Fred Hoiberg’s departure from hometown Ames, Iowa, to the NBA still stings for anybody who roots for the Big 12, so imagine how it must numb Iowa State backers.

The Cyclones shaped up as legitimate national-championship contenders with Hoiberg at the helm, running NBA plays to which the roster was tailored and to which the players have become accustomed.

There is nobody the Cyclones could attract who could match Hoiberg.

Or is there?

A check of the American history books reveals that two historic events occurred on Sept. 14, 1940. The U. S. Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which required that men between the ages of 21 and 34 register with local draft boards. Once president Franklin Roosevelt signed the Act into law, it marked the first peace-time draft in our nation’s history.

The other event drew no attention at the time because nobody had any way of knowing that a baby boy born in Brooklyn had a brain that would develop into one more suited to teach basketball than any before or after.

Lawrence Harvey Brown, the only man on the planet to win both an NCAA title (Danny and the Miracles, 1988) and an NBA crown (Detroit Pistons, 2004), has what it takes to bring the Cyclones to even greater heights than Hoiberg did before leaving for the Chicago Bulls.

It took Brown five seconds to make SMU sizzle, proving that at least in his case, it’s not how old you are, rather how young you think. The Mustangs were shafted on Selection Sunday a year ago and lost to UCLA on a controversial goal-tending call this past March in the NCAA Tournament.

Sure, NCAA regulations have become an issue again for Brown, as was the case at UCLA and Kansas, but let’s be honest: Do you think Kentucky has any regrets about hiring John Calipari, whose Final Four appearances at UMass in 1996 and Memphis in 2008 were vacated? For that matter, do you think either UMass or Memphis regrets hiring Calipari? Not a chance.

It comes down to how serious Iowa State wants to be about instantly cashing in on the talented roster Hoiberg cobbled together, largely with talented transfers.

Like Hoiberg, Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek was an Iowa State star. He’s tied for last in NBA head-coaching salaries with $2 million, which calculates to just $1 million per Morris twin. Landing him would calm a nervous fan base.

That’s nice, but winning a national title has to rank first, and anybody else ISU could land ranks at best second to the great Larry Brown.