Cyclone Craig Brackins: Iowa Time Machine January 24, 2009
- Kevin Mason
- 7 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 24, 2009, Cyclone Craig Brackins etched his name in Hilton Coliseum lore when he dropped 42 points against Kansas. Despite the 82-67 point Iowa State loss, 42 points remains the most ever scored by an ISU player against a Kansas team and ranks as the fourth-best single-game scoring output in Cyclone history.
Iowa State basketball in the late 2000s existed in the shadow of conference powerhouses. Coach Greg McDermott inherited a program that had lost its top scorer in each of the previous seasons before Brackins arrived. The Cyclones entered the 2008-09 campaign hoping to escape the Big 12 cellar, while Kansas represented the conference's gold standard under Bill Self.
Brackins himself had taken a circuitous route to Division I basketball. Academic issues prevented him from playing high school basketball in his native California. He spent time at Boys To Men Academy in Chicago and Brewster Academy in New Hampshire before landing at Iowa State, following assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger, who had coached him in AAU basketball.
The January 24 showdown unfolded with Kansas building a 44-38 halftime lead, with Brackins accounting for 22 of Iowa State's 38 first-half points. The Jayhawks opened the second half by making seven of their first eight shots, stretching their advantage to 58-44. Brackins refused to concede. He finished 11-of-19 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and an impressive 17-of-21 from the free-throw line. The 2009-10 season saw Brackins average 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds, earning All-Big 12 First Team honors. He ranked second in the Big 12 in scoring and third in rebounding, becoming one of only three players nationally to rank in the top 30 in both categories. The Oklahoma City Thunder selected him with the 21st overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, immediately trading him to New Orleans. Brackins played for multiple NBA and international teams throughout the 2010s. #Iowa #OTD #History
