Tamin Lipsey Shares Update on Status for Iowa State Cyclones Men's Basketball Season

Media day provided Tamin Lipsey a chance to update his status after injuring his knee a few weeks ago.

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One of the goals that Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger has coming into the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season is keeping his star point guard, Tamin Lipsey, healthy.

He battled through several ailments last year that would have kept most people sidelined. A shoulder injury required offseason surgery, and he also had a hairline fracture in his hand that he played through.

Lipsey ended up playing 34 games, missing only one contest during the 2024-25 campaign. He should be lauded for his toughness, but it is fair to wonder just how much those injuries impacted his performance on the court.

Unfortunately, that goal was already derailed. About two weeks ago, while going up for a rebound in practice, Lipsey injured his knee. It was diagnosed as an MCL sprain, and he was given a 4 to 6 week timetable to return to the court.

Tamin Lipsey opens up about injury status

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Earlier this week, Iowa State had its media day. It presented the star point guard with an opportunity to provide an update on his status for the beginning of the campaign. And, it was a positive one.

"Obviously, it's not ideal," Lipsey said when speaking of his injury, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network. "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."

That certainly sounds like someone who is planning on being in the starting lineup on opening night, which is scheduled for Nov. 3. That is nearly six weeks to the day of when the injury was originally suffered.

However, his status for the team’s exhibition games is “up in the air,” he said. The Cyclones are set to face off against the Creighton Bluejays on Oct. 17 and the Northwestern Wildcats on Oct. 26.

On the bright side, he is progressing well in his rehab. In the days after suffering the injury, he was in a straight-leg brace and getting around on crutches. He has already progressed to doing motion activities in the pool last week and jogging recently.

Tamin Lipsey dying to get back on court

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However, not being out on the court with his teammates for the final preparations for the 2025-26 season is certainly disappointing for the senior guard.

"Right now, it's definitely tough," Lipsey said. "Especially because it's like the prime time where we're starting to get up and down and just getting ready for the season. So, it's tough to miss out on this part of the season with exhibitions, that stuff coming up."

From Ames Little Cyclone, to Iowa State Cyclone, Tamin Lipsey has always dreamed of playing in Ames. As he enters his senior season in the cardinal and gold, he isn't taking it for granted.@SoundOFF13 pic.twitter.com/GmUcz5a7E6

— David Warrington (@DWarringtonTV) October 9, 2025

While Lipsey would love to be out there, he knows that rest and rehabilitation are important. It is imperative that he gets to 100 percent health before taking the court because Iowa State needs him performing at a high level to reach its ceiling.

Getting off to a strong start is certainly important, but Otzelberger and his crew are more worried about winning in March than in November. If he has to miss some time or ease into the lineup early on, it will be worthwhile if it means not risking a reaggravation of the injury and having him healthy down the stretch when the team needs him the most.