Kansas State men's basketball has taken a series of losses after Jerome Tang's departure.
It finally got its first addition on Wednesday afternoon: Murray State forward Brock Vice. He averaged two points and 1.8 rebounds last season.
Vice didn't get a lot of playing time last season, but he could serve as solid frontcourt depth for the Wildcats. Their forwards were depleted last season, as Khamari McGriff, Mobi Ikegwuruka, and Elias Rapieque barely stayed on the court consistently, let alone together. Kansas State coach Casey Alexander lands his first addition of many, as he will likely have to completely outsource for his next roster.
He's already brought in some former Belmont commits and assistant coaches for familiarity, but some star power will be needed soon. Alexander missed out on senior guard Tyler Lundblade to Tennessee, but can still get a few of his former Bruins stars in Manhattan, KS.
Sophomore forward Drew Scharnowski could be a great developmental piece, a possible budding star as a long-term prospect. He averaged 10.7 points and six rebounds per game, shooting 68.1 percent from the floor. Scharnowski earned First Team All-MVC and MVC All-Defense honors, taking a huge leap in his second season with Belmont.
The Wildcats will need to start reeling in some backcourt prospects soon, as their entire starting unit is gone. Nate Johnson played his last collegiate season as a Wildcat, while PJ Haggerty, Abdi Bashir Jr., and David Castillo all entered the transfer portal before it opened Tuesday. The Tang experiment failed once again, and the program turned to Alexander for help.
"I think we need to broaden," Alexander said in his opening radio interview. "We gotta have some more experience at this level, and that’s a given. We’ll have a really good staff, and one thing they’ll be is like-minded. We'll all be on the same page, pulling in the same direction, and all about the same thing. So they'll love everything I’ve already seen about K-State when they get here."
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