The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team is going to have a lot of new faces in its rotation for the 2026-27 season.
Tamin Lipsey, Nate Heise, Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson were key parts of the rotation who aren’t returning. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger did a great job of restocking the roster, bringing in five players from the transfer portal and three from the Class of 2026.
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All four departing players were starters for the Cyclones at points last season. There have been some predictions about how the starting five would look next season, with one suggested combination being Jaquan Johnson, Killyan Toure, Jamarion Batemon, Tre Singleton and Blake Buchanan.
While a solid quintet for sure, there will be some obstacles for that group to overcome. Here are three reasons that starting five won’t work.
Not Enough 3-Point Shooting
Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Jamarion Batemon (1) celebrates after a play during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images
It is impossible to expect someone to replicate the shooting season Momcilovic had this past year. A team effort will be required to replace his production from beyond the arc, and some players can certainly get it done, but this starting five would struggle from deep.
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Johnson and Batemon are the only real threats from 3-point range in that group. Singleton made only 16.7% of his attempts as a freshman with the Northwestern Wildcats and Buchanan isn’t going to draw attention out there either.
Toure is the x-factor in this regard. His confidence was on the rise near the end of his freshman year. If he can push toward 35% in Year 2, it would make a massive difference.
Lack of Perimeter Size
One adjustment that Otzelberger has made in his recruitment is seeking out more height. The Final Four participants in this past NCAA Tournament all ranked in the top 30 in average height.
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This group certainly wouldn’t come close to that mark. Johnson is listed below 6 feet tall, with Toure and Batemon being 6-foot-3. They are the only players in the rotation, and possibly the entire roster outside of walk-on Anthony Rise, who aren’t going to be listed at 6-foot-5.
Starting all of them together will present some challenges defensively. Johnson and Toure are an elite defensive backcourt, but asking Batemon to defend wings could be troublesome. Toure has a 6-foot-9 wingspan to be disruptive against bigger players, but defending forwards all season could wear them down.
Rebounding Challenges
Mar 12, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Blake Buchanan (23) goes after a rebound with Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Jaylen Petty (11) and Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Christian Anderson (4) during the second half at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images
This is somewhat an extension of the team being undersized on the perimeter. However, last season proved height doesn’t always mean being a good rebounder, evidenced by Momcilovic grabbing only 3.1 per game, which was less than Lipsey, who had 3.9.
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The Cyclones weren’t a great rebounding team overall during the 2025-26 campaign, and this grouping would struggle to excel in that area as well. There would be a ton of pressure on Singleton and Buchanan to clean up the boards.
It will be something Otzelberger will certainly keep in mind, and did during recruiting. It could lead to someone such as Leon Bond III, more of a connecting player, starting in place of Batemon.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/iowa-state as 3 Reasons Projected Iowa State Basketball Lineup Won’t Work.
