Tamin Lipsey has been granted a fifth year of eligibility thanks to ongoing litigation against the NCAA.
And last week, he made his 2026 preseason debut with No. 18 Iowa State, scoring 14 in a 94-59 win over Northwestern.
There is no question that if he is on the floor, the Cyclones have a chance to contend in the Big 12 and beyond because of what he brings to the table. Lipsey and the Cyclones now shift their attention to Monday’s season opener against Memphis in Sioux Falls, S.D.
“Tamin is (as) high character and classy a person as you could be,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said after the win over the Wildcats. “I think there’s a little bit for him that, you know, he feels a little guilt because he wasn’t here all summer and into the fall. But it’s time to put that all behind us. The season’s almost here and I can’t tell you how much it means to have him out there.”
Iowa State finished 29-8 last season, reaching the Sweet 16 before losing 76-62 to Tennessee.
Memphis is coming off a 13-19 season, falling hard after going 29-6 the previous year.
For head coach Penny Hardaway, this season is about flipping the script and proving the Tigers will not be an easy win for anyone.
“The biggest thing for me is us having to go prove ourselves,” Hardaway said after a 75-58 exhibition win over Mississippi State. “That’s why we play the nonconference schedule that we play. We want to play against the P4s to kind of put ourselves in position to have an automatic bid (to the NCAA Tournament) and also challenge ourselves against the best in the nation.”
Hardaway added that he knows the team didn’t do a good job of proving itself a year ago but expects that to change this season.
“It’s always where we’ve kind of been under the radar and have to prove ourselves. Last year we didn’t do so. In previous years we have, and we look forward to doing it this year,” Hardaway said.
Julius Thedford is among the key returners for the Tigers after averaging 8.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Thirteen new players are on the roster, including Pittsburgh transfer Brandin Cummings, who averaged 12.5 points but had his season cut short because of an injury.
Iowa State will lean heavily on Lipsey, who averaged 13.5 points and 5.1 assists last year. Robert Morris transfer Ryan Prather Jr. is a key addition for the Cyclones. He knocked down 6 of 7 3-pointers against Northwestern and averaged 15.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists last season.
The Cyclones hope to build on what they have done in the preseason and stay focused.
“What’s important is that each day we maximize how we can get better individually and collectively,” Otzelberger said. “So, it’s gonna be important that we don’t get focused on scoreboards and outcomes, and we keep our focus on, ‘Let’s control what we can. Let’s get better every single day, and let’s keep moving forward as a team.'”