Much like the recent Billy Gillispie and Dez Wells’ stories, it’s important to stay grounded in light of a recent sexual abuse accusation against Iowa State guard Bubu Palo. Head coach Fred Hoiberg has indefinitely suspended his backup point guard, so it’s now time for the legal process to begin. According to police reports, a woman told authorities Palo and another man, 21-year-old Spencer Cruise, drove her to a home in Ames in May and forced her to have sex with them. A sergeant in the Ames Police Department said it collected DNA evidence from both Palo and Cruise, which led to their arrests last week. In fact, Palo turned himself in at the advice of his attorney, and he now faces a serious prison sentence if convicted. Those are the facts of the case, so judge the situation however you’d like. We’re staying out of this debate. It’d be unfair to the victim to assume she’s lying, and it’d be unfair to Palo to assume the accusations against him are true. So instead of taking aside, this is all we’ll say: There are serious allegations against Bubu Palo, and he’ll likely never play for the Cyclones again unless he’s fully exonerated.

The Charges Against Bubu Palo Offer a Cautionary Tale

That’s the story here– that this happened to Bubu Palo. Whether he’s guilty of sexual abuse or not, it would be almost impossible to find a more bizarre candidate to appear in a story of this magnitude. If there were an illustration of the American Dream walking among us in college basketball, it’d be Palo.  Just look at his background. He’s a hometown kid and a graduate of Ames High School. No criminal history. Academic All-Big 12. A former walk-on who earned a scholarship and made a name for himself as a gritty, underrated reserve. So glancing at a headline about sexual abuse and seeing Palo’s name is, well, stunning, for lack of a better adverb.

The accusations also leave Iowa State without a reliable backup point guard, placing a little more pressure on Michigan State transfer Korie Lucious, the obvious starter at that position. Palo was also the longest-tenured Cyclone guard, having played three seasons in Ames, including a redshirt year. Seniors Chris Babb and Tyrus McGee, on the other hand, joined the program last year as transfers. It seems a little silly to talk basketball after allegations of such consequence, however. Iowa State will trudge on for now without Palo, and Hoiberg must now wait patiently until he learns the legal fate of his backup point guard.

In an effort to remind you that college basketball does in fact exist during the summer, Big 12 microsite writers Danny Spewak (@dspewak) and Jeremy Pfingsten (@jeremylp21) will roll out three summer updates per week during the next month. The goal is to compile every bit of news and information from the summer months for each team and package it into neat, easy-to-read capsules for your convenience. We begin with Danny’s update on Iowa State: 

Iowa State Cyclones

2011-12 Record: 23-11, 12-6 (3^rd place)

Fred Hoiberg is having a better summer than you. After every basketball writer in America questioned his risky strategy to recruit four Division I transfers to his Iowa State program last year, the Fab Four silenced the naysayers and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. Hoiberg may lose the bulk of his starting lineup to graduation and the pros, but The Mayor has successfully changed the basketball culture in Ames in the span of just one season. So yes — he’s probably having a terrific summer by basking in his team’s 23-win season. And, more importantly, Hoiberg’s bosses rewarded him with a contract extension to give him some extra stability and millions of dollars in cash. That doesn’t mean there’s not work to do while the weather’s still warm, though. Hoiberg’s job now requires him to mix a large class of newcomers with a few returning veterans to keep Iowa State from becoming a one-year wonder.

The Mayor Is Smiling This Summer After an NCAA Tournament Appearance

Summer Orientation: It’s important to stay realistic about summer league basketball, but these statistics for Will Clyburn are too gaudy to ignore. The 6’7’’ wing, eligible next season after transferring from Utah, put up 111 points in two games in the YMCA/Capital City League this summer. He scored 63 in the first game and 48 in the next. For all you math majors, that’s a 55.5 point-per-game average over two contests. Small sample size? Certainly. And summer league? It’s not the NBA. But it’s encouraging for the Cyclones to see Clyburn excel, especially since that league features several of his Iowa State teammates. Former Cyclone Royce White even says Clyburn, a former All-Mountain West honoree at Utah, will make the team better this year than last.

Clyburn has already set a league record for points, but he’s not the only Cyclone making headlines in this league. Freshman Georges Niang actually held Clyburn to 28 points (measly, right?) when the two faced each other in the Y, and there are high hopes for this four-star stud forward from New Hampshire. Fellow froshs Sherron Dorsey-Walker and Naz Long are also earning some experience in this league before their first college seasons, and three-star forward Kerwin Okoro just joined the league in late June.

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Three Key Takeaways.

1. When Kentucky shoots like that, forget it. The Wildcats shot 48% in the first half and led by 11. They shot 16-25 (that is not a typo, 64%) in the second half. Listen, you don’t need to be some kind of genius to know that when this UK team shoots like that, the only thing you can do is hand them the trophy. If you saw the game, you’d agree that Iowa State didn’t play that badly. They did a super job of battling back on the boards compared to their effort there in the first half. They kept Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to a single late bucket. Terrence Jones only managed three scores. Iowa State’s downfall was that the threes just weren’t falling (3-22, 13.6%). Didn’t matter if they were open looks or not; they just didn’t go down. And Kentucky hits 10-20? Simple math.
2. Marquis Teague can kill you many ways. He’s quick enough to go by you when he drives to the goal (he showed Scott Christopherson and Bubu Palo that tonight, both very game defenders, and he fouled the latter out in just 11 minutes), but he also noticed that it was his man who was leaving to double the post most of the night. That left him open for jumpers, and he went 10-14 on the night by both hitting open shots as well as driving into the space the ISU defense gave him.
3. Did we mention the shooting? One of the compelling things about this shooting display by Kentucky was that so many of the shots were NOT from close range. Iowa state WON the points-in-the-paint battle. The Wildcats shot that percentage by hitting a lot of jump shots. Yeesh.

Star of the Game. Tough call here between Teague (24/7 assists on 10-14 shooting) and Darius Miller (19/6 boards on 7-11). Teague was brilliant at taking what the defense gave him while still finding a way to get his teammates involved with seven dimes, but it was Miller who hit some extremely tough shots (and a couple of threes) that keyed the late first-half run that helped UK put some space between themselves and the Cyclones.

Sights & Sounds. In the post-game press conference, ISU head coach Fred Hoiberg said, “We’re going to leave Lexington…I mean, [resigned laugh] Louisville with our heads held high.” It was an HONEST mistake. This undoubtedly felt like Rupp Arena, given the blue-clad fans who packed the KFC Yum! Center. There were a few times early in both halves where Kentucky needed an emotional lift. The crowd helped provide it.

Quotable. Asked about playing Indiana and good friend Tom Crean in the Sweet 16, Calipari noted, “I don’t like playing friends. When they win, I’m sick about it. When I win, I enjoy it for a bit, but then I don’t, because I know what they’re going through.” He then added, “And I know he’s gonna watch every single piece of film anyone has on us, so [looking into TV cameras] Tommy, if you’re watching, I’m putting in two new out-of-bounds plays, some new side-outs, and two new offenses.”

What’s Next? A rematch between two of the seminal programs of our sport. A rematch between friends, Crean and Calipari. A rematch between an overall #1-seed who is rolling, and one of the two teams to draw blood from them this season. Indiana versus Kentucky in the second week of the Tournament. We can’t wait.

Projected finish: 8th

2010-11 record: 16-16 (3-13), 12th

Head coach: Fred Hoiberg, second season

Key Losses: Diante Garrett (17.3 PPG), Jake Anderson (12.8 PPG), Jamie Vanderbeken, (11.1 PPG)

Coach Fred Hoiberg‘s team started quick in nonconference play during his first season, but his Cyclones eventually tumbled to a dismal last-place finish in 2010-11. After losing one of the league’s top point guards in Diante Garrett, Hoiberg’s job doesn’t get much easier this fall. However, he does have one of the more intriguing rosters in the Big 12 with four big-name transfers set to take the court. There are a lot of wild cards for Iowa State this season, but there may be enough talent for a surprise finish.

Fred Hoiberg's Team Could Surprise (AP/A. Heisenfelt)

The Stars: Scott Christopherson may be the most underrated shooter in college basketball. He shot a blistering 44.1% from three-point range last year, making 83 threes during a terrific campaign. Garrett got a lot of the credit as the star last season, but Christopherson was probably the second most important player on the squad. After playing sparingly as a freshman at Marquette due to injury, Christopherson finally emerged as a team leader when he became fully healthy and earned a starting job.

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There’s a reason the Sixth Man of the Year award exists. Our society values toughness; it roots for the underdog, and it appreciates good character. In short, America loves bench players, and so do college basketball coaches. The game’s best recruiters find hidden gems to help them off the bench when stars need to take a breather. Alas, here are the Big 12’s top reserves, listed in terms of their ever-important roles.

Mr. Ferocious

Ray Turner, Texas A&M: Turner’s statistics won’t blow your mind, but his leaping ability certainly will. A&M students didn’t campaign Turner for class president for nothing, after all. He’s probably the most exciting reserve in college basketball because of his athletic ability, but he can also rebound the heck out of the ball. Even though Turner is still playing in a crowded front court this season, new coach Billy Kennedy will figure out a way to give him valuable minutes. Or else he’ll miss out on dunks like the above.

The Backup Point Guard

Bubu Palo, Iowa State: It’s about time to give this walk-on a scholarship. Palo is more than just a funky name off the bench for the Cyclones. He’s a very good passer with some scoring punch, and overall, he’s the quintessential backup point guard. He played in every game last year and even started three contests, cracking double figures in the scoring department four times. Coach Fred Hoiberg has to find Palo a role on this team again in 2011-12.

The Steady Veteran

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