Michael Jacobson
After two not overly impressive seasons with Nebraska, Michael Jacobson transferred to the Cyclones. The Iowa native grew up wanting to play for Iowa State, and after sitting out a season, came back a seemingly much-improved player.
With Solomon Young only playing four games due to injury and Cam Lard battling injuries over the season, the former 3-star recruit took advantage and became the team’s best interior player.
Like Haliburton, Jacobson was super efficient offensively, shooting 62.5% on two’s (87th nationally) and even flashing a 3-point shot(16-47, 34.0%). He’s a versatile player that is capable in the pick-and-roll and already has a solid mid-range jumper.
At 6-9, Jacobson was asked to play the 5-position a fair amount last season. This “small ball” approach was successful offensively (team ranked 9th in offense) but posed a difficult challenge for him on the defensive end. He was the team’s leading rebounder, but he and the Cyclones struggled to keep teams off the offensive glass (258th in defensive rebounding percentage).
The return of a healthy and productive Solomon Young would be significant in terms of improving the team’s interior defensive presence and rebounding.