Cyclones Honor Barry Stevens

AMES, Iowa - Cyclone fans of all ages migrated to Hilton Coliseum Saturday afternoon to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event. Some of the greatest players in Iowa State basketball history returned to Ames this weekend to play in the ISU Hilton Magic Celebrity All-Star Game, a charity event to raise money for the Barry Stevens Foundation and the American Heart Association. Players like Jeff Hornacek, Jeff Grayer, Fred Hoiberg and Victor Alexander, all ISU All-Century team members, were just a few of the former Cyclone greats in attendance.

Stevens was one of the greatest players to ever play for the Cyclones, scoring the second-most points in school history (2,190) from 1982-85. Stevens died suddenly from a heart attack in February and his teammates and the Cyclone fans attending the unique event made their feelings known how important he was to the Cyclone basketball program.

“Barry Stevens started all of this. He created Hilton Magic," Grayer said. "It was important to get together to honor this great man and just as important to educate people on heart issues."

Lines of Cyclone fans showed up early for an autograph session followed by a charity basketball game. Although most of the players competing in the All-Star game may have lost a step, they still put on an outstanding show for the fans.

“It was great to get back on the Hilton Coliseum floor," Hornacek said. "It was funny even after all of these years, I still knew what everyone was going to do on the court. I knew Lafester (Rhodes) was going to shoot it and I knew Sam (Hill) was going to talk."

The entrance of Johnny Orr, ISU's all-time winningest coach, and the return of Larry Eustachy, former Cyclone coach who led ISU to back-to-back Big 12 titles, also electrified the over 4,000 fans in attendance. It was simply a special moment in Hilton Coliseum.

Iowa State University Athletics

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