Mailbag: What Kansas State is capable of moving forward

1. HOW LONG BEFORE JEROME TANG AND KANSAS STATE LAND A TRANSFER?

DY: Unfortunately for the Kansas State fans that desire some instant gratification, it could be a while, in my opinion. From what I have learned about the process, the K-State staff is not in a rush to currently lock up anyone already currently in the transfer portal.

Furthermore, nobody necessarily grabs my attention in a robust way like a few did last year. There is also a scenario where teams, like Kansas State, will be sure to not rush to fill up vacancies with players they like only for someone they love to become available after the fact.

2. WILL THE THREE SPOTS REMAINING ALL BE FILLED BY TRANSFERS?

DY: Probably, in my estimation. K-State needs to get a little older. They have a pretty young roster that is assembled thus far. Jerome Tang will want to change that over the course of the next few months. Could a junior college transfer come into play? Yes, but that is not a certainty.

3. IS THERE A CERTAIN STYLE OF POINT GUARD THAT K-STATE WILL PRIORITIZE?

DY: I’m just not convinced that Tang and company are married to a particular style of point guard. I think they’re just married to winning and are willing to take any avenue that will accomplish that. Kansas State will add talent and build a plan around that talent to optimize their skills in an effort to win championships.

To me, it’s as simple as that.

4. DOES KANSAS STATE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE TANG STAY IN MANHATTAN?

DY: There will always be teams that can pay more than K-State. That’s just the unfortunate truth when it comes to college athletics. They are not in tier one when it comes to financial resources and the day when that is the case isn’t near.

They just need enough pledging and giving from the donors to help out enough to make Kansas State competitive enough to other schools that will throw money at Tang. I think they are capable of that, but they are tasked with giving more to both Chris Klieman and Jerome Tang at the same time.

That’s not easy.

5. DOES THE LOSS TO FLORIDA ATLANTIC DIMINISH ANY OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN YEAR ONE?

DY: Absolutely not. The farthest that K-State has made it in the NCAA Tournament since 1964 is the Elite Eight and they accomplished that in year one under Jerome Tang. Not only that, they finished third in the toughest league in America.

6. WHAT WILL BE THE DIFFERENCE IN K-STATE GETTING BACK AND ADVANCING FURTHER IN MARCH?

DY: Recruiting. They had an excellent top two. They need to continue to develop what they started in terms of who remains on the roster and recruit other talents to surround them with to be more effective and have more contributors.

The biggest difference for Kansas State moving forward will be that they have more talent 1-13 and a larger number of contributors that can have a significant impact on a game.

7. DO YOU THINK THE ELITE EIGHT IS TANG’S CEILING?

DY: No. In no way do I think he hit his ceiling just one year into the job. He is too ambitious, driven and competitive to no get back and advance further, in my opinion. Plus, Tang is an excellent recruiter and I believe this year was just the beginning for K-State.

8. WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISINGLY POSITIVE THING YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT SPRING BALL?

DY: Surprisingly positive? It is probably the words spoken by Kansas State offensive coordinator Collin Klein on Wednesday. I thought his description of a couple of the skill position players that they added was a very strong message.

Klein is not one for hyperbole and he called Keagan Johnson elite in the way he comes in and out of his breaks and creates separation. Not only that, Treshaun Ward was said to have outstanding short area quickness.

The Wildcats needed to knock it out of the park with those additions and the early returns are overwhelmingly positive.

9. WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISINGLY NEGATIVE THING YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT SPRING BALL?

DY: That is a tougher question to answer. Not a lot of negatives are swirling around the K-State football program in the Vanier Family Football Complex these days. A lot has went right for the Wildcats in the past few months.

The only negatives are the talent that has left the building and a bit on the health front. But even the latter has improved. Ben Sinnott, Taylor Poitier and DJ Giddens were back at practice for Kansas State this past week.

10. ANY NEW OR RELEVANT UPDATES ABOUT THE KANSAS STATE RECEIVERS AND TIGHT ENDS?

DY: Yes, actually. But some of that has already been shared above.

Keagan Johnson has been impressive during his first spring period with K-State. His precise route-running and ability to get open and find holes in the defense has impressed the coaches. And if there is a tight end that has flashed in the last couple months, it has been Garrett Oakley.

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