Kansas State basketball target Antoine Davis to return to Detroit Mercy, NIL deal in hand

Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang was hoping he had found his scorer to replace Nijel Pack.

Turns out Antoine Davis had other ideas.

Shortly after reportedly signing a big Name, Image and Likeness deal with a Chinese basketball manufacturer, Davis announced on social media Monday afternoon that he was returning for a fifth season at Detroit Mercy.

More: Kansas State basketball doubles up with pair of additions to 2022 recruiting class

Davis, a 6-foot-1 guard, entered the transfer portal after a record-breaking four years at Detroit and visited K-State, Maryland, Georgetown and BYU before deciding to remain with the Titans, who are coached by his father, Mike.

Davis averaged 24.6 points per game over his first four years at Detroit, and his 2,734 career points rank 22nd in NCAA history. He averaged 23.9 points, 4.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds this past season.

Jeff Goodman, college basketball analyst at Stadium, reported on Twitter early Monday afternoon that Davis agreed to a one-year NIL agreement with the Chinese manufacturer to produce custom GlowBalls featuring custom logos. Davis retweeted the post.

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Mike Davis had said that his son entered the transfer portal hoping to secure an NIL deal by moving to a Power Five program, but in the end that proved unnecessary.

K-State and Wildcat fans were optimistic after Davis shared rave reviews on Twitter following his visit to Manhattan on April 22-23. "That was the best visit I went on," he wrote, after trips to Maryland and Georgetown earlier in the week.

K-State currently has seven players on its roster, with point guard Markquis Nowell and forward Ismael Massoud the only two remaining from the 2021-22 roster. Last month, the Wildcats added 6-10 LSU transfer forward Jerrell Colbert and 6-3 Mississippi State guard Cam Carter, then last Monday they picked up 6-5 New Orleans high school guard Dorian Finister and 6-10 junior college forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin from Chipola (Fla.).

High school forward Taj Manning, who signed with previous coach Bruce Weber last November, also recommitted after Tang was hired and will join the team next season.

K-State also is a finalist for 6-11 four-star center Shawn Phillips from Dream City Christian High School in Arizona, who will make his announcement May 17.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State basketball unable to land Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis