Alex-Anne Bessette arrives in Ames as one of the first transfers to make a clear impression on Iowa State’s new roster. The 6-2 guard/forward comes over after becoming the centerpiece of a Loyola team that was picked to finish second to last but finished 9-9 in the A-10, one of the nation’s toughest mid-major leagues. For the Cyclones, she looks like an immediate starter and a major piece in an offense that figures to play faster and with more movement.
Her value starts with size. Bessette is one of only five players on the roster taller than six feet, giving Iowa State some badly needed length.
She also brings a perimeter game, even if the numbers from deep need work. She averaged nearly four three-point attempts per game and finished second on the team in made triples, but hit just 26.4% from beyond the arc.
What she already does well is attack the basket from either direction, and that gives Iowa State a dependable scoring option when the offense stalls. At Loyola, she led the team with 19 double-figure scoring games and had five outings of 20 points or more.
That versatility matters on the other end, too. Bessette’s frame should help a Cyclone team that may not be especially big overall.
She led Loyola in blocks per game at 0.9, and if she shares the floor with Smyle, opposing teams may think twice about trying to score at the rim. That kind of presence should also ease the burden on Iowa State’s guards, especially when the defense is rotating and helping in the lane.
If the starting five were being set today, Bessette would be in it without much argument. She checks too many boxes: size, scoring, and defensive usefulness.
With the roster loaded with guards and thinner in the front court, she should see plenty of pick-and-roll action, basket cuts, and straight-line drives. She already has film showing shifty footwork and the ability to slip past defenders on the way to the rim, and that makes her a natural fit at the 4.
And she’s not just a short-term fix. With the introduction of the 5-for-5 rule, Bessette has four more years available to her.
For Cyclone fans, that makes her arrival even more intriguing. She is still developing, but the ceiling is obvious, and she has the tools to become one of the more impactful transfers in Iowa State history.
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Iowa State's New Backcourt Possibility Should Excite Cyclones Fans
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A court ruling now opens the door for Johnson and Lipsey to share the backcourt, and that is the kind of development that can change the way this team looks on both ends. Johnson earned Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player honors at Bradley, so pairing him with Lipsey gives Iowa State a chance to put two disruptive defenders together and potentially make an already tough perimeter defense even more intimidating. [Read more 🡒]