The Transformation Of Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek has always been able to shoot the basketball. A native of Prague, Czech Republic, the 6-11 Hubalek honed his style of play after watching a slew of European big men earn a paycheck by knocking down outside shots. In his first season with the Cyclones a year ago, Hubalek modeled that style, scoring most of his shots on mid-range jumpers and rarely earning baskets with his back to the hoop.

A lot has changed within the ISU basketball program since then, however. A new coaching staff entered the picture prompting many players to exit the program, leaving a giant void of quality post players.

First-year head coach Greg McDermott knew he needed a presence in the post if the Cyclones had any chance to be successful. Hubalek was his best choice, but the tough part was selling the junior about his new role.

It wasn't an easy transition. Hubalek was behind the eight-ball at the start of the season when he missed the first six games. In his first few contests back, Hubalek settled for too many jumpers and the Cyclones were struggling scoring points. During the Ohio State game on Dec. 19, Hubalek missed all three of his shots from the floor, all on long-range jumpers, playing just five minutes before finding a seat on the bench. In the next couple of practice sessions, McDermott and Hubalek had a “heart to heart,” as McDermott referred to the meeting. His message was simple: change your style, or sit on the bench.

Since that time, Hubalek's transformation into a solid low-block player has been amazing. With the help of ISU's coaching staff, Hubalek has developed a nifty repertoire of back-to-the-basket moves that has allowed him to become a marked-man on opponents scouting reports.

“The coaching staff has really helped me out on how to read a defense when I have the ball in the block,” Hubalek said. “They have taught me how to understand the game down low, like when to slow down on a double-team and what to do at a certain moment.”

His numbers speak volumes of his improvement. Hubalek is averaging 13.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and hitting 51.5 percent of his shots from the floor (69-of-134 FG) in his last 13 games. In his last outing, Hubalek poured in a career-high 26 points (11-16 FG) and grabbed nine rebounds in ISU's 58-51 win over Oklahoma. Ten of Hubalek's 11 baskets were in the paint.

“Jiri Hubalek was great,” Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel commented after the game. “We couldn't guard him. We threw three guys at him, and we still couldn't guard him.”

His teammates have been awed by his metamorphosis.

“The coaching staff has really worked with him and his post moves are great,” teammate Rahshon Clark said. “We did not see that out of Jiri last year. Both Jiri and the coaching staff have done a terrific job in his development as a post player.”

McDermott feels Hubalek has unlimited potential if he keeps working on his game. He currently ranks fifth in the Big 12 (conference games only) in both rebounding (8.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (50.9 percent).

“Jiri is playing with a lot of confidence right now, but more importantly, his teammates have confidence in him,” McDermott said. “If he can put on 25 pounds this offseason, the sky is the limit. He could possibly even make a lot of money someday playing this game.”

Players Mentioned

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

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