Mar 28, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) dribbles the ball against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the semifinals of the East Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
AMES — The alarm rings at 5:55 a.m.
Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic wakes up but doesn’t immediately stir. His morning workout begins at 6:30, and he lives a stone’s throw away from the Sukup Basketball Complex, so he can take his time as he settles into his pre-practice routine.
“At six, (I) brush my teeth, get ready,” the bulked-up, 6-8, 225-pound sophomore said on Wednesday’s media day at Hilton Coliseum. “(I’m) on the road at 6:09 and I get there at 6:10.”
Momcilovic’s diligent attention to detail before sunrise is borne out of necessity. Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s devotion to sharply defined daily habits places heavy demands on his players. A team breakfast comes at 7:30, and an intense practice immediately follows. This is how Otzelberger has built ISU’s program into a consistent winner: There’s no deviation. No shortcuts. The likely preseason top-10-rated Cyclones know what they’re in for — and quickly learn to relish the early-morning rigors that eventually yield late-night wins.
“For the most part, when we start to talk to (incoming players), we’re at the point where we’re saying, ‘Do not come here if you’re not ready for this,’” said Otzelberger, who has guided ISU to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in two of the past three seasons. “‘If you’re not built for this and you don’t want to be challenged every day and you don’t want to be demanded from and you don’t want to be held accountable, go somewhere else and we’ll play against you.’”
Otzelberger’s assembled a deep and talented roster fully bought into his exacting regimen. Standout guards Keshon Gilbert, Curtis Jones, and Tamin Lipsey all return — and along with the sharpshooting Momcilovic and high-flying Demarion Watson — form a skilled and experienced core augmented by four transfers (Brandton Chatflield, Nate Heise, Dishon Jackson, Joshua Jefferson), one redshirt freshman (the 7-1 J.T. Rock) and one true freshman (Nojus Indrusaitis).
The Cyclones reeled off 29 wins last season — the second-most in team history — and went 18-0 at Hilton Coliseum. They’re expected to soar to greater heights in 2024-25, and adopting those exacting daily habits serves as the springboard to any success they’ll encounter in the stacked, new-look Big 12.
“It’s good to know you’re getting to work before everybody,” said Gilbert, who led ISU in scoring last season at 13.7 points per game and ranked second on the team in assists (4.2) and steals (2.0).
It still took awhile for the former UNLV transfer to adjust to the demanding early-morning schedule — and when he learned that Rock, who redshirted last season, sets his alarm for 5:40 a.m., he was taken aback.
“That’s crazy,” he said. “I probably get up at like 6:10 and I’ll probably lay there a little bit and (gather) my thoughts; sit on the side of the bed, look down, and then get up.”
Lipsey’s alarm chimes at about the same time Gilbert’s does. The Ames native and honorable mention All-American is used to the crack-of-dawn wake-up call as he enters his third season in the program.
“Around eight hours of sleep is pretty good, so I try to go to bed, or at least starting winding down, around 10-ish,” said Lipsey, who led the Cyclones in assists (4.9), steals (2.7) and 3-point accuracy (39.1 %) last season’s. “Some days I’m even more tired. (Tuesday), we had a tough practice and I was in bed by 9-9:30. So it makes it easier to go to bed when you have a long day of hard work.”
ISU’s all-out efforts in the early morning understandably breed exhaustion. They also form a defense-driven framework that bedevils Big 12 opponents. The pressure ramps up and never relents for the Cyclones, who led the country in adjusted defensive efficiency last season according to KenPom.
“We’re just winning games,” said the versatile Jones, who sets two alarms each morning — one at 6:10, and another at 6:19. “Looking forward to that again and looking forward to giving (the fans) another great season.”
None of that, of course, is guaranteed, but those early-day habits make anything possible.
“We can’t skip a day,” Momcilovic said. “We’ve gotta get our workouts in. We’ve gotta get rest for our bodies. We’ve gotta do everything to make sure that when the season comes that we’re ready, and we’re gonna be thriving at the right time.”