Monday Musings: What’s next for Kansas State?

SURE BETS

1. HOOPS PORTAL: Now that the basketball season has finished for Kansas State, the transfer portal will be hot and heavy as they look to fill at least two more remaining spots. A few early names to keep an eye on are Brandon Murray of Georgetown, Rice’s Quincy Olivari and Kentucky guard Sahvir Wheeler. But like last year, K-State will pick their spots. And they are so connected that they are privy to others that will eventually land in the portal but have yet to do so. Also, another group will enter the portal and declare for the NBA Draft, too.

2. 2025 IN KANSAS: Three Sunflower State prospects were chosen as part of the first On300 in the Class of 2025. Two defensive linemen were part of that in St. Thomas Aquinas’ Julian Marks and Jayden Woods of Mill Valley. The third was Derby tight end Dasaahn Brahme. Woods is the highest ranked of the bunch. Kansas State should at least be contenders for Woods and Brahme.

3. JEROME TANG AND THE TOURNAMENT: Call me crazy, but I think K-State will be back in a similar spot under Jerome Tang at some juncture. Maybe it won’t be in 2024, but they do everything in a way to push the program further. In my mind, they won’t stop until they reach a Final Four. Not always will they have two NCAA All-Americans but I believe every roster will be a very talented one. Their talent may just be more spread across the board in the future.

SURPRISES

1. LEFT SIDE: Boy, did the left side of the NCAA Tournament bracket explode and become unpredictable or what? That’s why Kansas State did have a golden opportunity. It is amazing to think that the winner of the contest between San Diego State and Florida Atlantic will be playing for the national championship.

2. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: It may be the most famous arena in the world, but it didn’t present itself all that favorably over the weekend. Perhaps it is on the organizers of the regional but the media treatment paled in comparison to what we received in Greensboro. Just having anything available for the media such as drinks seemed to be a tall task and not everyone was even granted a seat. On top of that, a light fixture busted above and fans had to be removed and taken to different seats for safety.

3. BIG 12: Not that it takes away from how elite the Big 12 was this season, but it is a bit of a stunner that nobody from the league will advance to the Final Four. In fact, only two high-major leagues have a competitor still alive. That is the ACC and Big East. K-State and Texas were the last two chances and both fell over the weekend.

JURY STILL OUT

1. NOWELL: Is he a pro? I think so. Will that be the NBA? Only time will tell, but Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell put himself on the map as much as he could have and that might tempt at least one NBA team into taking him in the second round.

2. ISH: Technically, K-State sharpshooter Ish Massoud has another year remaining. It would be an extra season granted to him by the Covid-19 pandemic. Will he exercise that and play another season in Manhattan? Does he just move on after having already graduated? He was not ready to answer that immediately after the loss to the Owls in New York City.

3. WHO’S NEXT: Recently, Chris Klieman and Kansas State added commit No. 4 in linebacker Jake Stonebraker of Colorado. His second visit to campus was over the weekend. But who could be next? None are rushing to the surface, but they did just host a hoard of offensive linemen in Emerson Mandell, Riley Sunram, Kaedin Massey, Grant Brix and Kyle Rakers. Two running backs visited as well in targets Julius Ellens and Dominik Ball.

HAS MY ATTENTION

1. GENE TAYLOR: Can life be any better for Gene Taylor? Not only was he just named the FBS Athletics Director of the Year by the NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) but his hires of Klieman and Tang have lifted their respective programs to the top of the Big 12.

2. PRO DAY: K-State will host their Pro Day on Friday morning. A large crowd of NFL personnel is expected to come and watch workouts from Deuce Vaughn, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Julius Brents, Malik Knowles, Josh Hayes and others.

3. STONEBRAKER: As alluded to earlier, Kansas State hopped back on the 2024 commit scoreboard with the addition of Jake Stonebraker of Colorado. Many in the program liken him to a bit of an Austin Moore clone. That has them excited, especially since they have now secured the pledge of the top two prospects in the Centennial State.

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