Ryan Prather Jr. didn’t just spend his summer grinding through rehab. He also spent part of it in paintball gear, lining up against the very coaches who were asking him to keep building toward his Iowa State debut.
The 6-4 guard, who transferred in from Robert Morris, is finally close to getting there. After surgery to repair a sports hernia, Prather has returned to practice roughly three weeks ago and is set to be available when the Cyclones host Creighton in an exhibition game at noon Sunday at Hilton Coliseum.
That summer paintball outing became a small but fitting snapshot of where this group is headed.
“We all wanted to get out there and get at the staff members,” Prather said. “I felt like that just really helped us come together. Even though it’s something as silly as paint balling, it just goes to show that we were all in towards a common goal, just trying to get everybody out.”
Prather said he managed to put a few coaches in his crosshairs.
“I took out a few people,” he said. “(New assistant) coach (Allan Hanson) for sure, and a few other coaches.”
Now the attention shifts to basketball, with a Cyclones roster that will look different Sunday than it likely will once conference play arrives. Iowa State has star sophomore guard Killyan Toure out until at least January following shoulder surgery, while the eligibility status of fifth-year point guard Tamin Lipsey remains uncertain as his NCAA legal fight continues through the courts.
That opens the door for Prather to see plenty of action as he continues working back into game shape. He led the nation last season in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.44-to-1 and shot 37.8 percent from 3-point range, giving Iowa State another ball handler and another threat on the perimeter. He’s expected to share the floor with fellow transfers Jaquan Johnson and Leon Bond III, along with returning guard Jamarion Batemon and others.
Sunday’s exhibition also comes with a bit of recent history. Creighton won last year’s preseason matchup, 71-58, in Omaha, but Iowa State answered five months later with a 78-60 victory over the Bluejays in the Player Era Championship event in Las Vegas.
Even with that backdrop, T.J. Otzelberger is treating this game the way he treats this stage of the season: as a checkpoint, not a verdict.
“There’s room in front of us for growth and development,” said Otzelberger, who has taken Iowa State to three NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances in five seasons. “We’re gonna continue to do the hard work each day, but (I’m) just really enjoying these guys, and I can’t wait for all of you to be able to see them, as well, because they’re a fun group to coach.”
Prather fits right into that picture. He could end up as a key depth piece for a team picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 by league coaches, or he could grow into something more important than that. Either way, he sounds ready to bring the same edge he brought to paintball season.
“We all have the same goal,” he said. “Just trying to attack every possession and every play.”
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