Jerome Tang completes 2022-23 Kansas State basketball roster with junior college transfer

It turns out Jerome Tang wasn't done after all.

One day after Tang added heralded Florida transfer Keyontae Johnson to his first Kansas State basketball roster, the first-year Kansas State coach filled the 13th and final spot Sunday when Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College guard Anthony Thomas announced on social media that he will join the Wildcats for the upcoming season.

More: Kansas State basketball lands former Florida standout forward Keyontae Johnson

“Anthony is another great addition to our team, and we are excited to welcome him and his family to K-State,” Tang said of Thomas, who will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Wildcats. “We’re really pleased to add a player of his caliber this late in the recruiting season.

"We like both his size and skill set and think he will grow into a productive player once he gets around our elite staff."

More: Jerome Tang and his Kansas State basketball team build chemistry on and off the court

It has been a busy five months for Tang and his coaching staff, who started with just two holdovers — senior point guard Markquis Nowell and junior forward Ismael Massoud — from Bruce Weber's 2021-22 team. Thomas is the second junior college player in the 11-man recruiting class, which also includes seven Division I transfers and two freshmen.

Thomas, a 6-foot-7, 180-pounder from Silver Springs, Maryland, started 16 of 25 games and averaged 11 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists last season at Tallahassee. He shot 42.3% from the field and 34.6% from 3-point range.

Thomas played his freshman season at Tennessee-Martin, where he averaged 9.0 points on 37.7% shooting and 2.8 rebounds while appearing in 22 games with four starts.

Thomas joins Chipola (Fla.) College forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin from the junior college ranks.

The seven Division I transfers include guards Cam Carter (Mississippi State, Tykei Green (Stony Brook), Desi Sills (Arkansas State) and Johnson; forward David N'Guessan (Virginia Tech); and centers Jerrell Colbert (LSU) and Abayomi Iyiola (Hofstra).

Rounding out the class are freshmen Dorian Finister, a guard from New Orleans, and Grandview, Missouri, forward Taj Manning, who originally signed with Weber last November.

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 basketball adds junior college transfer Anthony Thomas