PHOTO COURTESY: Prep Insiders
Iowa State signee Cameron Lard is still on track to arrive in time for the spring semester, according to Iowa State head coach Steve Prohm. Lard, who signed with the Cyclones in the class of 2016, needed to make grades in three classes during the fall in order to qualify through the NCAA Eligibility Center.
Prohm said he was able to do that and he’s one step closer to stepping foot in Ames.
“I don’t know if he has a plane ticket yet, but he’s in the process of getting all his transcripts in order,” Prohm said before ISU’s practice on Wednesday. “The problem right now, and it’s not a problem, it’s just it is what it is from the standpoint of the eligibility center and the holidays of just getting that stuff to them. He’ll be here. His grades came back, I’m not going to announce his grades, but his grades came back to where they needed to be and so I really think it’s now just a mere formality of getting stuff to the eligibility center and then getting him up here. We’re not in a rush trying to get him up here in a standpoint of seeing if we can get him in there to play and all that stuff. We just need to get him here, make sure all the i’s are dotted, t’s are crossed and so he’s here and he’s in good standing.”
The three-star recruit, rated as the No. 145 prospect in the 2016 class by 247 Composite, has been playing with Pro Vision Academy, his prep school, during the fall. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward is eligible to play immediately upon his arrival at Iowa State.
Despite being eligible, chances are fans will have to wait until next season to see Lard make his ISU debut. Prohm said it could be possible for him to be ready to see the court by the second half of Big 12 play, but it is more likely that he’ll redshirt in order to prepare for four full seasons with the Cyclones.
“I’d really have to see him here for a couple weeks first,” Prohm said. “If he’s in practice two, three weeks in and he brings a definite edge, then you’ve got to really evaluate it, but until I see that, I think he’s got a chance to be a good player here, but until I see that right now, because he’s going from not really doing anything to having to play in the Big 12.”
Making the transition from high school, or prep school, basketball to the Big 12 is without a doubt a big jump. Especially when you consider the fact that he wouldn’t have any sort of preseason or non-conference schedule to prepare for, or adjust, to the speed and physicality of one of the nation’s best college basketball conferences.
Obviously, if he arrives in Ames and proves to be an absolute force from day one, it will make Prohm’s decision a lot tougher. But as of today, a redshirt and four full seasons of college basketball is a much better option.
“If he could help this team, really make a difference, then I got to really look at it,” Prohm said. “What’s probably the best thing for him is to get here, practice, get with the strength and conditioning coach, get a spring, get a summer and so he’s ready to go full-go next year.”
