ISU was coming off three losing seasons in four years, winning 19 games in McDermott's final season. Hoiberg had never coached at any level. He walked into a situation where he was a legend in Ames, but relatively unknown to the players he was now coaching. That included Ejim, who stayed at ISU after Hoiberg met with him and his family.
Iowa State went 16-16 in Hoiberg's first season, starting 13-2 with wins over Creighton and Iowa. But the grind of conference play caught up with the Cyclones. Iowa State went 3-13 in the Big 12, including a 10-game losing streak that ended with a one-point win over Nebraska in Ames.