Iowa State basketball trying to 'reclaim' spirit amid losing, Caleb Grill's dismissal

AMES – Iowa State basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger and his players who spoke with reporters Thursday were unequivocal in offering support to Caleb Grill.

The senior guard was dismissed from the program on Wednesday for “a failure to meet the program’s expectations,” and later detailed in a lengthy written statement the mental health issues that have been a part of his life this season.

“I’ll continue to have his back moving forward,” Otzelberger said, “however he wants me to do that.”

Said senior center Osun Osunniyi, “That’s my guy. He’s going to be my guy until the day I leave this earth. I love that kid.”

More:Iowa State basketball's Caleb Grill no longer on team as Big 12, NCAA tournaments near

The Cyclones also acknowledged the fact that their season, now exceedingly immersed in adversity, continues and will offer them little respite with a regular-season finale at No. 8 Baylor followed by the Big 12 Tournament gauntlet and the big stage of the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m always going to be there for Caleb. I’m always going to support him and continue to support him based on the relationship that goes back a number of years,” Otzelberger said, “but we’re going to turn our focus right now to doing what we need to do to be successful, win our game Saturday and continue to improve with our team and this season moving forward.”

Iowa State (17-12, 8-9 Big 12) now has schematic, chemistry and depth issues to contend with on top of a four-game losing streak and eight losses in 10 games. The remaining Cyclones will be tasked with processing the abrupt change in the locker room, a new reality on the floor and the intense pressure to win games in the highest-stakes part of the season.

It has been a precipitous fall for a team that was a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s initial bracket reveal and now looks to be careening toward something closer to the 8 vs. 9 game.

More: Iowa State basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger says he'll always be there for Caleb Grill

Without Caleb Grill, how will Iowa State's struggling offense continue?

“Everything is all good and well when you’re winning,” senior guard Jaren Holmes said. “It’s hard sometimes to find the joy in losing, but everybody in that locker room is a firm believer in there’s beauty in the struggle.

“We’ve been struggling these last few games, but there’s beauty in that. Everything happens for a reason.”

Iowa State has experienced life without Grill on the court as a back injury cost him three full games and has limited him one way or another for the past six weeks. Without him, Iowa State’s backcourt depth is shrunk to just above zero. The Cyclones can’t play four-guard lineups and sometimes have resorted to using 6-foot-9 Jaz Kunc, who previously has played small-ball center, as the small forward.

Grill was their best 3-point shooter, a significant blow to an offense that was already limited and struggling. Defenses have been collapsing into the paint against Iowa State, and that figures to only increase with one fewer shooting threat available.

“It’s been packed in for multiple reasons,” Osunniyi said, “but the more me personally and we as frontline guys be more aggressive inside and demanding the ball and draw more attention, it can allow our guys to get more threes or set shots.

“A big thing for the frontline guys is do whatever we can to get our guys less stressed. For me, I’m going to try to demand the ball more in the paint, get teams to lock in, focus on me.”

More:Iowa State men's basketball can't close against West Virginia, drops fourth straight game

Iowa State's path to success facing Baylor, Big 12 and NCAA

Otzelberger was steadfast in his belief that Iowa State’s best path to success, both at Baylor (11 a.m. Saturday; ESPN2) and going forward, is a return to a unity and feverish style of play that seems to have escaped the Cyclones during their recent slide.

“There was a point in this season, probably a month ago, where the spirit that we had, the energy we played with, the enthusiasm and the passion that our guys played with and exuded as a team was as strong as any team in the country,” Otzelberger said. “Right now, more than spacing the floor, shooting the three or those sort of things, what we’re trying to do is work extremely intentionally to get that back, that we reclaim that the best we can.

“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel at this point. We're trying to get guys to play to their strengths, do the things they do well and do them to the best of their ability.”

And they’re trying to do it in a hurry, with single-elimination and the biggest referendums on their season beginning next week.

“You’re always remembered (for) how you finish,” Osunniyi said. “We don’t want to end the season for all the guys that are basically done after this year to end on a bad note. We want to go as far as we possibly can, win as many games as possible.

“The sense of urgency is at an all-time high. There’s no time for mistakes, ‘my bads.’ We’re past that. Way beyond that at this point.”

More:Iowa State men's basketball's slide reaches new low with home loss to Oklahoma

Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or  (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball looks ahead to Big 12, NCAA without Caleb Grill