Audi Crooks has been leading the way and snatching headlines for Iowa State so far this season, and that hasn't changed after the Cyclones' latest major win. The nation's 10th-ranked team took down its cross-state rival and formerly undefeated Iowa on Wednesday, 74-69, and Crooks thinks it's what the team needed to look like a legitimate contender.
“I feel like now we're officially battle-tested. You know, people were commenting on our schedule, and now there's not much else to say,” Crooks said. “When you have three players with double-doubles, you can't say we're a one-trick pony. You can't say our schedule is soft.”
“But honestly, we're not concerned with the noise and what everybody has to say online. We're worried about the mentality in our locker room [and] that we have in practice,” Crooks added. “I feel that comes with maturity. It's really easy to get sucked into social media and public opinion … this team, we're all a little bit older and a little bit wiser.”
