Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang breaks down the Wildcats' current roster

HUTCHINSON — Jerome Tang knows full well that he still has work to do in assembling his first Kansas State men's basketball roster.

As it stands, the Wildcats will head into the summer with just seven players and six open slots to reach the allowable 13-man limit.

But as June approaches, Tang is less concerned with quantity than quality. There's a reason why nine of the 11 players eligible to return from last year's team are no longer in the program.

"(We need) the four right ones," Tang said Wednesday during a Catbacker tour stop in Hutchinson. "And if we get five, that's great."

As the deadline approaches for players who entered the NBA draft to bow out and head back to school, Tang is counting on some quality transfers to come back on the market. Landing four or five might be ambitious, but he has said that he'll take the right 10 into the season over signing ones who are not up to Big 12 standards.

He had indicated previously that last year's roster was lacking in Big 12-caliber players, though he backed off a little Wednesday.

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"For what I like to do," he clarified.

To start with, Tang targeted just three players from the 2021-22 Wildcat team that went 14-17 and finished the season on a six-game losing streak. Two of them — senior point guard Markquis Nowell and junior forward Ismael Massoud — chose to stick around, while the third, presumably all-Big 12 guard Nijel Pack, transferred to Miami.

And why Nowell and Massoud?

"I felt talent-wise, Markquis and Ish could help you win games in the Big 12," Tang said. "And then after being around them, it characterized exactly the kind of young men I want in the program to represent the university."

Below are Tang's thoughts on the seven players who are currently on the roster.

Nowell and Massoud scouting reports

Nowell, who transferred in from Little Rock last year, had the better first season in Manhattan of the two, ranking third on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game, while his 5.0 assists and 2.2 steals put him near the top of the Big 12.

"He's super confident," Tang said of the 5-foot-8 Nowell, an honorable mention all-Big 12 selection. "He's the dude who wants the ball at the end of the game when it's on the line, and he'll live with the outcome. As a coach, you want guys like that.

"But what I really like about both of them is that they do it every day, like in the individual workouts, in the weight room and all the little things they take care of, so it gives them an opportunity to be able to be on the floor in those moments."

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Massoud, the 6-9 transfer from Wake Forest, had more of an up-and-down year, making 18 starts and averaging 6.8 points plus 2.8 rebounds. A lack of production from the Wildcats' true post players often forced him to play as an undersized center.

Massoud shot just 36.3% overall, but showed his range by knocking down one-third of his 108 3-point attempts.

"Ish can really shoot the ball at an elite level," Tang said. "He just needs confidence, and we're going to pour that into him."

Tang also did not rule out using Massoud at center when the Wildcats go small.

"It's going to depend on the rest of the roster," he said. "I could see us using him as a stretch-five and create a mismatch. Someone who you'd have to guard all five guys on the floor.

"It opens up lanes and makes your team a better finisher at the rim, and so I can see him moving around to multiple spots."

Two portal transfers and a junior college star

Tang and his staff dipped into the portal early and picked up a pair of talented young transfers in guard Cam Carter from Mississippi State and forward Jerrell Colbert from LSU. Both left after their freshman seasons and have three years of eligibility left.

"We knew of them, recruited them (out of high school) and had a relationship with them," Tang said. "They're both SEC athletes and they have a lot of talent, and their best basketball is ahead of them.

Of the two, Carter was the more productive, averaging 8.4 minutes in 27 games with four starts. Although he only averaged 2.1 points, he scored 15 points in 28 minutes against Alabama in mid-February.

"Cam won a state championship in Louisiana, and when I was at Baylor I always said if you can recruit Texas and Louisiana, you can win a national championship," Tang said of Carter, a 6-5 shooting guard from Donaldsonville, Louisiana. "In the games where he played 12 minutes or more, they only lost one game.

"And his numbers in the games that he was able to play minutes show that he can be really productive."

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Colbert, a 6-10 Houston native and former four-star prospect, is more of an unknown. He appeared in just four games for a total of 26 minutes at LSU, scoring two points with five rebounds and three blocks.

"God blessed him with freaky athleticism and length and speed," Tang said. "There aren't going to be many guys his size who are quicker and faster than he is.

"He also has a great start. I love that about him."

The most promising prospect is 6-10 forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin, who helped lead Chipola (Fla.) College to the NJCAA Tournament each of the past two years, including a semifinal run this spring.

Tomlins averaged 13.8 points on 52.4% shooting and 5.9 rebounds as a sophomore.

"He is very versatile," Tang said. "He can play four positions on the for us and guard every position."

Freshmen redshirt candidates

Tang also signed high school guard Dorian Finister from New Orleans and convinced forward Taj Manning, a Kansas City native who signed with previous coach Bruce Weber, to stay with the Wildcats.

Just how they fit into Tang's 2022-23 plans likely will come down to how many more players he signs.

"Both Taj and Dorian have agreed to redshirt," Tang said. "And so, it's going to fall right into the mode of giving a young person a year to learn the system and prepare.

"But they're both talented enough that they could earn some minutes. So we're not going to make a redshirt decision until later, but it's something that they were willing to look at."

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang breaks down Wildcats' roster