The transfer portal is turning into a merry-go-round for Kansas State basketball.
After adding two players over the weekend, former Villanova guard Brendan Hausen and Arkansas big man Bey Fall, the Wildcats announced that point guard Dai Dai Amens threw his name into the portal on Sunday. I suffered another loss.
Ames, a 6-foot-1 freshman from Chicago, started 16 games, including the final 13 games of the 2023-24 season. He averaged 5.2 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 35.3% from the field, including 32.9% from 3-point range.
Ames becomes the sixth Wildcat player to enter the portal. He joins starting guard Cam Carter and starting center Jerrell Colbert, who signed with LSU, as well as super senior guard Ques Glover, sophomore guard Dorian Finister and freshman guard RJ Jones. .
Ames was expected to be a key player for the Wildcats next year after finishing his freshman season well. He scored in double figures in two of his final three games, including a career-high 16 points and five assists in a loss to Iowa in the season-ending National Invitational Tournament.
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After leading K-State to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight the previous year, Jerome Tan finished his second season as head coach with a record of 19-15 and a loss in the first round of the NIT. He has already signed four players and a four-star high school recruit from the portal, but has at least four scholarships remaining.
K-State's most important addition so far is former Michigan point guard Doug McDaniel. Tan also signed shooting guard CJ Jones from Chicago, Illinois, Hausen, a 3-point specialist, and 6-foot-11 Fall, a former McDonald's All-American.
Only four players remain from the Wildcats for the 2022-23 season. Senior forward Arthur Calma, the third-leading scorer with 14.4 points per game and top rebounder with 7.0 points per game, has declared for the NBA Draft but remains eligible to return, while forward David N'Guessan (7.8 points, 6.8 rebounds) has not yet been officially designated. He will announce whether he will return for the final season of the Super Seniors.
The other two still on the team are freshman backup forwards Taj Manning and Makaleb Rich.
K-State continues to pursue Rutgers center Clifford Omoruyi and Arkansas shooting guard Kalife Battle, both of whom traveled to Manhattan last week.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett Network. You can contact him at: agreen@gannett.com Or on Twitter @arnegreen.