Prospect Spotlight: Tamin Lipsey (2022)
DES MOINES — The transition from middle school basketball to varsity star has been a quick one for Ames freshman Tamin Lipsey. The 6-foot point guard is averaging a team-best 15.8 points per game and recently scored 26 points in…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingDES MOINES — The transition from middle school basketball to varsity star has been a quick one for Ames freshman Tamin Lipsey. The 6-foot point guard is averaging a team-best 15.8 points per game and recently scored 26 points in a one-point loss to Johnston.
“It’s kind of what I expected,” Lipsey said of varsity basketball. “I knew it would be a big jump from middle school, but it’s not too bad. I’m having fun, and I’m finding ways to score and help the team. It’s good.
“Coming into the season, I was thinking I’d score quite a bit but I didn’t know 20-plus points in a couple games. I feel like that really helps with my confidence.”
The Little Cyclones are 4-1 with Lipsey and Green Bay-bound forward Japannah Kellogg leading the way. The freshman guard is shooting 56.7 percent from the field and has 19 points and 13 steals against 10 turnovers in five games.
While this may be his first taste of varsity basketball, playing against players years older than him is nothing new. Lipsey played with All Iowa Attack 16U this summer and already has a scholarship offer from Steve Prohm and Iowa State.
“It really helps playing up in the summer,” Lipsey said, “because the speed of the game is totally different when you get into high school and the physicality, everyone is a lot bigger and stronger.
“Playing in the summer, playing up, really helped me to use my body and use my physicality to get to the bucket and score.”
Prohm isn’t alone in recruiting Lipsey for the Cyclones as a group of player attended Ames’ game against Johnston last week after Iowa State starting freshman guard Tyrese Haliburton, who would go on to set Iowa State’s single-game assist record with 17 just a couple days later, reached out to Lipsey.
“I told him he should come,” Lipsey said, “and he showed up with a few other guys. That was really cool.
“It was cool to see them there supporting us.”