From The Couch – Key Players Transfer Off The K-State Basketball Team
Bruce Weber lost three key players off the basketball team roster this week when Antonio Gordon, DaJuan Gordon, and Rudi Williams all hit the transfer portal. It’s pretty hard, if not near impossible, to run a successful basketball program with this kind of turnover every year. Let’s take a look at what happened….
“I want to thank the people of Manhattan for their tremendous love and support throughout this year. I would also like to thank my teammates for accepting me and loving me like a brother. I would lastly like to thank Coach Weber, Coach (Brad) Korn, coach (Chris) Lowery, Coach (Shane) Southwell, and Coach (Jermaine) Henderson for giving me the opportunity to play at this university. I will truly miss the memories that were made here with so many great people. But after prayer and long talks with my family and those close around me I have decided to enter the transfer portal to continue my athletic and academic journey.”…Antonio Gordon, Twitter
JM: Antonio Gordon was an off-and-on starter through two seasons with the Wildcats. I was impressed with him when I watched him in his first few games as a freshman last season. He seemed to regress this season and Weber made it sound like health issues were the primary reason…
“I appreciate his contributions to our program the past two seasons, especially this season with all his health-related challenges. We wish him the best as he moves forward in his college career.”…Bruce Weber, March 15th, 2021
JM: Antonio Gordon’s transfer seems like a friendly and mutual parting of ways. Bruce Weber’s reaction to DaJuan Gordon’s transfer announcement didn’t seem quite so friendly….
“I’m thankful for the opportunity at Kansas State. I want to thank all members of the (athletics) program, Coach Weber and the rest of the coaching staff (Coach Korn included) and the tremendous fans. You guys kept me pushing. Lastly, all of my teammates, current and last year, (I) gained brothers for life. (After) discussion with my family, we think it’s best for me to look for a new opportunity. Thank you for everything Kansas State.”…DaJuan Gordon, March 19th, 2021
JM: This is a huge loss for K-State. DaJuan Gordon was K-State’s best all-around player and he showed a lot of promise and potential when he was healthy.
“After several conversations with DaJaun and his family following the season, he informed me of his decision. Although DaJuan has played significant minutes and started most games the past two seasons, he indicated his desire to have a larger role offensively. Obviously, we are disappointed with his decision, but we wish him the best in basketball and life.”…Bruce Weber, March 19th, 2021
JM: I found a couple of things interesting about this statement by Weber. “After several conversations with DaJuan and his family” Weber still couldn’t talk him into staying with the program? It seems he’s been unhappy for a while. Gordon also wanted a “larger role offensively.” I’m not sure exactly what he means by this. Did he want to shoot it every time down the floor? Heck, he missed almost five times more three-pointers than he made. Nijel Pack and Mike McGuirl were the only real consistent scorers on the team. DaJuan was third in scoring, second in rebounding, first in steals, and third in minutes played. I think what he told Weber was just an excuse as to why he really wanted to transfer. But that’s just a hunch on my part.
“We recruited and signed Rudi during the early part of the pandemic without him even visiting campus and getting a feeling for our program, so this gives him the opportunity to evaluate what type of school will be best for him moving forward. We wish him well.”…Bruce Weber, March 19th, 2021
JM: Rudi Williams started four games for the Wildcats this season, but was mostly a role player on the team. This does, however, make three transfers with starting experience that Bruce Weber lost off the roster. It sure seems like Weber has an extraordinary amount of transfers each season. I saw a post by @ksu_fan on Twitter comparing Weber’s transfers with the rest of the league. This shows the recruiting classes of each Big 12 school for the last four years and the number of transfers that they’ve had during that time.
