"I will start camp over there on June 12th and then we will be practicing and playing about 20 games to prepare for the tournament which will start at the end of July and run into early August," said Staiger. "We should have a good chance but the competition over there will be really good."Lucca said it was very tough having to sit out the season but he is really glad that he decided to stay at Iowa State. "I'm glad I didn't give up. It would have been easy to go back to Germany and play professionally but that would have been the wrong decision."
He feels the Cyclone fans had a lot to do with his decision to stay. "They helped a lot. They are really the best fans ever and they were definitely a reason why I stayed," said Staiger. "I couldn't believe how great they were to me. I really appreciate what they did for me."
He also feels that getting to practice with the team really helped him get better as a player. "It was really hard not getting to play in the games but at least I got to get coached and got used to my teammates. I feel it made me a lot better."
Staiger is excited to get to actually play in Hilton Coliseum next year and feels the team will be very successful. "It will be really good to have the new guys coming in because they are really good players and I think they will really help us," said Staiger. "I think we will be better than last year and could make a run at the NCAA Tournament."
Lucca is also excited to return to Germany for reasons other than basketball. "I really miss my family and friends and I can't wait to eat my mom's cooking," he said. "I like anything she cooks so it should be really great to be back."