Iowa State true freshman Jamarion Batemon is poised to make immediate impact

AMES — He’s energetic, enthusiastic, relentless and intense.

Sprinkle in a dash of steady stoicism and an almost full portrait of Iowa State’s uber-talented true freshman shooting guard Jamarion Batemon begins to emerge.

But somehow, those positive attributes seemingly only scratch the surface of the 4-star recruit’s considerable potential.

“I think more than the basketball, it’s the consistency, it’s the competitive spirit — those are things that we really value and that he brings at a high level,” ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “He’s somebody (who) takes tremendous pride in making the right play on offense, and then on defense, he’s a guy (who) is relentless with his pressure (and) activity level.”

No kidding.

Ask Batemon about adjusting to Otzelberger’s strict and enervating summer practice regime and he’ll shrug. He mentally prepared to hit the so-called “freshman wall,” which happened early this summer. So Batemon shrugged again before summarily reducing that “wall” to a pile of rubble.

“You don’t take steps into things,” said Batemon, who averaged 25.6 points per game while leading the Milwaukee Academy of Science to a state title. “You jump right in it. So just jumping right in, you hit it right away. It’s all about how you respond to it and I feel like I’m responding pretty good.”

No kidding.

“You don’t often see freshmen that are able to sustain it,” Otzelberger said of Batemon’s tenacity. “We’ve done it for (several) weeks. He’s been terrific for (several) weeks.”

So has fellow four-star freshman guard Killyan Toure, who also stands 6-3 and has already built a reputation as a fierce defender.

“I think those two freshman guards, they really stand out to me in what they bring every single day,” said Otzelberger, who has led the Cyclones to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons. “I mean, they’re relentless. Oftentimes, freshman are up and down. (They say), ‘I’m sick, I’m tired, I’m hurt, I’m sore, this is too much every day.’ … From what I’ve seen of Killyan and Batemon right now, they bring tremendous value to our team because at all times, defensively, they’re speeding up opponents, pressuring the ball, and when you do that, you’re gonna create more offensive opportunities for yourself.”

Both Batemon and Toure could crack ISU’s rotation this season, but Batemon may have an edge in that regard because he’s already a proven scorer. Just check out his official player bio on the ISU website. At one point in his young career, he made 15 3-point shots in a row in a half and scored a staggering 52 points in a first half. Seems impossible? Think again. Batemon’s already shown glimpses of that type of shooting dominance this summer against his Cyclone teammates.

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“I’d say Batemon is a great offensive threat and I’ve seen him pick up his defensive intensity, as well,” said record-setting senior ISU guard Tamin Lipsey. “(In one practice), one time we got up and down (and) I think he almost had all of our points on the team I was on. So just seeing his ability to take shots (and) make shots has been impressive.”

How impressive?

“He’s brought effort, energy, enthusiasm (and) a desire to make the right play,” Otzelberger said. “As a freshman, that is really impressive and something that’s definitely caught my attention.”

Expect Batemon to maintain that hold on everyone’s attention — friend and foe alike.

“(The coaches) are all just so confident in me,” he said. “They believe in my ability, so that keeps my confidence (up), and not worrying, like, ‘Ah, I’m gonna struggle.’ Nah, they’re confident. You just keep working and they see your future before you see it. So just knowing that they’re confident in you, know that you’re gonna be all right.”

No kidding.

Batemon was his senior class valedictorian. And the Milwaukee Academy of Science attributed this quote to him on graduation day in early June: “We are resilient. We are persistent. Stay dedicated to the grind and don’t fear adversity — all life is about is whether you can fight adversity or not.”

Comments: robgray18@icloud.com