Kansas State roster exodus continues as Jerome Tang loses another basketball transfer
Kansas State men’s basketball fans may struggle to recognize the roster that new head coach Jerome Tang leads onto the court next season at Bramlage Coliseum.
His list of returning scholarship players continued to shrink on Friday when another Wildcats player entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Seryee Lewis, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward who did not play last season while he recovered from a torn ACL, has announced that he will leave K-State and continue his college basketball career elsewhere. He is the fifth Wildcats basketball player to announce intentions to transfer since Tang was hired to replace Bruce Weber as coach.
The others: Carlton Linguard, Luke Kasubke, Selton Miguel and (most importantly) Nijel Pack.
It’s almost easier to list the scholarship players who are set to return: Markquis Nowell, Ismael Massoud, Davion Bradford, Kaosi Ezeagu, Maximus Edwards and Logan Landers.
K-State is now facing a complete rebuild under Tang. His associate head coach, Ulric Maligi, addressed that challenge of recruiting at least six new players during a video conference with reporters.
“We need immediate impact,” Maligi said. “Obviously, we’ve got quite a few holes to fill to be able to elevate our roster.”
Maligi said K-State’s goal is to find up to six talented guards they can depend on against Big 12 competition, as well as a few big men who can boost the team’s presence in the paint.
K-State coaches will need to look for new players in the transfer portal if they hope to climb up the conference standings next season. They have started to do exactly that and have reached out to several transfers, including Illinois guard Andre Curbelo, East Carolina guard Tristen Newton, West Virginia guard Sean McNeil, LSU wing Brandon Murray, Jackson State forward Jayveous McKinnis and Bradley guard Terry Roberts.
Tang had also offered Longwood guard Justin Hill, but he already committed to Georgia.
Maligi said he thinks the Wildcats are in good shape with many recruits and transfers at the moment.
“We’re optimistic that we’re on the right guys,” Maligi said, “and we feel confident that we’ll be able to land some future players here pretty soon.”
Pack is obviously the biggest loss that K-State has suffered this far. The sophomore guard averaged 17.4 points last season and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors. He eclipsed 30 points in three different games and was arguably the best pure shooter in the conference. His scoring won’t be easily replaced.
Miguel was also a steady contributor over the past two seasons. Kasubke, Linguard and Lewis were never more than reserves.
All their departures leave Tang with six open scholarships as he works to reshape the K-State roster this offseason.
Perhaps that kind of flexibility will turn into a blessing instead of a curse. For now, Tang and his coaching staff aren’t focusing on the players that are leaving.
“Our program will never be about just one player,” Maligi said. “Ultimately, we’ll have some success with having guys that really want to be here for all the right reasons.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Kansas State roster exodus continues as Jerome Tang loses another basketball transfer."