The Iowa State men’s basketball team hasn’t played a game yet, but coach Steve Prohm’s squad is already facing challenges in the starting lineup.

Lard situation up in the air

Redshirt sophomore forward Cameron Lard is in an unusual situation. He’s healthy and physically ready to play, but has been held out of preseason scrimmages with Nebraska and Wisconsin.

Prohm declined Thursday to say Lard is suspended.

“I think this is the sixth, seventh, eighth time we’ve talked about it, but I’ll address that at the start of the year,” Prohm said. “Probably after the game on Tuesday [against Alabama State].”

Lard has been in practices for the Cyclones leading up to the season opener next Tuesday. With injuries to two of his teammates, Lard’s potential absence at Hilton Coliseum in the opener could be a bigger deal than it would be normally.

“He’s doing everything he’s supposed to do,” Prohm said. “But again, I told him I’d evaluate him all the way through up until the first game.”

Lard averaged 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last season, which ranked third and first on the team, respectively.

Cyclones still riddled with injuries

It didn’t take long for the injury bug to bite Iowa State this season.

Junior Solomon Young has been out with a groin injury and is expected to miss several weeks. Prohm was hopeful to have Young back by January.

In his absence, the Cyclones will likely lean on a combination of small-ball — which could mean extra minutes for forwards like Mike Jacobson, George Conditt and Zoran Talley Jr.

The problem? Talley Jr. is questionable for Iowa State’s first game after breaking his nose in practice before the season. Talley Jr. will also be wearing a mask for roughly six to eight weeks.

“I’m sure he’ll have it on for a while,” Prohm said. “He got popped the other day and it just kinda spooked him out. But he’s doing fine, he’s doing a good job.”

Cyclones end preseason with scrimmage against Wisconsin

Iowa State played a scrimmage against Wisconsin on Sunday. The game information was not made available to the public.

“It just gave us a chance to actually play against somebody else,” said freshman Talen Horton-Tucker. “Instead of playing against each other every day in practice, it let us see where we’re at.”

Wisconsin finished the season at 15-18 last year. The Cyclones won a scrimmage against Nebraska in October by a score of 78-74.

“We’ve still got a lot of building to do on the defensive end,” said sophomore Lindell Wigginton. “On the offensive end, just sharing the ball and getting guys involved. That’s really what I took from it. We’re building good, everybody’s really buying in to what coach is saying.”