3 Thoughts On K-State Basketball Recruitment, 2024 Roster

Jerome Tang and his staff had a busy offseason.

After falling to Iowa in their NIT opener, Kansas State shifted their focus towards the transfer portal to help rebuild a roster that looked behind the eight ball in the Big 12. At first, there was a mass exodus, as the Wildcats saw multiple rotation players enter the transfer portal as the season ended.

Then, there was hope.

Michigan transfer Dug McDaniel was the first to commit, and high-upside additions like UI-Chicago guard CJ Jones and Arkasnas big man Baye Fall later joined him. After a period of little news and missing out on some previous targets, the Wildcats finalized their class with the additions of Kentucky’s Ugonna Onyenso, Samford’s Achor Achor, and Illinois’s Coleman Hawkins.

With their roster finalized, K-State can take a step back from team building and focus on competing in the Big 12. They’ll certainly have the talent to do so, but they’ll need a strong summer to put it all together.

Here are three thoughts on K-State’s roster-building strategy, and their roster for 2024.

This is becoming a trend across the country, but K-State took it to another level this off-season, adding multiple players with more than one season of eligibility.

While they had their fair share of graduate transfers, including the Hawkins and Achor, Tang and his staff added a few players who can contribute for multiple seasons, should they choose to.

With players like McDaniel and Onyenso having multiple seasons of eligibility, the Wildcats have ensured themselves an opportunity to build a core and not make next year’s off-season a repeat of this season.

Even in an era defined by player movement, teams that can promote continuity tend to succeed in the NCAA Tournament. And while this year’s transfer class isn’t guaranteed to see tournament success, sticking together for more than one season should help them.

The additions of Baye Fall and Ugonna Onyenso appear to prioritize rim protection from their big men. And that’s likely for a good reason.

Last season, Will McNair and Jerrell Colbert weren’t elite rim protectors, which hurt their overall defensive output. And while both players would have moments of strong interior defense, they lacked an elite rim protector that could shut down the inside of the paint by themselves.

Onyenso fixes that problem by himself, as he’s one of the best shot blockers in college basketball. That’s a trait that K-State’s big-man rotation lacked last season, and it’s a good sign that they’re finding ways to fix it.

The Big 12 is filled with top centers this season, and finding ways to stop players like Hunter Dickinson and Norchad Omier will be massive to a team trying to compete for a conference championship.

David Castillo was K-State’s lone addition in the 2024 recruiting class, and the top 100 prospect was expected to have an impact as a true freshman.

While that’s certainly still possible, the Wildcats added multiple guards, including a few capable of handling the ball as point guards. McDaniel was never going to eat into Castillo’s playing time, but players like CJ Jones and Max Jones could see Castillo’s playing time diminish.

The summer will be an important time for Castillo, as it could be the difference between being a mainstay in the rotation all season and having to claw his way off the bench to get playing time. Either way, it would be disappointing, but not season-ending, to see Castillo not get playing time.

***

Come join the conversation over at THE CAT CAVE FORUM.

Follow EMAW ONLINE on Twitter: @RivalsFielder, @EMAWOnline