T.J. Otzelberger Has Tamin Lipsey Update at Iowa State Cyclones Basketball Media Day

Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger provided an update on his star point guard at the team's media day.

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The Iowa State Cyclones will be getting their 2025-26 men’s basketball season started in just over a week when they play their first exhibition of the campaign against the Creighton Bluejays of the Big East.

The regular season is just around the corner, with the team’s first game set to be played on Nov. 3 against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. Arguably, the biggest storyline that people are keeping an eye on heading into that contest is the availability of star point guard Tamin Lipsey.

During the first week of Iowa State’s fall practices about two weeks ago, he suffered an MCL sprain in his right knee while going for a rebound. Diagnosed as a Grade 2 sprain, a timetable of 4-to-6 weeks was placed on him.

At the time of the injury, the six-week mark was exactly opening night at Hilton Coliseum. Will he be able to get on the floor for the first game of the year?

Tamin Lipsey remains on track in injury recovery

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There is certainly a chance he will be out there against Fairleigh Dickinson. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger provided a positive update on the status of his star, who is hitting all the benchmarks the team has hoped for.

"He's progressing," Otzelberger said, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network. "We have no reason to believe he's not still on that same time frame. And, so, we'll just kind of see how that continues to play out."

Getting Lipsey healthy enough to be in the lineup is the No. 1 concern for the team currently. He is as tough as they come, playing through a shoulder injury that required surgery last season, along with a hairline fracture in his thumb.

If he can get cleared to be on the court, there is no doubt he will be out there. The Cyclones certainly need him, with his leadership in the backcourt being virtually impossible to replace.

Tamin Lipsey believes he will be ready for opening night

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However, he is confident that a return to the court will occur before the team’s first regular-season game, which is less than a month away.

"Obviously, it's not ideal," Lipsey said of his knee injury. "But there are some positives you can take away from it. Obviously, it was before the season. And return is looking to be before our first game (Fairleigh Dickinson), so that's always something that I'm happy about."

He has started all 103 games he has played collegiately with Iowa State. Regarded as the best point of attack defender in the country, he sets the tone for the rest of the team on that end of the court.

Offensively, more responsibility is going to be on his shoulders this season with Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert no longer in the mix. That should lead to an increase in usage rate, meaning more assists and scoring opportunities.

Lipsey being healthy is key to Iowa State being able to reach its ceiling this year as the leader of an incredibly deep and talented squad.