Iowa basketball: Another Hawkeye joining Iowa United in TBT

The Iowa United are solidifying their low post with the addition of another former Iowa basketball player, forward Cyrus Tate.

Former Iowa basketball player Cyrus Tate will be joining the Iowa United in TBT, the $2 million winner-take-all tournament.

This move comes on the heels of the exciting addition of 2019 National Player of the Year Megan  Gustafson which brings the total number of Iowa basketball players to five for the Iowa United.

With the injury of UNI Panther Wes Washpun leaving the Iowa United with an open roster spot, General Manager Matt Crawford sought to fill the space with another post player to operate in the paint with Marcus Fizer, Matt Tiby, and Nick McGlynn.

Tate played for the Iowa basketball team for three seasons after joining the Hawkeyes from Northeast Community College. In three seasons from 2006-2009, Tate played in 86 games and starting 59 of those. For his Iowa basketball career, Tate averaged 6.4 points per game on 60% shooting from the field while bringing in 5 rebounds per game.

Upon graduation, the Illinois native headed overseas where he has spent five seasons playing professional basketball in a few different European leagues.

At 6’8” and 262 pounds, Tate will be expected to control the paint while allowing head coach Jeff Horner to be versatile defensively as Tate has the ability to guard the 3, 4, and 5 spot.

Below are a few of his highlights from last season with PS Karlsruhe, a member of the German Pro A Series.

The Tate addition gives the Iowa United ten rostered players heading into the selection deadline where this team will learn its fate.

The Basketball Tournament’s tournament announcement will come June 11th where the Iowa United will officially find out whether or not the team is in the tournament and if so, who their first opponent will be in the Wichita region.