Blake Buchanan has spent part of his summer doing something most basketball players would never call normal: gripping two heavy dumbbells, taking a breath and dropping into a pool.
The Iowa State senior forward worked with Dr. Cameron Chestnut last month in a workout Buchanan described as equal parts unusual and demanding, and he plans to do it again in August. For Buchanan, the appeal was simple.
“It’s all just about breathing,” said Buchanan, who worked with Chestnut last month and plans to do so again in August. “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 session is only one piece of Buchanan’s offseason. The other is the familiar grind of summer work under head coach T.J.
Otzelberger, the kind of training that has become part of the Cyclones’ identity. Buchanan is going through that two-month stretch for the second straight year, and this time he’s also helping the newcomers handle the pace and pressure that come with it.
“Obviously last year was a lot harder, a lot more draining,” said Buchanan, who averaged a career-high 8.5 points, 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 is trying to turn all of that work into what he hopes becomes a breakout season. He already brings plenty of punch around the rim, finishing with a team-high 59 dunks last season, and he took another step as a rim protector and interior defender. Now the next jump is about expanding what he can do beyond the paint.
“Just trying to maybe facilitate a little bit more (and provide more) scoring,” he said.
That same challenge applies to Dominykas Pleta, who made his mark on the offensive glass as a true freshman. Buchanan said Iowa State has been using two big men together more often in practice this summer, which means both players will need more versatility as the Cyclones look to keep pushing an offense that has improved steadily in Otzelberger’s five-plus seasons.
“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 Iowa State’s veterans are leaning on every bit of experience they’ve built, whether it came from a normal workout or one underwater, to help the first-time Cyclones adjust.
Otzelberger likes what he’s seeing so far.
“I feel like we’re at a place even ahead of where we’ve maybe been in some other years because I think guys are - you can just feel the buy in,” 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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