Iowa State basketball: Brandton Chatfield's confidence growing at right time for Cyclones

Iowa State basketball: Brandton Chatfield’s confidence growing at right time for Cyclones

Posted by Admin January 14, 2025 Basketball

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AMES − It’s a new year and a new Brandton Chatfield.

The 6-foot-10, 260-pound center still brings a physical presence off the bench, rebounding toughness and a workman-like attitude to Iowa State men’s basketball.

However, his continued development and growing confidence have been a welcomed boost for the second-ranked Cyclones, especially as they navigate the Big 12 gauntlet.

“Brandt is gaining more confidence as the season is going on, you can just tell,” sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic said. “He’s been a beast out there, getting offensive rebounds, tip-ins. He’s been great at the ball-screen coverage, sealing for our guards to get layups. As the season goes on, he’s just getting better and better.”

He will certainly be needed to help compete with Kansas’ frontcourt in a battle between Big 12 rivals and top 10 teams Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT. The No. 10 Jayhawks are headlined by 7-foot-2 center Hunter Dickinson, who averages a team-high 15.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.

“They’ve gone primarily with two bigs, early in the year they were looking a lot to play four guards,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said of the Jayhawks. “Now, they’re playing with K.J. (Adams) and Hunter (Dickinson), then (Flory) Bidunga comes in, he can back up either guy, so I think that’s helped them. … They really got an edge to how they defend and maybe more similar to teams that (Bill Self) had in the past with physicality on the interior, two bigs and a really tough mentality to guard.”

Chatfield didn’t make a great first impression in his Iowa State debut, playing just 10 minutes against an undersized Mississippi Valley State team. He chipped in four points and grabbed five offensive rebounds, but missed several open looks at the basket and didn’t look comfortable on the court.

It was in sharp contrast to Iowa State’s win Saturday when the Cyclones battled from behind and got a thrilling, 85-84, overtime win at Texas Tech. Chatfield played through crucial stretches of the game, including the closing minutes of regulation and overtime.

At one point he exited the game for an apparent ankle injury but returned and helped the Cyclones seal the win. He had four points, six boards, one block and a plus-minus rating of +10.

“When Brandt was in the game, from an offensive standpoint − his screening and his physicality, and then his presence on the glass,” Otzelberger said about what he saw from Chatfield to rely on him in crunch time Saturday. “I think a lot of times, people will look and say your best offense would be the guys who score the most points and I feel like Brandt won’t score the most points, but does so much to help other guys be the better versions of themselves.

“So that, on the offensive end, was extremely valuable to help us bring physicality, have screening, be able to get to the paint and have him on the O-boards. Then, on the defensive side of it, it’s been having that physical presence that makes it tough for the other team to score baskets in the paint.”

That was the latest in a string of solid recent performances by Chatfield, who has been blossoming into a valued contributor off the bench.

In a Dec. 30 road win at Colorado, Chatfield reached a turning point in the season, contributing nine points and seven offensive rebounds, both season-highs, with two blocks.

After the calendar flipped to 2025, Chatfield continued his growth. He had seven points, four rebounds and three blocks through 16 minutes of action against Baylor.

Against Utah he had a couple of baskets, but his growing self-confidence showed in his first 3-point attempt of the year, which surprised and impressed teammates, coaches and spectators.

“Definitely there’s been some ups and downs, but just keeping my head down, working hard, just trying to be as physical as I can and kind of do everything to really learn a lot from these coaches here and my teammates as well,” Chatfield said.

During the last four games, he is averaging 6.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in over 19.5 minutes per game. Chatfield also has six blocks in that span after recording a combined five over the first 11 games of the season.

He has seen an uptick in minutes too, playing 19 or more minutes in three of the last four games.

“That’s definitely been a big part, just settling in and stuff, but talking with coaches and just feeling better about my role, how I fit in and just knowing that always, if I keep my attitude and effort really high, things are going to go well,” Chatfield said.

The fifth-year senior came with plenty of experience. He started for the last three seasons at Seattle but needed to adjust to a bench role and a higher level of competition.

Chatfield is described as a perfectionist. While that’s a great mindset to have, it also caused him to overthink, be overly self-critical and not play freely at times earlier in the season.

His confidence and comfort are rising and the Cyclones are reaping the benefits.

“We work with our guys a lot on the mental approach for them individually,” Otzelberger said. “He wants to be such a great teammate and I think we’ve all seen that from the start. I think he’s understood in preparing himself that he’s not going to play perfectly. I’m going to miss a shot, I’m going to miss a block out, something’s not going to go my way if you’re Brandt, but I’m going to win the next possession. Where he’s been such a warrior for us is to immediately get to the next possession and win that possession for us.

“We talked to him about it, but ultimately, it’s Brandt being self-aware of what he’s doing. It’s Brandt wanting to change so that can perform to a higher level, then holding himself accountable to do that. … He has recognized that, he has been self-aware and he has taken himself to a place mentally that allowed him to play with that level of freedom.”

He might not post the eye-popping highlight plays, light up the scoreboard or be in contention for conference awards, but his value to the Cyclones’ success is well-known to his teammates and coaches.

He’ll be needed to help deal with Kansas’ Dickinson and whatever opposing big man comes their way down the line.

“All the great teams need guys like that on their team that fly under the radar,” Lipsey said. “Don’t get a lot of attention, a lot of hype, and he’s just the perfect guy for it because he doesn’t need any of that. He’s just going to go in every day, every practice and do what he does in the games and that’s work hard, hit bodies, be physical and just be the player that he is and we’re confident in him, and he’s continuing to grow.”

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.