Iowa State signs Maryland forward

Only a few weeks ago, Princeton Day forward Eric McKnight was unsure of his college plans.

"I'm open right now," McKnight said after playing in the preliminary game for the Capital Classic, listing Indiana, Penn State, Rutgers and George Washington as schools that had shown interest in him but adding that none had offered a scholarship. McKnight, a native of Raleigh, N.C., said he was working to improve his college board scores to meet the NCAA's minimum academic standards for freshman eligibility.

Less than two weeks later, Iowa State lost its coach, Todd McDermott, to Creighton and subsequently hired Fred Hoiberg as its new coach. While the Cyclones had shown mild interest in the 6-foot-9 McKnight earlier in the recruiting process, things suddenly heated up, according to Princeton Day Coach Van Whitfield.

Now, McKnight is bound for Ames.

"They had expressed some interest early, but initially I think they were lukewarm," Whitfield said. "They thought he wasn't interested in going all the way out to Iowa. I think he thought there was another school he was going to sign with. But when he went on a visit there, he liked the facilities and liked the face it wasn't in a metropolitan area."