Missouri lands K-State transfer DaJuan Gordon days after Mark Smith joins Wildcats
Trades aren’t allowed between college basketball teams, but the transfer market produced the next best thing on Friday.
DaJuan Gordon has announced plans to transfer from Kansas State to Missouri, which is more notable than usual because Mark Smith signed with the Wildcats earlier this week after spending the past three seasons playing for the Tigers.
Both players are 6-foot-5 guards who will try to replace each other on their new teams next season the same way professional players do in the NBA. There just aren’t any draft picks involved.
Kidding aside, all parties involved could end up benefiting from these transfers.
Gordon will bring loads of athleticism, defense and rebounding to Missouri after spending his first two seasons at K-State. The former four-star recruit from Chicago averaged 7.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 26.7 from three-point range over 56 games with the Wildcats. He made 33 starts and provided valuable lineup versatility by playing everything from shooting guard to power forward as a sophomore.
He hasn’t publicly explained his reasons for leaving K-State, but K-State coach Bruce Weber has said Gordon expressed a desire to find a larger offensive role with a new team.
Perhaps a fresh start with Cuonzo Martin and the Tigers will raise Gordon’s offensive potential. He will have three years of eligibility to use with Missouri.
Gordon should get plenty of opportunities to make an instant impact with the Tigers. Missouri has lost five transfers this offseason. They are: Torrence Watson, Xavier Pinson, Parker Braun, Ed Chang and Smith. Gordon is the second incoming transfer Martin has added to the roster to help offset those departures.
Smith announced on Monday that he was transferring from Missouri to K-State as a “super senior.” He averaged 10.3 points and four rebounds per game while shooting 37.5% from three-point range during his 69 games with the Tigers. He also played one season at Illinois as a freshman.
Weber was excited to add him to K-State’s roster, because he brings valuable experience to a young roster and he is capable of giving the Wildcats an offensive boost next season.
“We’re really excited about the addition of Mark,” Weber said in a statement. “Obviously, we know him well having recruited him out of high school then again after he decided to leave Illinois. I guess you could say the third time’s the charm. It was important to me to reach out to Cuonzo after Mark decided to transfer and get his perspective and he was very positive about him. Once I had that conversation, we reached out to Mark and his family, and after some time, we all came to the realization that it was a good fit.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2021 at 8:16 PM with the headline "Missouri lands K-State transfer DaJuan Gordon days after Mark Smith joins Wildcats."