Ames' Tamin Lipsey — who has Iowa State and North Carolina looking at him — plays nothing like a freshman

Tamin Lipsey netted a team-high 21 points in Ames’ 53-46 loss at Johnston last week. Scoring didn’t come easy the whole night, though. For a stretch in the second half, the freshman point guard — already considered one of the country’s top 2022 prospects — couldn’t buy a bucket.

To be clear: The Class of 2022 are currently freshmen in high school. 

Some ninth-graders would’ve gotten down on themselves. Others would’ve forced shots to get back into a rhythm. A lot of freshmen might have been subbed out. (And let's be clear again, most freshmen are not playing big-school varsity basketball either.) 

Lipsey didn’t do any of that.

The 6-foot-2 guard, who played all 32 minutes, instead turned his normally good defense to a new level.

He pressed his man full-court. He drew a charge on a baseline drive. He forced a Johnston timeout after single-handedly trapping his assignment in a corner.

Bottom line: He didn't let a rough stretch remove his impact on the game.

Those who’ve seen Lipsey are used to that kind of maturity. From talking to high school, AAU and college coaches, the No. 1 thing I’d heard was he did not look or play his age. If you didn’t know who he was, based on his size and level of play, you’d probably guess he was a high-level junior.

"I feel, coming into the season, my confidence wasn't as high as it is (now)," said Lipsey, who ranks third among the state’s freshmen with 17.1 points per game. "Each game, I get more comfortable in the game with my teammates — just knowing what they can do the best, knowing when to get them the ball."

Lipsey is shooting 56.6 percent and 32.4 percent on 3-pointers. He’s also averaging 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

Iowa State offered last June. Iowa, Michigan, Tulane and North Carolina are the other schools in the picture right now, and that list will only grow in the coming years.

He was one of 29 prospects from the Class of 2022 invited to October’s Team USA mini-camp, and he’s excited for the next mini-camp in Minneapolis this April. You'll likely see Lipsey be considered a blue-chipper for his high school class. 

The Tar Heel interest is obviously intriguing, especially considering Roy Williams plucked Ames’ last blue-chip recruit in Harrison Barnes. UNC first expressed interest when Lipsey visited campus during the AAU season with his team, All-Iowa Attack.

The latest from UNC? Assistant coach Steve Robinson asked for film, and Lipsey said they just sent him highlights from a couple games.

Iowa State would have to be considered the early favorite, though. Lipsey is from Ames. Both his parents work for Iowa State. He’s been a Cyclones fan his whole life. And let’s not forget Steve Prohm offered before Lipsey spent a second in high school.

"It’s really up there because I’ve always loved the Cyclones, so that’s really cool," Lipsey said. "They’re really a great team, great college. My sister went there, so they’re really up there. But I’m still looking my options."

Because he’s so young, Lipsey is in an interesting situation. College coaches aren’t allowed to directly contact prospects until June after their sophomore year. So his high school and AAU coaches are facilitating almost everything right now.

The only way Lipsey can talk to a coach is if he instigates the call — which he’s done several times with Prohm.

"I call him sometimes and catch up. I’ll do that with other coaches later on," Lipsey said. "He’s a real cool guy. Really chill. When he gave me my offer, when I talked to him, he just talked about Iowa State and all the great point guards they’ve had.

"It’s Iowa State. I grew up watching them, cheering for them. So I’m honored to have an offer from Iowa State. I live in Ames. I love the fans. And I’ll just keep on with the recruiting process."

Here’s a quick scouting report from what I saw last Friday:

Size stands out immediately

The only thing about Lipsey that "looks" like a freshman is the set of braces in his mouth. He’s already well-built; he can finish through contact against seniors. The size helps even more on defense.

Of course, Lipsey will still draw match-ups against stronger 18-year-olds this season.

But if he already looks like this, can you imagine how college-ready Lipsey’s body will be after three more years of development?

I guarantee you Prohm has.

Plays under control, unselfish

Obviously, Lipsey is nowhere near a finished product. There's still plenty of room for refinement. His shooting, for instance, is streaky, as you'd expect. 

But something that's impressive at this stage in his development: Lipsey doesn't force shots.

He doesn’t take step-backs with a hand in his face. He doesn’t put his head down and try to bulldoze his way to a bucket. He uses screens well and attacks the open lane with long strides. He’s at his best on the ball and will pull up from long range in transition, but he can also work off the ball to get open for a 3-pointer.

There were stretches where Lipsey was in attack mode, but for most of the game, he was primarily looking to set up his teammates.

Part of Lipsey’s growth will be learning when to enter — and stay in — that attack mode, particularly during crunch time.

"He defers at times when you wish maybe he’d be a little bit more selfish with the ball," Ames head coach Vance Downs said. "But I’m not going to complain about a kid being unselfish. His game is going to come at his own rate, and it’s pretty doggone good right now."

Matthew Bain covers college football and basketball recruiting for the Des Moines Register. He also helps out with Iowa and Iowa State football and basketball coverage for HawkCentral and Cyclone Insider. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.