Center JT Rock transferred from New Mexico to play for the Kansas State Wildcats this season
New Kansas State Wildcats center JT Rock is a fan of playing close to home.
He got that experience when he began his collegiate career at Iowa State but realized how much he missed it when he transferred to New Mexico.
Now he's back in the Midwest and looking forward to another new start.
"The proximity of home," Rock said of the reason for transferring to K-State. "I'm from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. "It's about five and a half hours from here. My family and everybody can get to the games."
While this gives Rock the opportunity to play more in front of familiar faces, it's the complete opposite when it comes to the K-State roster. The team has a first-year coach in Casey Alexander and most of the players are new to the program.
The 7-foot Rock, who was the first player to commit to Alexander, is up for the challenge of getting the Wildcats back to the NCAA Tournament. They have missed the Big Dance each of the last three seasons.
"Yeah, I would say throughout the summer, as a new team where everybody in the program is new, it's been really nice to just see that. I think that our team is going to have good depth this year. We'll have a lot of guys that can play and just a team that plays together first and foremost. So really excited about the team environment that we've been able to build so early in this journey together."
Rock was a four-star recruit coming out of Lincoln High School and was considered the state of South Dakota's top player in the 2024 class. In 46 college games, he has averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds on 54 percent shooting.
PURPLE REIGN ELIMINATED FROM TBT
The Purple Reign's run in the TBT ended Friday night at Bramlage Coliseum.
They were defeated by 62-55 by JHX Hoops, eliminating them from the tournament. After winning the first game, Purple Reign lost the remaining two in the best-of-3 series.
The Purple Reign team featured mostly former Kansas State Wildcats players while JHX Hoops was full of ex-Kansas Jayhawks. Former KU player Zeke Mayo led the way by scoring 18 of his 25 points in the second half.
Michael Beasley had a team-high 17 points for the Purple Reign. JHX Hoops now advances to the single-elimination quarterfinals. The winning team in the tournament receives $2 million.
MORE K-STATE NEWS
Casey Alexander ready to start a new culture at K-State
Kansas State gives offer to three-star basketball player
Wildcats basketball player trying to handle intense spotlight
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of KStateRoundtable. He can be reached at [email protected]
