Kansas State Wildcats
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #85
Conference Rank: #10 Big 12
After three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, including an Elite Eight run in 2018, Kansas State had a forgettable 2019-2020 campaign. The Wildcats won just three Big 12 games and went 11-22 overall. The Big 12 was very tough, but the expectations were that Kansas State would compete for another trip to the NCAA Tournament. With their top three scorers gone, Coach Bruce Weber will have to find some new leaders to carry his team up the Big 12 standings.
2019-20 Record: 11-22, 3-15
Coach: Bruce Weber
Coach Record: 161-110 at Kansas State, 474-265 overall
Key Departed Players:
Xavier Sneed, Forward, 14.2 ppg
Cartier Diarra, Guard, 13.3 ppg
Makol Mawien, Forward, 7.4 ppg
David Sloan, Guard, 5.3 ppg
Levi Stockard, Forward, 3.7 ppg
Pierson McAtee, Forward, 0.9 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Mike McGuirl, Senior, Guard, 6.9 ppg
Montavious Murphy, Sophomore, Forward, 5.2 ppg
DaJuan Gordon, Sophomore, Guard, 6.3 ppg
Antonio Gordon, Sophomore, Forward, 4.2 ppg
Key New Players:
Davion Bradford, Freshman, Forward
Kaosi Ezeagu, Sophomore, Forward, Transfer from UTEP
Luke Kasubke, Freshman, Guard
Seryee Lewis, Freshman, Forward
Carlton Linguard, Sophomore, Forward, JC Transfer
Selton Miquel, Freshman, Guard
Nijel Pack, Freshman, Guard
Rudi Williams, Junior, Guard, JC Transfer
Projection:
Mike McGuirl is the lone senior on the roster. He is the team’s top returning scorer with 6.9 points per game and McGuirl will knock down plenty of three-pointers. DaJuan Gordon earned 11 starts down the stretch of his freshman campaign and averaged 6.3 points per game. Fellow sophomores Montavious Murphy and Antonio Gordon will hold down the frontcourt. Murphy was a regular starter as a freshman and Antonio Gordon showed plenty of promise. Both are forwards who can shoot the ball and battle in the paint and K-State will need those sophomores to step up and embrace their larger roles. Meanwhile, the Wildcats will have to get production from their eight newcomers. Kaosi Ezeagu spent one season at UTEP and Carlton Linguard spent one season at Temple College and is regarded as one of the top junior college prospects coming into the Division I ranks. The 6-11 sophomore filled up the stat sheet at junior college and the hope is he can come close to replicating some of those numbers at K-State. Rudi Williams is the other experienced newcomer and joins McGuirl as the only upperclassmen on the roster. He too is one of the best junior college recruits this year and the 6-3 point guard should be running the show from day one. The recruiting class does not have a big time name who will take the conference by storm as a freshman, but all five are solid players who can find a role on this team right away.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 64.2 (323rd in nation, 9th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.0 (54, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 41.4 (294, 10)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.0 (180, 8)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.7 (230, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.3 (280, 9)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.1 (312, 8)
Rebound Margin: -1.5 (254, 8)
Assists Per Game: 12.4 (232, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.3 (283, 9)
Madness 2020 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#102 Selton Miguel
#109 Nijel Pack
