Bruce Weber rewards senior walk-on with K-State’s open basketball scholarship

Kansas State men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber didn’t end up having to look far for a player worthy of the team’s lone open scholarship heading into the 2018-19 season.

Turns out he was already on the team.

After four years as a walk-on with the Wildcats, redshirt senior Pierson McAtee is now on scholarship. Weber promoted McAtee to scholarship status at a team meeting Monday.

“The staff and I are very excited to extend this scholarship offer to Pierson,” Weber said in a statement. “He has been a true representative of our championship culture both on and off the court with his tremendous intelligence and leadership. An excellent example for his teammates in the classroom, he has been a valuable member of our team these past four years and I look forward to him having an outstanding senior season.”

McAtee has played in 40 games for the Wildcats since arriving on campus four years ago. His on-court contributions have been small, as he has scored a total of 20 points in a K-State uniform. But he has helped the team in many ways behind the scenes in practice.

The 6-foot-6 forward from Manhattan became a potential scholarship candidate when Weber struggled to land a number of recruits during the late signing period. But K-State players clearly think he is deserving and cheered when his scholarship was announced.

Following the departures of Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade, the Wildcats will look to McAtee to provide leadership this season.

“I’m so stoked and ready to get after it with these guys this year,” McAtee said. “This is something that I have been working towards these last four years. Being from Manhattan, I love K-State, this team, this community, this coaching staff and couldn’t be more appreciative of this opportunity in my last year and just ready to do something special with this team.”

This story was originally published August 26, 2019 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Bruce Weber rewards senior walk-on with K-State’s open basketball scholarship."