Kansas State basketball lands transfer forward Arthur Kaluma from Creighton

Kansas State basketball fans can finally exhale.

More than a month after signing North Texas guard Tylor Perry, K-State coach Jerome Tang landed a second player from the transfer portal Sunday with a commitment former Creighton forward Arthur Kaluma.

Kaluma, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound wing and a national top-50 high school recruit in the Class of 2021, was a two-year starter at Creighton, where he averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season in helping the Bluejays to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.

Kaluma's commitment ended a portal drought for K-State, which missed out on several high-profile transfers since landing Conference USA player of the year Perry in early May. Then again, Tang has shown in his year-plus as head coach that he is willing to wait for the right fit.

Last year, the Wildcats picked up guard Desi Sills and wing Keyontae Johnson well into the summer and both became starters on a team that won 26 games while advancing to the Elite Eight. In Perry and Kaluma, Tang now has added two veterans to fill the voids left by third-team All-Americans Markquis Nowell and Johnson.

More: North Texas guard Tylor Perry gives Kansas State basketball first portal recruiting win

Kaluma, from Glendale, Arizona, was ranked the No. 48 prospect in the Class of 2021 out of Dream City Christian High School and immediately stepped into Creighton's lineup as a freshman, starting 30 of 31 games and averaging 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds. He then started all 37 games last year, averaging 29 minutes.

Kaluma, whose parents are from Uganda, also has international experience with the Uganda national team.

The addition of Kaluma, who committed during a weekend campus visit to K-State, now gives the Wildcats 11 players on the 2023-24 roster with two openings still left.

Kaluma, a junior, likely will step into the wing spot occupied last year by Johnson, who averaged 17.4 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds. But he is not as polished an offensive player after shooting 42.3% from the floor, including 31.1% from 3-point range as a sophomore.

Adding Kaluma will allow Tang to field a veteran starting five that along with Perry features returning guard Cam Carter and forwards Nae'Qwan Tomlin and David N'Guessan. K-State also signed three top high school players in guards Dai Ames and R.J. Jones, plus 6-7 forward Macaleab Rich.

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 adds Creighton transfer Arthur Kaluma