Peterson: Iowa State basketball's Tamin Lipsey has successful and historic debut with Cyclones

AMES – One game against a not-so-good opponent. Use that as your guide when talking about what Tamin Lipsey did during his collegiate debut Monday night at Hilton Coliseum.

Absolutely, the wonderful things he accomplished in the 88-39 victory against IUPUI were impressive, but it was just one game of many to come.

Five assists, no turnovers and two steals in just more than 17 minutes was big time. It was praiseworthy, for sure. It stamped him as the heir to the Cyclones’ point guard position. Nothing more, nothing less from a box score standpoint, but the historical stuff?

Wow.

Lipsey was the first former Ames High School star to start for the hometown college team since Bubu Palo started three games in the 2010-11 season.  That significance of the moment didn’t go unnoticed by even Lipsey, as he stuck to his always even-keel approach to basketball.

“It was surreal. It was awesome,” Lipsey said, acknowledging the personal importance of playing on the same floor as Fred Hoiberg, The Mayor. “I was just taking it all in. I grew up wanting to play in here, and having that moment.”

He got it, and there certainly will be more.

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“He’s going to keep getting better each and every day,” teammate Jaren Holmes said after scoring 23 points. “The jitters were there. Heck, the jitters were there for all of us.”

Whether a true freshman like Lipsey can handle point guard in the Big 12, I don’t know. My guess is that he’ll share those minutes with Holmes, and possibly even Gabe Kalscheur.

That’s a ways away. Until then, he’ll improve. He’s a hard worker in practice. He’s not high maintenance. He’s a quick study.

“Guys love playing with him,” coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “He’s so unselfish. He’s looking for them all the time.”

His first game was a start – a very nice start, and for now, let’s just leave it at that.

Can the team defense be even better than last season?

That’ll take something special, because a top-20 defense was the identity of a team that reached the Sweet 16 last season.

It better at least be something similar, because consistent scoring, I feel, will always be a wild card with this program.

That was part of the reason for the tinkering of what some of us expected to be the starting lineup. If we know anything about Otzelberger after last season, it’s that he likes balance between starters and bench players.

That’s why Caleb Grill replaced Kalscheur, a 34-game starter last season, in Monday’s starting five. Otzelberger wanted Kalacheur’s defensive spark off the bench, similar to what he expects post player Robert Jones to bring as a reserve.

“It’s important to look at your lineups and your combinations,” Otzelberger said. “Gabe (16 points) is somebody we have a lot of trust in. We know he can come off the bench and make us better.

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“It’s like when Rob comes in, and he’s big Rob energy. His job is to take the intensity to another level, and Gabe gives us that scoring punch.”

Will that role continue?

I can’t answer that, but it certainly gave Otzelberger intriguing situational options.

“Gabe was terrific,” the coach said. “He was aggressive scoring the ball. That’s what we want with him. He had great confidence out there.”

And what about that scoring? From where will it come, and at what clip?

Too early to tell, but I liked Holmes’ aggressiveness in hunting shots, both from mid- and long range. His 8-of-16 shooting included 6 of 9 from the free throw line.

He’ll be a solid scorer, consistent and most likely this team’s scoring leader.

Kalscheur stat line included going 4 of 7 from three-point range. That’s an improvement from the 23% he shot from that distance last season.

Osun Osunniyi didn’t disappoint, either, the 6-foot-10 intimidator scoring 10 points and blocking two shots. Half of his four baskets were dunks.

I’ll give Holmes the final word. Like Lipsey, he experienced a bit of a historical moment, too. He played high school ball in the Detroit area  − Romulus, Michigan, to be specific.

“It was a surreal feeling, honestly,” Holmes said. “I’m truly thankful to be here. I’m thankful to play in this great coliseum. There’s so much history with these great fans; more fans than I’ve ever seen.

“This is a special place, with all the people who came (to Iowa State) from Michigan. I’m right along with those guys, not as far as records and things of that nature, but I can say I scored in Hilton Coliseum − just like Monte Morris (Flint, Michigan) and Will Clyburn (Romulus).”

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson embarked on his 50th year of writing sports for the Des Moines Register in December 2021. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, 515-284-8132, and on Twitter @RandyPete.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Peterson: Iowa State's Lipsey passes his first college basketball test