Just a few days ago, the Iowa State Cyclones were hit with some shocking news about their basketball program and the upcoming season.

It was announced that star guard Killyan Toure suffered a shoulder injury. Later, it was revealed that he underwent surgery and would be sidelined until January.

It is a huge blow for Iowa State, as Toure was projected to be their best player on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. He was a returnee and knew the system well enough that he would surely succeed next year.

But now his year is going to be cut short, and he’ll only have a few months to prove himself during his sophomore campaign.

Killyan Toure set to miss non-conference schedule

Of course, the injury is unfortunate, but what could be the worst part is the time during the season that it occurs. That’s because Toure is a menace during non-conference basketball.

Despite being a true freshman, Toure completely showed up early last season. He began the year with a nine-point game, followed by an 11-point performance with three steals as well. In the fourth game of the season, he also had 11 points as well as four steals.

But nothing was better than the final two games of the Players Era tournament last year. The Cyclones met up with the Creighton Bluejays, where Toure finished with 20 points and four rebounds. Then, he finished with 19 points and six assists against the Syracuse Orange, stepping up with Tamin Lipsey sidelined.

Overall, Toure’s non-conference was elite. He proved himself defensively, getting steals and blocks in virtually every game, while also putting his name on the map offensively with scoring outbursts on any given day. Not to mention, Iowa State went 13-0 in non-conference play.

Unfortunately, due to the injury, Toure will miss the non-conference slate where they were projected to play some intriguing teams such as the Purdue Boilermakers and Iowa Hawkeyes once again. They are also going to be playing some easier teams, whom Toure surely would have been able to cook against.

Toure certainly would have the opportunity to shine during his sophomore year, but now it’s not going to happen.

The timing is really unfortunate, but that’s part of the game, and the Cyclones need to make sure that they can fix the hole and stay solid throughout the time period before Toure comes back in January. Then, it will be his time to shine against the tough Big 12 competition.