Iowa State’s men’s basketball staff is taking on a new look under T.J. Otzelberger, and the changes go well beyond the roster turnover the Cyclones are dealing with this offseason.
The biggest staff moves came with JR Blount and Kyle Green leaving for head coaching jobs, as Blount joined the San Diego Toreros and Green took over at Northern Iowa. To fill those openings, Iowa State brought in Tim Buckley, who most recently worked with the Cincinnati Bearcats, and Allan Hanson.
The Cyclones also added Chuck Ruffing as an assistant coach. Ruffing arrives in Ames after one season on the staff at Western Illinois.
Before that, he spent two years as the head coach at Bryant & Stratton College in Wisconsin. He also brings Division III experience from Wisconsin, adding another staff member with connections to a state that has already been a strong recruiting area for the program.
Iowa State also filled out its support staff for the 2026-27 campaign with two graduate assistants. Richardson Maitre is one of the new additions.
His college playing career covered four seasons at Florida Atlantic and Samford, where he appeared in 108 games. After that, he played professionally overseas and got his coaching start at the 2025 Canada Senior Men’s National Training Camp.
Fletcher McGarvey is also joining the program as a graduate assistant, but he’s not new to Ames. He spent the last three years as a manager at Iowa State, working across player development, skill training, practice planning and scouting reports before earning the promotion.
There’s also a familiar face returning in a bigger role. Former Cyclones guard Diante Garrett is back for his third year with the program and has been named Director of Player Development. Garrett played in 128 games over four seasons at Iowa State and led the Big 12 as a senior in 2010-11 with 36.7 minutes per game and 6.1 assists per game.
Another former Cyclones graduate, Thomas Pollard, is entering his fifth year with the program and has been named Director of Recruiting.
The staff changes come as Iowa State also works through major roster turnover. Milan Momcilovic, Joshua Jefferson and Tamin Lipsey are all gone from last season’s top three scorers.
Momcilovic is with the Kentucky Wildcats, Jefferson was selected No. 28 in the 2026 NBA Draft, and Lipsey signed with the Indiana Pacers as an undrafted free agent. Nate Heise, a key part of the rotation over the last two seasons, also ran out of eligibility.
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