Roster changes on horizon for K-State, but high hopes remain for Jerome Tang in Year 2

Jerome Tang’s first season as the head coach at Kansas State ended three wins short of a national championship.

Not bad for a men’s basketball team that was picked to finish last in the Big 12 as it welcomed in a roster of 11 new scholarship players last spring.

The Wildcats wildly exceeded expectations this year. So much so that athletic director Gene Taylor will almost certainly reward Tang with a raise and a new contract in the next few months. A rejuvenated fan base is eager to see what’s next.

But now comes a new challenge. What does Tang have in store for an encore?

His debut season won’t be easy to top, especially when you consider how many key contributors the Wildcats are set to lose.

Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson, the two stars of a team that won 26 games and led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight, are on their way to the professional ranks. Starting guard Desi Sills is also out of college eligibility, along with reserve forward Abayomi Iyiola and backup guard Tykei Greene.

K-State is saying goodbye to nearly 50 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists per game.

That will be difficult to replace.

But K-State coaches have been preparing for exactly this moment. Tang has lined up three promising recruits that will join the Wildcats as freshmen next season. Four-star point guard Dai Dai Ames, four-star shooting guard RJ Jones and three-star small forward Macaleab Rich will be on campus this summer.

Tang also made the unusual decision to redshirt three scholarship players this season. Rather than use Jerrell Colbert, Taj Manning and Anthony Thomas in games, they spent a year developing behind the scenes in practice and challenging K-State starters as members of the scout team.

Coaches and players alike have raved about the progress made by Colbert, a shot-blocking center who transferred in from LSU, and Manning, a former three-star forward recruit, this season.

Much will be expected from them moving forward.

Colbert should give K-State an upgrade inside as a 6-foot-10 big man.

“I wasn’t ready to play at a high level every single game in the Big 12,” Colbert said. “I needed another year to get better, and it’s been a great year. I needed it. Going up against our All-Americans in practice every day has made me much more competitive. I’m ready to be (Big 12) Defensive Player of the Year. I want to be that dude.”

Manning should also provide a boost in the paint.

“When I first got here I was getting pushed around,” Manning said. “I spent a lot in the weight room. So now I’m a lot stronger. My defense has gotten a lot better and I have always been able to rebound the ball. I am going to do a lot of that next year.”

There are some questions about K-State’s roster next year.

It’s impossible to say which players plan to stay and which players plan to explore other opportunities during the age of the transfer portal. But it seems likely that Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Cam Carter, David N’Guessan, Dorian Finister will be back along with Colbert, Manning and Thomas.

Ismael Massoud can return to school for an extra year if he chooses to do so. But he could look to play professionally or maybe transfer somewhere closer to his home in New York now that his good friend Nowell is out of college eligibility.

Massoud said he will wait to consider all his options following K-State’s loss to Florida Atlantic in the Elite Eight.

There is also a chance that Tomlin will test the professional waters by declaring for the NBA Draft as an early entrant and working out in front of scouts. If that happens, the feedback he receives will likely determine his future.

For now, K-State has two available scholarships to work with. Expect Tang to use them on incoming transfers.

Following the success of players like Johnson and Sills, it may not be hard to attract quality players with college experience.

As the Wildcats say goodbye to three starters and a cast of key contributors who did special things this season they also look ahead to what could be an exciting new beginning next year. This team, they won’t sneak up on anyone.