Projected Iowa State Basketball Starting Lineup Leaves Lot To Be Desired

One outlet has shared a projected starting lineup for the Iowa State Cyclones that leaves something to be desired.

Mar 13, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger gives direction during the first half against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team has several openings in its starting lineup for the 2026-27 season.

Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic are not returning after stellar performances this past campaign. Lipsey and Jefferson have exhausted their eligibility, while Momcilovic transferred to the Kentucky Wildcats after declaring for and withdrawing from the 2026 NBA Draft.

That is a lot of leadership and production that has to be replaced by head coach T.J. Otzelberger. The process of figuring out who will take over those spots has assuredly begun already, and plenty of projections will be shared.

CJ Moore of The Athletic (subscription required) recently shared a top 25 after the withdrawals for the 2026 NBA Draft occurred. The Cyclones barely made the list, coming in at No. 24. But what was more eyebrow-raising was the projected starting lineup he shared.

Iowa State has some questions to figure out with starting lineup

Mar 27, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Killyan Toure (27) moves the ball in the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Killyan Toure and Blake Buchanan, holdovers from the 2025-26 squad, retain their spots in the starting five. Moore has predicted that Jaquan Johnson, Jamarion Batemon and Dominykas Pleta will be joining them in the starting lineup.

That is a combination that would leave a lot to be desired and is hard to envision being what Otzelberger goes to. On the bright side, the suggested starting five does provide the team with incredible continuity. 

Toure, Batemon, Pleta and Buchanan were all key members of the rotation this past season and know what is expected of them from Otzelberger.

But one of the areas of concern would be size.

Starting Pleta alongside Buchanan would leave the bench unit short on height. Playing the two of them alongside each other more could be a wrinkle that Otzelberger turns to, especially if Pleta starts stretching his offensive game out on the perimeter more.

Cyclones have incredible depth to sift through

Mar 7, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Tre Singleton (8) shoots against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half at Williams Arena. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Tre Singleton and Taj Manning would be coming off the bench to soak up the frontcourt minutes, but both are better suited to play power forward. 

The jumbo frontcourt Moore shared feels like an overcompensation for how small the perimeter trio of Johnson, Toure and Batemon is. Johnson is well under 6-feet tall, while Toure and Batemon are both listed at 6-foot-3.

Those three can be a disruptive force on the defensive end, but it would be asking a lot of either Toure or Batemon to play up defensively against wings.

To help balance things out, Singleton and Leon Bond III could be considered for starting spots. Singleton, a transfer from the Northwestern Wildcats, was viewed as a replacement for Jefferson.

Bond was looked upon as a replacement for Nate Heise, who played an integral role for the team. Heise was viewed as a sixth starter, stepping into the lineup whenever the need arose with an injury.