Iowa State Basketball

Omaha Biliew, a 5-star power forward from the Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, committed to Iowa State on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

He becomes the Cyclones' highest-ranked recruit in the modern recruiting era.

Biliew is considered the No. 12 player in the class of 2023, the No. 5 power forward and the top player from the state of Missouri, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

He has major upside, but on a talented Link Academy team that also has included Jordan Walsh, Julian Phillips and Tarris Reed, Biliew acknowledged in November 2021 that he's had to learn how to play a role and be a solid team player.

"My game is always going up," he told Eric Bossi of 247Sports. "Right now we have a lot of guys on our team so there are certain roles we have to have. My role is being a high motor guy right now. My time will come where I go out on the perimeter and touch the ball more and be more assertive with the ball. All that will come, I just have to be patient."

Iowa State surely respected that level of humility, as Biliew has gone from a state champion to finding his niche on a new squad:

He has all the upside of a future star, but Biliew's versatility and team-first attitude make him an extremely appealing addition for Iowa State as well.

The Cyclones are having one heck of a recruiting cycle.

The team already landed a pair of 4-star players in power forward Milan Momcilovic and shooting guard Jelani Hamilton. Now they've further improved their ranks, adding in Biliew as the headliner in the class. T.J. Otzelberger is building a strong team in Ames.

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard announced Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with testicular cancer.

In an open letter on the Iowa State athletics website, Pollard wrote: "I was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer. I debated sharing this information widely to avoid my diagnosis being a distraction to our athletics program. However, the reality of hiding the news has also been stressful."

Pollard also described how he learned of his diagnosis and expressed optimism after recently being told his cancer has not spread from the original site:

"About four weeks ago, I started to feel pain in my groin after a running workout. After several days of irritation, I identified a lump on my right testicle. After seeing a doctor for an ultrasound, it was determined that surgery was necessary. I had that testicle removed last Tuesday afternoon and, unfortunately, learned a day later it was cancerous. That was sobering news to hear the day before Thanksgiving.

"This past Monday I had a CT scan and additional blood work. My wife, Ellen, and I met with the urologist (who performed my surgery) in the afternoon and learned the cancer had not spread from the original site. Furthermore, my bloodwork (i.e., tumor markers) was still testing normal. Both of those results were welcome news!

"We also discussed next options, which include doing nothing other than monitoring my blood work and performing CT scans every 3-6 months, undergoing chemotherapy, or beginning radiation treatments. We visit an oncologist this Friday to learn more about my treatment options."

Pollard has served as Iowa State's AD since 2005, making him the longest-tenured athletic director in the history of the program.

Born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Pollard went on to compete in cross country track and field at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

His administrative career began shortly after graduating in the form of an associate athletic director role at Saint Louis University from 1989 to 1994. Pollard then became the associate AD at Maryland from 1994 to 1998 and at Wisconsin from 1998 to 2003.

Pollard became deputy AD at Wisconsin from 2003 to 2005 before taking the athletic director role at Iowa State.

The Cyclones have experienced success across multiple sports during Pollard's tenure at the school.

Most notably, the men's basketball team has won the Big 12 tournament four times, including a 78-66 win over Kansas in the 2019 final.

The men's basketball team has also reached the Sweet 16 twice under Pollard, in both 2014 and 2016.

While the football team hasn't been as successful, it did reach the Big 12 Championship Game last year, losing 27-21 to Oklahoma.

The Cyclones are 7-5 this season and set to play in a bowl game for the fifth consecutive season under head coach Matt Campbell, marking the longest bowl streak in school history.

Gabe Kalscheur scored 30 points to lead the unranked Iowa State men's basketball team to a 78-59 win over No. 9 Memphis in the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship on Friday from Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center.

The senior guard added eight rebounds and five steals for a Cyclones team that benefitted from Memphis' 22 turnovers and a 19-of-53 (35.8 percent) shooting night.

Emoni Bates led the Tigers with 12 points and three blocks. Fellow 5-star recruit and freshman Jalen Duren had an off night with two points and five turnovers.

Memphis only had one lead, when Lester Quinones hit a jumper 10 seconds into the matchup for a 2-0 edge. Iowa State responded with an 8-0 run.

The Tigers later tied the game at 25, but the Cyclones closed the half on a 7-2 spurt.

The second half was all Iowa State. Kalscheur started the half on a personal 6-0 run capped by a four-point play for a 38-27 lead:

Iowa State later went on a 31-13 run to take a 75-51 lead. Senior forward Aljaz Kunc went on a personal 7-0 run during that stretch, with this bucket serving as the highlight:

He finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Cyclones led by as many as 25 en route to the 19-point victory. Their dominance on the boards helped, as they out-rebounded Memphis 42-34.

Iowa State looks like it's defying preseason expectations that placed the Cyclones last in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll.

The 6-0 Cyclones now have two wins over Top 25 programs after being No. 25 Xavier 82-70 in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals.

This game marked the 5-1 Tigers' first loss of the season. They had outscored their opponents by an average of 17.8 points entering the game.

Both teams play next on Wednesday.

Iowa State will now host the 0-7 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions at 8 p.m. ET. Memphis will visit the 2-4 Georgia Bulldogs at 7:15 p.m. ET.

The Iowa State men's basketball program has reportedly found its next head coach.

According to Sam Gordon of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Big 12 school will hire T.J. Otzelberger after it parted ways with Steve Prohm on Monday.

Otzelberger was the head coach for UNLV for the last two seasons.

Prohm coached the Cyclones for six seasons and finished with a 97-95 record. The team made the NCAA men's tournament in three of his first four years and won the Big 12 tournament twice.

However, Iowa State went 12-20 last season and an abysmal 2-22 this year.

According to Gordon, Otzelberger has strong connections to the Cyclones. He was an assistant coach for the program on two different occasions for eight seasons under Greg McDermott, Fred Hoiberg and Prohm.

He is also friends with athletic director Jamie Pollard. His wife, Alison Otzelberger, whose maiden name was Lacey, played basketball at Iowa State.

Otzelberger went 70-33 with South Dakota State in three seasons before taking over for the Runnin' Rebels prior to the 2019-20 campaign. He was 29-30 with UNLV in two seasons and did not provide much stability for a program that has not made the Big Dance since 2013.

UNLV will have to find its sixth head coach in 10 years.

Otzelberger takes over a Cyclones program that struggled mightily this season but posted six straight seasons of 23 or more wins and made the NCAA tournament every year from 2011-12 through 2016-17.

Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton has declared for the 2020 NBA draft and will forgo his final two years of college eligibility, according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Adrian Wojnarowski.

He can withdraw from the draft by June 15 if he wants to return to school.

Haliburton is coming off an injury-shortened 2019-20 season, as a broken wrist ended his year. He first suffered the injury in a December practice, but the setback officially put him out of commission during a Feb. 8 game against Kansas State.

"You just hate for something like this to happen for a kid that just loves to play," ISU coach Steve Prohm told the Ames Tribune.

Though he only played 22 games as a sophomore, he still showcased his all-around talent while averaging 15.2 points, 6.5 assists and 5.9 rebounds per contest. He excelled on defense with 2.5 steals per game while also hitting 41.9 percent of his three-point shots.

The 2018 3-star recruit consistently filled the stat sheet as a freshman—including a game with 17 assists and one turnover—but had a low usage rate around more veteran players. That wasn't an issue during his sophomore season, when he became a go-to option who remained efficient on offense.

Even with his injury, Haliburton is an elite prospect thanks to his production on both ends and his upside as a 6'5" point guard with a 7-foot wingspan. 

Add his shooting, basketball IQ and the ability to defend multiple positions, and he should hear his name called early in June.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman predicted Haliburton would be the No. 4 overall pick before the injury, and he should still be a top option.

Iowa State point guard Tyrese Haliburton is out for the season after fracturing his left wrist Saturday in the team's 73-63 home win over Kansas State, according to a press release from the school. 

"This comes as a shock to me, my family, my teammates and coaches," Haliburton said. "As this season continues, I will try to to be the best teammate possible. I know my brothers will step up, and I can't wait to be there every step of the way."

Cyclone head coach Steve Prohm also released a statement:

"We are disappointed for Tyrese and his family and we are focused on helping him in his recovery. Tyrese is a great teammate, leader and valuable member of this program and university in so many ways. There is no doubt in my mind that Tyrese will face this setback with the same energy and passion that we have all come to appreciate and that he will return from this better than ever."

Haliburton, a sophomore, has climbed up draft boards after averaging 15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.5 steals in 22 games this season. He's shot 50.4 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three. 

That level of play has made him a potential lottery pick—and perhaps even a top-10 selection—in the 2020 NBA draft on June 25.

Just a huge bummer on this. Haliburton is super fun to watch. No certainty on this obviously, but real strong chance that was his last game in Ames. He’s a potential top-10 pick. https://t.co/NdksRI5FCP

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) February 10, 2020

B/R's Jonathan Wasserman projected him to go No. 4 overall to the New York Knicks in his latest mock draft, writing that "scouts feel a level of certainty in Haliburton's elite playmaking and basketball IQ."

He also noted that "between his facilitating and shooting ... Haliburton stands out as an ideal fit alongside RJ Barrett."

Ethan Strauss of The Athletic added that while there is reason for "concern about his pick-and-roll play," he has "high-level defensive abilities" and is an "absolutely brilliant passer."

Part of Haliburton's rise up the rankings is a relatively weak overall draft class. In addition to his struggles running the pick-and-roll as a point guard, there are questions about whether he could ever be a contending team's top offensive option.

But his playmaking, defense and shooting give him a high floor, and if he improves in the pick-and-roll, his ceiling is high. Even with his season-ending injury, Haliburton seems like a safe bet to be a lottery pick.