Iowa State Cyclones forward Blake Buchanan warms up during a 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament practice during the Sweet 16 in Chicago.
Nick Rohlman/The Gazette
AMES — Blake Buchanan clutched two heavy dumbbells, took a deep breath, then plunged into the pool.
Iowa State’s typically high-flying 6-10 senior forward then quickly and safely hit rock bottom in the best possible way — and that was just part of his recent workout with Dr. Cameron Chestnut.
“It’s all just about breathing,” said Buchanan, who worked with Chestnut last month and plans to do so again in August. “It was a lot of, like, holding your breath underwater. I think it’s different when you can be explosive underwater. It’s not as hard on your body. So I thought that was kind of cool.”
Buchanan’s typical and arduous summer workouts led by head coach T.J. Otzelberger are also cool, in a sense. They establish the baseline toughness and commitment required to forge one of the nation’s top defenses. They serve as the engine to turn live ball turnovers into transition opportunities once the season finally hits. And now Buchanan’s going through this critical two-month training period for the second straight summer — and helping newcomers adjust to its unyielding demands.
“Obviously last year was a lot harder, a lot more draining,” said Buchanan, who averaged a career-high 8.5 points, 5.7 rebounds while shooting 63.6 % from the field last season. “Obviously, you understand what it takes, what you need to do every day. So it’s been a lot easier (and) teaching the new guys has been fun. It’s been difficult at times. Maybe a little frustrating at times, but that’s part of it, just learning, especially with the way we play.”
Buchanan hopes his typical and unique workouts alike will help him put together a breakout season. He’s already proven to be an explosive post player, soaring for a team-best 59 dunks last season.
He also steadily improved as a rim protector and interior defender, but Buchanan’s next developmental step entails extending his strong contributions beyond the post.
“Just trying to maybe facilitate a little bit more (and provide more) scoring,” he said.
Iowa State Cyclones forward Blake Buchanan (23) knocks the ball away from Tennessee’s Amari Evans (left) during the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball Sweet 16 on March 27 in Chicago.
Nick Rohlman/The Gazette
The same holds true for fellow big man Dominykas Pleta, who shined on the offensive glass in particular as a true freshman last season. Buchanan said the Cyclones have been practicing with two big men on the court at the same time more frequently in practice this summer, so he and his frontcourt cohorts will need to be more versatile to fuel an offense that’s rapidly improved in Otzelberger’s five-plus seasons at the helm.
“I think last year in the (NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16) against Tennessee we kind of learned that sometimes we need to have two bigs on the floor to match that physicality,” Buchanan said. “I think I’ve gotta figure out how to play more on the perimeter instead of just playing down low.”
Time will tell how much of that added development will occur, but until then Buchanan and fellow veterans in ISU’s program will draw on all their workouts and experiences — both conventional and unconventional — to help first-time Cyclones keep their heads above water.
And that’s been a so far, so good proposition, Otzelberger said recently.
“I feel like we’re at a place even ahead of where we’ve maybe been in some other years because I think you can just feel the buy in (early),” Otzelberger said. “You can feel that they want to lock in, to spend the time together. And when we’ve had team activities, team events, team meals, the level of investment in one another’s been really cool.”
Rob Gray covers Iowa State University athletics for The Gazette, as well as state wrestling, state track and the Drake Relays. He can be reached at robgray18@icloud.com