Peterson: Iowa State men's basketball puzzle pieces reveal what could be a top 5 team

I don’t know where Iowa State men’s basketball will be ranked when that pre-season stuff comes out, but this is pretty much assured:

T.J. Otzelberger’s team will start the season ranked higher than any Cyclones’ men’s basketball team before it. I don’t see the number dipping below seventh, where the 2015-16 team started the season after Steve Prohm took over for Fred Hoiberg.

“It’s a credit to the guys who have been in the program the last three years,” Otzelberger said Tuesday. “We’ve had pretty good results. People are going to bank on our program being successful because it has been successful for three years.

“It also speaks to returning four guys that were all double-figure scorers from last year’s team. How many teams in the country can say they return four double-figure scorers?”

More: Iowa State basketball's Tamin Lipsey has minor shoulder procedure, unlikely to impact junior season

Otzelberger was speaking after landing high-end St. Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson, a 6-foot-9, 220-pounder who averaged 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds during 26 starts last season. He also said Tuesday that Kayden Fish, who flirted with the transfer portal after sitting out last season, will return on scholarship to the Cyclones.

Thus, Iowa State’s roster for the 2024-25 season consists of:

Guards: Tamin Lipsey, Curtis Jones, Keshon Gilbert, Nojus Indrusaitis, and Nate Heise (UNI transfer).

Forwards: Demarion Watson, Milan Momcilovic, Dwayne Pierce, Jefferson, and Fish.

Posts: J.T. Rock (7-foot-1), Dishon Jackson (6-11, Charlotte transfer), Brandton Chatfield (6-10, Seattle transfer) and Jefferson (6-9, St. Mary’s transfer).

Lipsey, Watson, Jones, Gilbert, Momcilovic and Rock are returnees from last season. Chatfield, Heise, Jackson, and Jefferson, are transfers. Indrusaitis (6-4 guard) and Pierce (6-5 forward) are freshman recruits.

“We’ve got more depth than we’ve had,” Otzelberger said. “We’ve got experience. We’ve got the ability to play two bigs or four guards. We’ve got a lot of options.”

Let’s look at the bigs, a critical position with the losses of Rob Jones, Hason Ward, Tre King and Omaha Biliew.

More: Peterson: Next for Iowa State basketball? A 20-game Big 12 Conference schedule

“A year ago, it was three transfer guards,” Otzelberger said. “This year, it’s three transfer front-line guys. What we’re always looking for are guys that are hard-working, high character and self-aware. We think these guys fit.

“With Dishon and Joshua – maybe there’s a little more offensive prowess than the guys that we had in those positions a year ago. (Chatfield) brings a lot of things that Rob Jones did − physical, plays hard as heck and hits the offensive boards hard. With Heise – he’s a 6-5, 215-pound contact-seeking physical guy.”

And the freshmen?

“There hasn’t been a freshman in our program yet that’s been really good that hasn’t found his way on the court,” Otzelberger said, mentioning Tyrese Hunter, Lipsey and Momcilivic.

Iowa State reached the Sweet 16 in Otzelberger’s first and third seasons as the coach. His team played in the NCAA Tournament in the second season. That’s a ton of wins and respect after taking over a program that was 2-22 the season before he arrived.

Did you think this program would be this good, this quickly?

“No.” Otzelberger said. “No.

“A lot has to go your way. You luck into Tamin Lipsey to some extent – he’s still available when we get here at the end of March. Some of the guys have been better than we thought. I’ve known (Gilbert) five years, and he had a better year than I thought he could have. We’ve been fortunate.”

And now, his team could be among the nation’s preseason top 5.

"More than anything, my message to the guys is the reason we’ve been good is (because) we play hard, we play together, our defensive has been a constant and our offense has been timely enough,” Otzelberger said. “The challenge for me is making sure (the players) understand that even though that’s a great honor to be preseason whatever we are –what’s happened in the past is because of the hard work that’s happened in the past. For us to fulfill that level of expectation, we’re going to really have to work our butts off, because now the stakes are high.”

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 52nd year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, on X @RandyPete, and at DesMoinesRegister.com/CyclonesTexts

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Peterson: Iowa State basketball struck gold on the recruiting trail