Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang won't be rushed in filling his 2023-24 roster

SALINA — Even when he faced a massive roster overhaul last spring after taking the Kansas State basketball coaching job, Jerome Tang stuck to his guns and recruited at his own pace.

That the Wildcats went on to win 26 games and reach the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight was proof positive that patience can be a virtue. Starting with just two holdovers from predecessor Bruce Weber's 2021-22 team, Tang entered the month of June with a half-dozen vacancies, and thanks to a late flurry of transfer portal activity, he still opened fall workouts with a full complement of 13 players.

That is why, with 10 players already in the fold for 2023-24, the K-State coaches remain calm while their competitors load up on top-rated portal prospects. After all, it wasn't until late summer or early fall last year that they picked up All-Big 12 forward Keyontae Johnson and starting guard Desi Sills.

"This is the plan," Tang said Wednesday during a Catbacker Tour stop in Salina. "This is what we planned for."

So far, the Wildcats have added one veteran — heralded North Texas guard Tylor Perry — through the portal and he'd ideally like to have two or three more. But he's more than willing to take his chances with the roster as it stands if need be.

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"I like the 10 guys on our roster," Tang said. "I think we can be a good basketball team with the 10 guys on our roster.

"I think if we can add the right three guys we can be a special team. With 10 guys, you don't have room or margin for injuries and the errors, and if you can add the other three, it doesn't kill you."

Tylor Perry adds scoring punch at guard

After the Wildcats were eliminated by Florida Atlantic in the East Regional final back in March, Tang said he hoped to attract two veteran guards and a big man who can be productive on both ends of the floor. A tall order, perhaps, but with the recent addition of Perry, the Conference USA player of the year, he is one-third of the way there.

"I was looking at two guards that have played 90 (games) of basketball who can pass and shoot, because I want to play two point guards and (Perry fills) one of the two spots, and so I've got to find another one," Tang said.

In Perry, a 5-foot-11 super-senior, the Wildcats got a proven scorer who averaged 17.3 points and 2.1 assists while helping North Texas to a 31-7 record and the NIT championship. As a sophomore, he won a national junior college title at Coffeyville.

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"He's a winner," Tang said. "State semifinal in high school, junior college national champion, two-time conference champion at North Texas (and) NIT champion. Just a terrific kid (and) a leader."

K-State assistant coach Jareem Dowling, who was with North Texas two years ago, can't wait to be reunited with Perry.

"An awesome human being, fun to be around (and) just a joy," Dowling said. "What you see is what you get. An overachiever, a guy that believes in himself, a guy that has a chip on his shoulder.

"I'm excited that he's here. I'm excited that he gets a chance to play for coach Tang (and) I'm excited that he gets a chance to play in front of a crowd in Bramlage (Coliseum). They're going to love his energy."

K-State also recruited a pair of four-star high school guards in R.J. Jones and Dai Dai Ames, but Tang hopes by pairing them with more experienced guards will allow him to ease the freshmen into the rotation.

"I expect both R.J. and Dai Dai to be able to help us right away," he said. "I just don't want the burden to be on them as freshmen. It would be great to have somebody there to help them, whether it's every day in practice or in the games or just how to manage being a college athlete."

The third high school recruit is 6-7 sophomore forward Macacleab Rich, another consensus four-star prospect.

More: Kansas State basketball guard Anthony Thomas headed to transfer portal after redshirt year

What's next for Nae'Qwan Tomlin and Cam Carter?

Tang also expects big things from returning starters Nae'Qwan Tomlin and Cam Carter. Tomlin, a 6-10 forward who is testing the NBA waters but expected to return for his senior season, averaged 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds last year, while guard Carter added 6.5 points and 3.0 rebounds.

"(Tomlin) has enjoyed it so far," Tang said of Tomlin's NBA evaluation process. "There have been some really good workouts and then some not so good workouts.

"He's pretty keen to figure out when he's done well and when he hasn't. So the process of becoming a pro is consistency. And so being able to do it every day, every time you work out, and to produce the same thing, that's what this process has helped him learn."

Consistency also is the name of the game for Carter, especially on the offensive end.

"We saw him be a double-figure scorer from time to time, and then some games where he just wasn't impacting the game," Tang said. "And I expect him to have an impact every game, both scoring and defending. He could be an all-league defender."

Other returning players are forward David N'Guessan, a part-time starter last year, and guard Dorian Finister, who appeared in just six games as a true freshman. The Wildcats also have two redshirts expected to contribute in center Jerrell Colbert and forward Taj Manning.

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Wildcats headed to Middle East in August

While Tang is willing to wait for the right fit, he would prefer to have his roster fully stocked by the beginning of August so that they have 10 days to prepare for a foreign trip to Israel and the United Arab Emirates from Aug. 10-21. The NCAA allows schools to travel abroad every four years, and Tang was eager for the opportunity.

"We wanted to do a foreign tour, so looking at a couple of different options, the group that's putting that on offered us a really special deal as far as what the opportunities we're going to have that are non-basketball," Tang said of the trip, which will take the Wildcats to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in Israel before wrapping up in the UAE. "And then our last few days we're going to be in Dubai, and we get to see USA Basketball over there.

"So that's a special basketball experience as well as having some non-basketball experiences. So the 10 days of practice that you're going to get before that is really important, and then just the quality time you get to spend together — the team-building stuff — that's going to be really important."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State men's basketball coach Jerome Tang patient in recruiting