Peterson: For Iowa State's Caleb Grill, practice certainly is making perfect

NORMAN, Oklahoma – Family and friends smothered Caleb Grill after Iowa State’s 63-60 men's basketball victory at Oklahoma on Wednesday night.

Where’s Caleb, I asked someone.

He’s in the middle of that mob, I was told.

His hometown of Wichita, Kansas, isn’t all that far from Norman, Oklahoma − a 2 1/2-hour drive, his mom told me. Whenever the Cyclones play here, Caleb has his own personal rooting section.

More:Peterson: No. 25 Iowa State men's basketball escapes with first win at Oklahoma since 2019

Wednesday, they had a lot to cheer as 25th-ranked Iowa State improved to 2-0 in the Big 12 and 11-2 overall. It was his three-point basket, his fifth of the game, that broke a 58-all score with 33 seconds to play. It was his steal with 6 seconds remaining that foiled an Oklahoma possession.

So where’s Caleb 20 minutes or so after Iowa State’s first win at the Lloyd Noble Center since 2019?

In the middle of about 30 folks huddling around him for a photograph of this happy occasion.

“I knew the play we were calling,” said Grill, who made the decisive shot not far from where his people were seated. “I knew I was going to have a chance to knock in the shot.”

He knew because he was prepared. Like little kids in the driveway, Grill has envisioned something like what happened in this very big Iowa State win. Step-back three? Boom.

“I worked hard during the off-season of preparing myself before the catch, and before the shot,” Grill said, still among his courtside family. “I felt I had the opportunity, possibly, on that play. I was prepared mentally to make that shot.”

Grill’s game-best 20 points included making 5 of his 9 three-point attempts. Osun Osunniyi followed with 12 points, including the game’s first five points.

“Coach gives me confidence every single day in practice,” Osunniyi said. “He gives me confidence to be aggressive when I catch the ball at the foul line.”

The Cyclones led 25-7 early, and the game was very much in their control inside a sparely populated Lloyd Noble Center.

Then bad things happened, because that's basketball. Nothing went right, and just like that, Oklahoma scored 20 points in a row. The 18-point lead was gone.

Welcome to the Big 12, where each and every game will be an adventure.

More:4-star prospect JT Rock announces commitment to Iowa State basketball

“We were fortunate to get off to a great start,” Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “Our guys had great intent and focus defensively, which is what we hang our hat on.

“That allowed us to be in position. We knew they’d fight back. Every time we threw a punch, they counter-punched. We were fortunate just to throw enough and to get enough stops down the stretch to come out with a W.”

Jaz Kunc has a target date

Iowa State’s best rebounder and second-best three-point shooter said before Wednesday’s game that he’s aiming to return to playing Feb. 4 vs. Kansas. The Cyclones will need all the firepower they can muster in an 11 a.m. game against the third-ranked Jayhawks at Hilton Coliseum.

Kunc started the first 11 games, then broke a finger on his left hand when practice resumed after the holiday break.

The 6-foot-8 senior leads Iowa State with 5.9 rebounds a game. He averages 8.5 points a game and is a 35.9% three-point shooter.

Already doing things last season’s team didn’t do

Otzelberger has said repeatedly the past couple months that he doesn’t like comparing his second Iowa State team with the group that reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 last season.

It’s not fair to that team. It’s not fair to this team. So even if he wanted to talk about the successful path his program appears to be on for the future, he won’t.

That’s understandable, but don’t underestimate what happened a few hours before his Cyclones won Wednesday night.

Six hours before that game tipped, the program that present headliners Grill, Gabe Kalscheur, Kunc and Robert Jones helped build into Big 12 relevancy again received a major commitment for 2024.

Otzelberger received a commitment from 7-foot center J.T. Rock, a national top-100 center from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

He’s the second 2024 recruit, joining four-star wing Nojus Indrusaitis, who committed last month.

Big commitment and a big win. A good day for the Cyclones.

And now for some of that comparing Otzelberger doesn’t like. It's just two Big 12 games, but this team has already done something last season’s team didn’t. This team has beaten Baylor (0-2 last season vs. the Bears). This team won at Oklahoma for the first time since 2019.

“The league is obviously very good,” Otzelberger said. “Every team is well-coached. There are tremendous players. We know that every night, it’s going to pose a challenge, and it’s going to be a substantial one.”

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 51st year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, and on Twitter @RandyPete

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State's Caleb Grill was ready for the big opportunity at Oklahoma