Busting Brackets
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Big 12 Basketball: Top 5 rising sophomores for 2018-19

By Lukas Harkins

LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 07: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders brings the ball up court against Lindell Wigginton #5 of the Iowa State Cyclones during the game on February 7, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Iowa State 76-58. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 07: Jarrett Culver #23 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders brings the ball up court against Lindell Wigginton #5 of the Iowa State Cyclones during the game on February 7, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Iowa State 76-58. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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AMES, IA – JANUARY 31: Lard #2 of the Iowa State Cyclones reacts. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA – JANUARY 31: Lard #2 of the Iowa State Cyclones reacts. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

3. Cameron Lard, Iowa State

Iowa State struggled last season. I don’t think anybody is really going to dispute that. The Cyclones finished just 4-14 in conference play, which ranked last in the Big 12. Yet, this team was extremely young and featured two outstanding freshmen, both of whom are coming back for at least their sophomore campaigns. Both of them are also on this list, the first of which being Cameron Lard. Out of high school, the 6-foot-9 Lard was fairly highly regarded. He was a top-150 recruit in the nation and a top-10 player from Louisiana prior to redshirting during his first year on campus. The expectation was that he could be an impact performer as a redshirt freshman. He was just that.

A starter in 16 of Iowa State’s 29 games last season, Lard was an important member of the rotation as a highly efficient finisher around the basket. For the year, Lard finished as the third-leading scorer on the team at 12.6 points despite seeing only the sixth-most amount of playing time at 26.4 minutes per game. In addition, Lard was able to snag 8.1 rebounds and swat away 2.2 shots per game as well. A finisher on 60.1% of his field goal attempts this past season, it was hard to slow down Lard.

Heading into this coming season, Lard will likely see an expanded role as a full-time starter. Although most of the frontcourt from last season is returning, keep in mind that Lard was featured in the starting lineup for 16 of the last 18 games last season. During this time as a (mostly) starter, Lard averaged 13.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. He will not be the leading scorer for the Cyclones next season (more on that guy soon) but he should finish second on the team in that category while leading in boards and rejections.

Lard is enrolled in an off-campus wellness center for the offseason but figures to be back for the next year.

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