Iowa State's Bill Fennelly names plays after former Cyclone greats and coaches
· Yahoo Sports
AMES — During the third quarter of the Iowa State women’s basketball team's Jan. 7 game at Cincinnati, coach Bill Fennelly wanted to get his players a good look for a 3-pointer. So as Fennelly gathered his team on the sideline during a break, he called the play Lake Park.
Visit goldparty.lat for more information.
“It’s a misdirection,” Fennelly said.
The play was devised by Fennelly in the 1990s and it's designed to set up a shot from beyond the arc. It’s named after Tara Gunderson, a former 3-point shooting star for the Cyclones who hails from Lake Park in northwest Iowa.
Just as Fennelly hoped it would, the Cyclones freed up a shooter with the play.
“We got a 3,” Fennelly said.
Lake Park is one of more than 100 plays that Fennelly has on his call sheet. All of them have special names honoring people who have had a huge impact on his life. Coaches, family, friends and current and former players have plays named after them.
The Cyclones will be using those plays when 8-seed Iowa State takes on 9-seed Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 4:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 21 in Storrs, Conn.
“I think it’s cool,” said Iowa State point guard Jada Williams. “It kind of helps us remember a little bit more because we’re familiar with all the names that we call.”
Fennelly, in his 49th season of coaching, has been naming plays like that for as long as he can remember. While most coaches use numbers or descriptions to call plays, Fennelly has gone this route, instead choosing names, locations and nicknames.
"I think it resonates with them a little bit better," Fennelly said.
Some of the plays have a symbolic meaning. Like Lake Park being a 3-point shooting play. The Cyclones also run a 3-point shooting play for Iowa State center Audi Crooks called “Algona,” named after her hometown. They also have a play named after current Cyclones men's basketball player Milan Momcilovic, a star shooter from beyond the arc.
One of the most unique plays the Cyclones run is named after former Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy, who is now a star for the San Francisco 49ers. "Purdy" is an inbounds play where all five players line up under the hoop. When the whistle is blown, four players take off down the court like wide receivers. The inbounds passer acts as a quarterback, looking for an open target to pass to.
Former Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht also has a play named after him. It’s a deep pass in transition or late in the shot clock or game clock.
Last year, the Cyclones used a play named after former Iowa State star Ashley Joens, the team's all-time leading scorer.
Former Iowa State men’s basketball coaches Fred Hoiberg and Greg McDermott, who both coached the Cyclones during Fennelly's tenure, also have plays named after them. Fennelly admits they were the inspiration behind the plays.
“To be honest, most of them are people I stole the play from,” Fennelly said.
Fennelly's grandchildren also have plays named after them. His 11-year-old grandson, Will, the son of assistant coach and general manager Billy Fennelly, hears it often while he's sitting in the stands at games. When his grandpa calls the play, Will sometimes thinks he's trying to get his attention.
“Sometimes I’ll get super confused,” Will Fennelly said. “He’ll scream out my name and I’ll be like, 'What?’ It’s just cool to have a play named after me.”
Fennelly periodically gets input from his players on naming new plays. Everything is fair game. The Cyclones have a play named “Coconut” after their trip to the Coconut Hoops event in Florida this season. Williams said one of the team’s most popular plays is called “Tessa,” named after Tessa Boccumini, the team’s associate director of sports medicine.
The names help players understand what they’re doing and get a better understanding of Iowa State history. “Lake Park,” for example, gives Fennelly an opportunity to talk about Gunderson and the impact she had on the Cyclones.
Gunderson is now the varsity girls baseball coach at Cretin-Derham Hall, a prestigious high school in St. Paul, Minn. She was surprised to hear Fennelly still uses the same name for that play.
“I’m kind of in disbelief,” Gunderson said. “It was a good play. We got a lot of open looks from it.”
As long as Fennelly keeps coaching, he’ll keep coming up with special names for his plays. He’s always on the lookout for new ideas. The tradition has gotten so popular that when Fennelly adds a play, his team gets excited for what they'll name it.
One way for a player to leave their mark at the school is to have a play named after them.
“It’s kind of just the legacy of that and being able to run that play is definitely cool,” said Iowa State forward Addy Brown. I’ve just seen what they’ve done here. You hope that one day you leave and you have a play named after you.”
Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2025 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at [email protected] or 515-284-8468.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly's unique way of naming plays