The confetti has settled in Chicago. The brackets are nearly decided. Iowa State basketball is officially in offseason mode. With a roster about to look very different and a portal window opening in one week, there is plenty to process. So let us get into it.
The End of an Era
Some seasons do not just end. They close a chapter.
When the final buzzer sounded in Chicago, it was not just Iowa State’s Sweet 16 run coming to a close. It was the final curtain on one of the most important groups of players in the history of the Otz
Era. Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, and Nate Heise did not just play basketball at Iowa State. They built something.
Tamin Lipsey leaves Ames as one of the five winningest players in program history. That is not a footnote. That is a legacy. The Ames native who could have gone anywhere chose to stay home, chose to embrace the grind, and spent four years being the heartbeat of a program ascending to national relevance. His ability to lock down the best perimeter player on any given night while simultaneously pushing the pace in transition was a luxury most Big 12 coaches could only dream of. Hilton Coliseum will feel his absence in ways that do not always show up in a box score.
Joshua Jefferson never got his full moment. That is the part that stings. A sprained ankle robbed Cyclone fans of seeing their best player at full strength when the stakes were highest and that is a basketball tragedy in the truest sense. What he leaves behind though is a standard. The way he approached the game, efficient, physical, and ready when the lights were brightest, is the blueprint for what a Cyclone forward should look like.
And then there is Nate Heise. Every championship caliber team has one. The guy who does not show up in the highlight reel but shows up in every single moment that matters. The timely three. The extra pass. The defensive assignment nobody wanted. Heise was the glue and anyone who watched this team closely knew it. He will be quietly one of the most difficult players to replace this offseason.
To all three, Ames was lucky to have you. Now the work begins.
What We Know: The Returning Core
With the departures acknowledged, the natural question becomes what exactly are we working with heading into next season. The honest answer is there is more hope than panic, but there are real questions that need real answers before October.
The biggest name is Milan Momcilovic. The junior forward has declared for the NBA Draft but retains the ability to withdraw and return to Ames. If he comes back, the ceiling of this roster changes dramatically. He is a legitimate wing who can space the floor, handle the ball in a pinch, and guard multiple positions. Cyclone fans should be cautiously optimistic but do not clear a roster spot in your head just yet. The draft process will play out and we will know more in the coming weeks.
Beyond Momcilovic, the returning core has some real pieces to build around.
Killyan Toure showed flashes this season of the disruptive defensive presence he can become. His development as even a secondary offensive option this offseason is not just important, it is necessary.
Demarion Batemon is another name to watch. The athleticism is undeniable. The consistency has been the question. A focused offseason could make him a genuine contributor in a bigger role next year.
Blake Buchanan and Dominykas Pleta return as the anchor of the frontcourt. Both are capable. Both need to take a significant step forward as scorers if Iowa State is going to replace the interior production Jefferson provided. No pressure guys. (Seriously though, we believe in you.)
Mason Williams returning healthy is the wild card nobody is talking about enough. A healthy Williams gives Otz a shot creator off the bench that this roster desperately needs. With Williams being healthy throughout the offseason his name could be a very pleasant surprise come November.
The Portal Opens: What Otz Needs to Find
The transfer portal opens April 7 and closes April 21. Fifteen days to reshape a roster. No big deal. (Just the most stressful two weeks in college basketball.)
The need is clear. Iowa State must find a shot creator and add depth in the frontcourt. Those are not nice to haves. They are requirements for this program to remain a Sweet Sixteen caliber team and beyond.
On the frontcourt front, two names have already surfaced that should have Cyclone fans paying close attention.
Sebastian Rancik out of Colorado is the kind of player that makes opposing coaches lose sleep. The 6’11 sophomore averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.3 threes per game. A big man who can step out and knock down threes is a luxury in today’s college basketball landscape. He is exactly the modern big that fits what Otz wants to do offensively.
Andrew McKeever out of Saint Mary’s (who will likely follow his coach to Arizona State) is a different profile but equally intriguing. The 7’3 sophomore averaged 9.2 rebounds in just 23 minutes per game. That is not a typo. The guy is a load and he has eligibility to burn.
Beyond the bigs, Iowa State needs someone who can put the ball on the floor and create their own shot. When the halfcourt offense stalled in Chicago there was no one to hand the ball to and say figure it out. That player has to come from somewhere whether it is internal development from Toure and Batemon or a portal addition who has done it at a high level elsewhere.
Otz has done this before. The portal has been his friend and there is no reason to think this offseason will be any different.
The Outlook: Reason to Believe
It would be easy to look at the departures, the draft uncertainty, and the roster questions and talk yourself into a panic. That is not what we are doing here. Honestly? I feel better than I did this time last offseason. I did not think we would have the offensive firepower we ended up having and this team still made a Sweet Sixteen (with a much higher ceiling). I will be believing in T.J. Otzelberger until he gives me a reason not to. That day has not come.
The Otz Era has earned the benefit of the doubt. Three Sweet Sixteens in five years does not happen by accident. It happens because of a program that recruits the right people, develops them the right way, and reloads rather than rebuilds. There is a difference and Iowa State has figured out which one they are.
The foundation is still intact. Hilton Coliseum is one of the best home court advantages in the nation. The staff is still elite. The culture that Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson helped build does not walk out the door with them. It stays in the walls of that building and gets handed down to the next group.
Will next season look different? Absolutely. The names at the top of the roster will change and there will be a learning curve. There always is. But different does not mean worse. It means new opportunities for players like Toure, Batemon, and Williams to step into the spotlight they have been waiting for.
Christian Wiggins arrives in Ames as one of the most decorated recruits in program history after being named Mr. Basketball in his state. The future is not just bright. It is already walking through the door.
The portal opens in one week. Momcilovic has a decision to make. Williams has a summer of work ahead of him. And somewhere out there a transfer is about to get a very important phone call from Ames, Iowa.
The Otz Era is not over. It is just getting started.
