Iowa blue-chip point guard Tamin Lipsey will play AAU with D1 Minnesota

One of the Midwest's top 2022 basketball prospects will now play for one of the Midwest's powerhouse AAU programs.

Ames point guard Tamin Lipsey plans to play during this year's live NCAA recruiting periods with Adidas-sponsored D1 Minnesota, he told the Register on Wednesday. Lipsey previously played with independent All Iowa Attack and Nike-sponsored Howard Pulley. He said he still plans to practice with All Iowa Attack and may play in select tournaments with the Ames-based club.

"Just going to go in there and take advantage of the opportunities that we have, because we won't have all of them like last year, and probably next year," Lipsey said. "Just work my hardest to show what I can do."

The 6-foot-2 point guard holds offers from Iowa State and Nebraska, and he said Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the other main schools on his radar right now. He missed his sophomore season at Ames rehabbing from an ACL tear suffered over the summer. He has been cleared to do everything but full-contact scrimmaging, but he hopes to be cleared for that as well within the next month.

Either way, Lipsey is fully expected to be cleared by whenever the AAU season begins.

Adidas, Nike and Under Armour have all postponed their AAU circuits because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus. None of the three will hold tournaments during the weekends of April 17-19 or April 24-26, which are currently the first two weekends Division I coaches can go watch prospects play in the AAU season. 

There is still one more D-I live recruiting period during the AAU season from July 9-12, and there's thought the NCAA may move the two April periods to May or June — or whenever it's possible in these uncertain times.

One thing is certain: D1 Minnesota head coach Jay Fuhrmann is eager to coach Lipsey.

"I've known (the Lipseys) for many years. I've been in contact with them for the past couple years, so I'm excited to work with Tamin," Fuhrmann said. "He's special."

Lipsey, who received his Iowa State offer before ever playing a high school game, was one of 12 freshmen and sophomores selected to USA Basketball's U-16 National Team last May, and he won a gold medal at June's FIBA Americas U-16 championship. He will play up on D1 Minnesota's U-17 squad this season, meaning he'll play in front of more college coaches than he likely would have at the U-16 level with other 2022 prospects.

D1 Minnesota has produced some impressive Midwest talents in recent years, including Arizona freshman Zeke Nnaji (a projected first-round NBA draft pick), Duke freshman Matthew Hurt, Stanford freshman Tyrell Terry, Iowa freshman Patrick McCaffery, four-star Marquette signee Dawson Garcia, four-star Wisconsin signee Ben Carlson and four-star shooting guard Kerwin Walton.

Fuhrmann grew up in Marshall, Minnesota, the same hometown as Lipsey's mother, Holly. That's also where Lipsey's father, Rob, played his college football at Southwest Minnesota State.

"It's a really cool connection for me to know the parents that well and get the opportunity to coach their son," Fuhrmann said. "It's really, really special for me, so I'm excited."

Matthew Bain covers recruiting, Iowa/Iowa State athletics and Drake basketball for the Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Network. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.

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