Kansas State men’s basketball roster in a state of flux after busy week of transfers
The Kansas State men’s basketball team is going to look a lot different next season.
Of course, that is nothing new for Jerome Tang.
Tang hasn’t enjoyed any semblance of roster continuity since the Wildcats hired him as their head coach in 2022. He famously inherited just two returning players from the Bruce Weber era before his first year. That number rose up to six heading into Year 2. But he will welcome back no more than three returning players as he once again looks to rebuild ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
A busy week of transfers (incoming and outgoing) plus other roster transactions have once again left the Wildcats in a state of flux.
Here’s where things currently stand.
The Wildcats have three returning players lined up for next season: Senior forward David N’Guessan, sophomore wing Macaleab Rich and redshirt sophomore forward Taj Manning.
That number is lower than some expected because a pair of young players opted to transfer last week. The biggest loss was Dai Dai Ames, a talented guard from Chicago who started 16 games for the Wildcats as a freshman. Though his numbers (5.2 points and 2.1 assists per game) were modest last season, he showed improvement as the year went on and he clearly had a promising future with the Wildcats.
Ames was a former four-star recruit. Tang liked him so much coming out of high school that he joked about having a “man crash” on him as a basketball player.
Without him, K-State will need an extra impact player in the backcourt. That is especially true after Ques Glover and RJ Jones also decided to transfer after just one season apiece with the Wildcats.
In total, the Wildcats have said farewell to six transfers since their season came to an end in the opening round of the NIT. The other outgoing transfers are Cam Carter (LSU), Dorian Finister (Sam Houston State) and Jerrell Colbert.
Arthur Kaluma also announced last week that he will declare for the NBA Draft.
Add on the losses of Tylor Perry, Will McNai and Taymont Lindsey, who are all out of college eligibility, and Tang has been left with no choice but to bring in a transfer-heavy recruiting class this offseason.
Transfers have become commonplace in college basketball, so several other teams are dealing with the exact same situation as the Wildcats. But Tang spoke about creating a culture that limited transfers at his introductory news conference. This isn’t what he had in mind back then.
The good news for both Tang and the Wildcats is that they have found some early success in the portal.
K-State has already gained commitments from Michigan guard Dug McDaniel, Illinois-Chicago guard C.J. Jones, Villanova sharpshooter Brendan Hausen and Arkansas big man Baye Fall.
Fall signed a financial aid agreement with K-State this week, making him the fifth former McDonald’s All-American to play for the Wildcats. He joins a short list that includes Tom Freeman (1977), Deryl Cunningham (1991), Michael Beasley (2007) and Wally Judge (2009).
K-State is also set to welcome David Castillo, a talented high school guard who is currently playing for Sunrise Christian Academy, as a freshman next season.
For now, that means the Wildcats have eight scholarship players lined up for next season. Tang has five more open spots to fill.
Evan Miya currently ranks K-State’s incoming class of transfers as the No. 23 ranked group in the country. Bart Torvik projects K-State’s current roster at No. 76 nationally.
Where will Tang turn next?
K-State is in the mix for a few high-profile transfers. Rutgers big man Clifford Omoruyi is considering the Wildcats, and so is Florida State forward Baba Miller. Khalif Battle, a 6-foot-5 guard from Arkansas, is also considering K-State.
Expect Tang to continue exploring other transfer options for as long as it takes to assemble a full roster. He has waited to add several players in the summer months.
The Wildcats will find a way to fit a bunch of new pieces together before next season arrives. This is not new for them.
