Peterson: Iowa State basketball veterans give rookie point guards a tough-love approach

AMES – Gabe Kalscheur took Tamin Lipsey out for some ice cream Tuesday. They went to Cold Stone Creamery in Ames.

They talked about college life, this senior basketball player and true freshman. Academics may have even crept into their one-on-one night on the town. I didn’t pry.

They also talked about basketball, and specifically what Kalscheur could do for the former Ames High School star’s transition into what’s been the best college basketball conference in America.

That’s called mentoring, also known as tough love, and it’s an approach that’s not unknown to this program. That’s what DeAndre Kane did for Monte Morris. It’s what Izaiah Brockington did for Tyrese Hunter.

It’s what Kalscheur, with Power Five experience at both Minnesota and Iowa State, and other veterans are doing for the guys who will be running the offense for a program that surprisingly reached last season’s NCAA Sweet 16.

This became a situation recently when Temple transfer Jeremiah Williams was ruled out for the season after tearing an Achilles.

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Combined with Hunter’s transfer to Texas, that means Lipsey and Eli King must become battle-tested in a hurry.

“The great thing is we have a lot of experience across our lineup,” second-season Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said at men’s basketball media day Wednesday. “Whether it’s Kalscheur, who has been here with us and is entering into his final season, or (Jaren) Holmes, who has a dynamic personality and a lot of leadership skills, and Caleb Grill − you’ve got other guys out there that can do that job.

“Those guys all can share their experiences and be helpful to those young guys.”

I’m guessing Lipsey is the starting point guard when Iowa State opens the season Nov. 7 against IUPUI. He committed to the program back when he figured he’d be learning primarily from Hunter, last season’s Big 12 freshman of the year.

“The first few weeks of practice, me being a freshman coming in and not knowing what to expect, that hit really quick,” Lipsey said. “We’ve got a lot of bigger guys, older guys on the team. It was very physical for me to start out.

“That helped to me learn that quickly, and to know what’s going to come.”

He knows there will be rocky moments, times when he’s getting knocked off the ball, when he’s flattened on a layup attempt and when stuff just isn’t going right.

“It’s part of growing up,” Lipsey said. “I know what I’m in store for, it’s just going out there and experiencing it.”

Eli King and Robert Jones sat together at another interview table Wednesday. Perfect. A 6-foot-10, 240-pound senior, sitting next to a 6-3 rookie point guard who barely tips 180 on the scale.

Another mentor-mentee situation.

“First and foremost, the physicality that comes with the Big 12 will be a big wake-up call,” Jones said. “Coming in as a freshman, it’s going to be about getting your legs and your breath when you’re playing in front of way more people than you’ve ever played in your life.”

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The physicality part starts in practice. It includes as much contact as veterans can get away with. Nothing malicious, yet enough to be a preview of what certainly will come.

“T.J. inspires a very upbeat and competitive practice, so we’re always going after each other, regardless if it’s a drill, or whether we’re playing five-on-five,” Jones said. “It’s like that when we step on the court at 8 in the morning until we end.”

I remember Morris, back when he was a freshman in the 2013-14 season, talking about how the veteran Kane used to knock him around in practice.

“DeAndre has about 40 pounds on me,” Morris said one day before practice during his freshman season. “I try to use my quickness to slow him down a little. When I get matched up against him, it’s a guy who’s a little bit shorter and lighter going against someone a little taller and (heavier). It’s good for me, because I’ve been seeing it all year.”

No one argued, and that includes then-coach Fred Hoiberg.

“If you asked Monte who had the biggest impact on his freshman season, he would tell you DeAndre,” Hoiberg said during that season. “DeAndre just absolutely beat the heck out of him in practice throughout this season. DeAndre made him work, and then DeAndre would take him out to lunch after practice. They built a very special bond.”

We all know how that worked out. Morris, who plays for the Washington Wizards in the NBA, may have his uniform hanging in the Hilton Coliseum rafters someday.

No one’s comparing Lipsey or King to Morris. That’s not the point. It’s that Morris didn’t become what he became without high-end rookie mentorship and absorbing high-level physicality during practice.

“It’s better to experience it now and have a better chance of being ready for it than going into the Big 12 and not having experienced anything like it, and being caught off-guard,” King said, “It definitely will prepare us better.

“There’s definitely been some hard screens, some that have knocked me down. That’s a good thing, because we’ll know what’ll be coming when we start the Big 12.”

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: Iowa State rookie point guards are getting needed tough love