Before the newly equipped Iowa State men’s basketball team opens its season against Green Bay, it must figure out what its new identity will be along with keeping what has worked in the past.
For the third year in a row in the T.J. Otzelberger era, the Cyclones have added a substantial amount of talent from the transfer portal and incoming freshmen.
The combination of veteran guards like Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones and the size and length of freshmen Milan Momcilovic and Omaha Biliew should help display one of the better offenses Iowa State has had in the last few seasons.
Although the excitement and potential of the new playmakers on offense are an easy train to get on, Otzelberger wants to embrace the new possibilities while also sticking to the defensive system that has led the Cyclones to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.
“This team has more length and size, so our expectation and our standard is that we do a better job keeping the ball out of the paint,” Otzelberger said. “From a defensive standpoint, we’re a team that can around the goal be a lot more effective preventing people from scoring around the rim.”
Iowa State recently had a chance to work out the kinks of the new roster in a couple of secret scrimmages, one against Creighton, a team that enters the preseason poll at No. 8. Otzelberger saw these opportunities as beneficial to see what the team is doing right and what they need to improve on prior to the start of the season.
“You have those opportunities to learn more about your team, to learn the things you’re doing well and learn the things you need to improve upon, and that certainly has happened,” Otzelberger said. “We love playing programs that we respect like the two we played because they’re able to do some things to expose things we need to get better at.”
One thing Otzelberger noted that came out of those scrimmages was learning how he and his staff can utilize the amount of depth they have while also working in different lineups.
With how diverse the roster is on both sides of the ball compared to the last two seasons, the Cyclones have an opportunity to switch up both the spacing and pace on the floor.
“Having multiple ball handlers has been a huge asset for us,” Otzelberger said. “I feel like from a depth standpoint, on both sides of the ball we have options to play four guards or two bigs. [There are] a lot of different combinations that we’re gonna continue to work through and see which ones work the best.”
Outside of the incoming players and fitting them into the team, returning player forward Tre King is prepared to have his first full season as a Cyclone after sitting out half of last season due to NCAA transfer rules.
King described his confidence as “sky-high” knowing he has a full season to show off his talents and achieve his goal of becoming one of the best rebounders in the Big 12.
“I can’t be more excited,” King said. “The hardest part about coming in last year in the middle of the season was trying to get that rhythm. Missing 11 to 12 games, roles were defined. The team kind of found a groove and stuff like that, so trying to have to incorporate me without taking away from everyone else was kind of hard. But just knowing that I’m in there and my role is established as well as the team’s, it is a lot easier for us and that transition as well.”
Along with developing his skills as a rebounder and continuing to integrate his role into the team, King’s leadership qualities have not gone unnoticed by his teammates. Sophomore point guard Tamin Lipsey not only shouted out all the work King has put in during the offseason but also his ability to take control of the team and be a leader during practice.
“Taking that leadership role and being one of the older guys on the team, he’s done a great job with that. Defensively just using size and strength has been really good for him,” Lipsey said.
Through an offseason filled with adding new faces, a trip to the Bahamas in August where the Cyclones participated in three exhibition games, and now with the recent scrimmages, the team is excited to finally open the doors to Hilton and get the season underway.
Lipsey admitted that the preparations haven’t changed much leading up to the start of the season, but what’s really changed among him and his teammates is the anticipation to get on the court.
“I think it’s just more excitement really just knowing that it’s that close,” Lipsey said. “When you’re far out and months away you’re like, ‘Oh it’s so far away,’ and the days feel the same. But now that we can see it in the near future, it just brings a lot of excitement for us as a group.”
The matchup against Green Bay is the first of Iowa State’s 12 scheduled non-conference games.
Otzelberger stressed the importance of taking every game seriously and embracing the opportunity to get better with every game leading up to Big 12 conference play, especially with how young his team is this season.
“As a team that’s a little bit younger than what we’ve been, it’s important that as you build confidence you build it through doing things well, through integrity and a job well done, and then you feel great when you’re doing that,” Otzelberger said. “We respect everybody that we play, and we know that every night out we better be at our best because we play some really good teams.”
