of experience they’ve built up to help the first-time Cyclones adjust. Otzelberger said the early signs have been strong.
“I feel like we’re at a place even ahead of where we’ve maybe been in some other years because I think you can just feel the buy in (early),” Otzelberger said. “You can feel that they want to lock in, to spend the time together. And when we’ve had team activities, team events, team meals, the level of investment in one another’s been really cool.”
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For the Cyclones, the bigger question is how quickly Singleton can grow into the role left behind by Joshua Jefferson. His profile suggests he can handle the dirty work right away, but Iowa State is also looking for more than just a body in the paint. Singleton is working to expand his offensive ceiling by improving his jump shot, and how far that progress goes could shape whether the frontcourt reload feels seamless or still leaves a gap when the season begins. [Read more 🡒]
Otzelberger Just Raised The Stakes On Iowa States Roster Reset
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The most important part of that rebuild is how quickly the newcomers can settle into major roles, especially with the staff expecting immediate help from the transfer class. Otzelberger has been confident about that part of the equation, but the real test will be whether the additions can replace what Iowa State is losing in leadership, versatility and frontcourt presence while the freshmen work through their own early challenges. [Read more 🡒]