Announcement from KC Catbackers:
K-Staters,

Some of K-State Men’s Basketball’s most prolific stars of the last two decades are coming to our backyard next week for an open scrimmage.

That’s right. Catch Michael Beasley, Jacob Pullen, Bill Walker, Barry Brown, Martavious Irving and others tune up for this year’s The Basketball Tournament competition on Tuesday, July 19 at St. Thomas Aquinas High School (11411 Pflumm Rd., Overland Park, KS).

Tickets are required but FREE (see below). A donation to the team’s GoFundMe page is suggested.
https://kccatbackers.com/join/purple-black-kc-scrimmage
https://www.gofundme.com/f/purple-black-2022

Dai Dai Ames tells me he will announce his commitment today at 4p.

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Thought this needed its own thread so everyone can see it rather than being buried in another thread.

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get his damn jersey in the rafters already Gene.

I assume he never rcvd any offers to coach. When he had his resignation presser he stated he wasn’t done coaching and his wife said he couldn’t retire. Can’t imagine he’d stay around MHK. Anyone heard anything?

Slowest Sports day of the year and the Dai Dai commitment thread isn’t even a 2 pager yet.
I know my guy Bruce Weber killed any excitement around the program the past few years, but now’s the time to bring it back.

Highest rated guard Kansas State has ever landed since online recruiting rankings have began, this is a big time deal, the momentum just keeps building and the commits keep getting better, imagine if we start winning some games.

For y’all’s eyes only, but I feel better than ever about Kansas State’s chances for Dai Dai Ames. Would be a great first commitment to the class of 2023. Announcement could come as early as next week.

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Is this a Cat Signal from Coach Reem?

South Dakota - Can’t lose game

Missouri - Old rivalry game at home should be a great crowd and a game we need to win. Mizzou went 5-7 and they are replacing their starting QB and RB from last year. 5 star WR coming in

Tulane - Can’t lose game

@OU - New QB, new coach. Not going to be the preseason top 5 OU team we are used to seeing. Would be a big win to get us started on a path to a Big 12 titles similar to 2012. Also would love to beat Venables

Texas Tech - New coach, keep the win streak alive. Need to win

@Iowa State - They lost about everyone. F Matt Campbell I hope we kick their ass and they finish under .500

@TCU - New coach, got to find a way to come out with a W

Oklahoma State - Hoping we are 6-1 at this point. Back to back home games with OSU and Texas who should both be in the top have of the conference. Hoping for a split

Texas - See above would like revenge after last years choke job both home games should be well attended and have conference title implications

@Baylor - Probably an L but hopefully a huge game if we are say 7-2 at this point

@West Virginia - Their whole team transferred. Klieman wins the rivalry vs Neal Brown and gets him fired a few days later

Kansas - Win comfortably and watch some other big 12 games hoping the cards fall right and we squeak in the title game

I think we finish 9-3 and need to finish 10-2 to make the Big 12 championship. Think Baylor, OSU, OU, K-State, UT have the best chance in that order. Can’t wait to see Iowa State suck.

Should be a fun year I can’t wait to watch AM and Deuce. Starting to get excited for the season

I always like to go back at look at recruiting classes after all the players have used up their eligibility to see if the rankings held up. It took a while but now that Sky, Boom, Lenners & Barta are officially done its time to see how their careers matched up to the rankings.

The 2016 class was ranked 80th overall on Rivals (worst since 2009) & 72nd on 247

Highest rated player was Skylar Thompson 5.8 4* Rivals 241st player in nation/ .8783 3* 24/7 416th player in the nation/ 80 4* ESPN
Up and down career, but set a lot of career records & was solid when he had good coaching and was healthy. I think he was rated pretty fairly by Rivals.

Byron Pringle 5.6 3* 75th rated Juco player by Rivals/ .8576 3* 71st rated juco by 24/7 / 79 3* ESPN
Although he struggled with drops at K-State he was still a big time play maker and now has a solid role with the Chiefs. If anything I would say he was slightly underrated as a recruit.

Breontae Matthews 5.6 3* 86th rated Juco player by Rivals/ .8507 3* 92nd rated Juco player by 24/7 / 73 3* ESPN
Redshirted and was a back up O-lineman for a year before transferring. Did not live up to his rating.

Mike McCoy 5.6 3* 27th rated RB by Rivals/ .8456 3* 60th rated RB by 24/7 / 73 3* ESPN
He did have one of the most memorable runs in recent school history. we never got to see what he was really capable of, since he had to retire early from football.

Corey Sutton 5.5 3* by Rivals/.8529 3* 117th rated WR by 24/7 / 78 3* ESPN
Caught 4 passes for 54 yards as a true freshman, then went through a bitter transfer process with Bill Snyder. Eventually finding a home at App State where he has had 2200 receiving yards & 24 TDs. I think he was slighting underrated at a recruit.

Bronson Massie 5.5 3* by Rivals / .8315 3* by 24/7 / 74 3* ESPN
Played in 53 games over 5 seasons, but never became a full time starter. Rating was fair.

Blake Hickey 5.5 3* by Rivals / .8340 3* by 24/7 74 3* ESPN
Transferred almost immediately to TCU and would eventually become a starter on their O-Line the 2nd half of his junior year. Rating was fair.

Nick Lenners 5.5 3* by Rivals / .8215 3* by 24/7 / 75 3* ESPN
Although his 163 yards in 2019 were much more than any K-State tight end since 2014, he never blossomed into a consistent pass catching threat. He did however become a highly valued blocker in Messinghams's offense. Rating was fair.

Jimmy McKinney 5.5 3* by Rivals /.8130 3* by 24/7 / 78 3* ESPN
Did not last long at K-State. It was stated on this site that he did not have the athletic ability to keep up. Did not live up to his rating.

D.J. Render 5.4 2* / .8376 3* by 24/7 / 75 3* ESPN
Went back and forth between DB & WR. Didn't make a an impact until his senior year, then used his super senior year to transfer Austin Peay. Rated fairly on Rivals (too high on other sites)

Abdul Beecham 5.4 2* / .8271 3* 24/7 / 73 3* ESPN
Played in 33 career games with 29 starts at guard. Did get a free agent contract with Chiefs, but was cut before the season started. Underrated as a recruit.

Isaiah Harris 5.4 2* / .8184 3* 24/7 / 74 3* ESPN
Played as a true freshman & pulled in 22 receptions for 253 yards and 1 TD from 2016-2018 before he left the team. I don't believe he was able to find another team to take him in. Although he had a lot of promise early, I think he was rated fairly.

Jordon Robertson 5.4 2* / .8112 3* 24/7 / 72 3* ESPN
Never made an impact before he was either cut from the team or left on his own. Was a low rating already, but still probably too high.

Mason Barta 5.4 2* / .8113 3* 24/7 / NR ESPN
Good Special teams contributor and did see a fair amount of offensive snaps over his career. Fair rating.

Ray Price 5.4 2* /.8106 3* 24/7 / NR ESPN
played in 18 career games but only recorded 3 tackles & one sack. Fair rating.

Ian Rudzik 5.4 2* / .7857 2* 24/7 / NR ESPN
Played on special teams as a redshirt freshman before leaving the team. Fair rating.

AJ Parker 5.3 2* / .7817 2* 24/7 / NR ESPN
A 33 game starter at CB & NB for K-State. 114 tackles 6 interceptions 24 passes defended. Is now a starter in the NFL for the Lions. Extremely underrated as a recruit.

Trace Kochevar NR rivals / .7531 24/7 / NR ESPN
I don't believe he ever played for K-State. Fairly rated.

Jordan Noil NR Rivals / NR 24/7 / NR ESPN
Was he on scholarship? Not sure, but he is listed on the Rivals commitments page. Fairly rated.

D.J. Reed NR Rivals / NR 24/7 / NR ESPN
One of the best CB in K-State recent history. Starter in the NFL for the Seahawks. I believe he reclassified very late in the process which is why he wasn't ranked, but I will still say extremely underrated as a recruit.

Walk ons
Walter Neil Jr. - Was able to walk on due to parent in the military. 18 game starter.
Wykeen Gill - 336 yards 2 TDs. 4 game starter.
Blake Lynch - 2nd in school history FG %
Devin Anctil - Highest punt average in school history
Wesley Burris - 2 year starter as LS
Brock Monty - Special teams ace
Kaelin Key
Tom Killilea

Transfers
Nick Kaltmayer - 13 game starter
Cedric Dozier
Carlos Strickland

With hindsight - 11 players were rated fairly
5 underrated
3 overrated
1 had to medically retire

With 3 players already in the NFL and two more that have a chance, although one didn't play much for K-State (Skylar and Sutton) this actually wasn't that bad of a class. A success rate of 50% isn't far off of some of the better K-State recruiting classes. If McCoy is able to play, I think this class looks way better.

The Walk on class was especially good for special teams which bumps this class up in my opinion. Kaltmayer was an underrated transfer on the O-Line.

I'm going to write an update that has a little more info but here's some important things to learn about this recruitment for the SEMO nickel/free safety transfer Bydarrius Knighten.

Joe Klanderman, Chris Klieman, and the whole defensive staff have begun the relationship just yesterday the day after he entered the portal on Tuesday.

Schools going after him: Colorado, Oregon St, Louisville, K-State, TCU, Minnesota, Cal, Mississippi State, South Carolina, WKU, South Alabama, Utah State, North Texas

Sounds like Georgia and Texas have been poking around. Programs like that could make his decision pretty easy for him.

He tells me he's not sure when he will commit "at the moment" but also said he'd like to commit somewhere "As soon as possible."

He's exactly the type of player K-State would love to add and would likely fit into that starting nickel position instantly.

Anyone have any extra Legend room passes for tonight's game.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Former Kansas State running back Joe Hall has been hired as the Director of Football Student-Athlete Development, head coach Chris Kliemanannounced Wednesday.

In his role, Hall will create, develop and implement a student-athlete development program that fosters an environment of well-being and achievement. He will serve as the football program’s liaison to various K-State Athletics support areas, including sport psychologist, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches and student-athlete services, in addition to support services on campus. Hall will also serve as the program’s liaison between the program and both university and community organizations, including community-outreach organizations.

“One of our top priorities in our first year was to hire a specialized individual who can assist our guys with getting acclimated to being a football student-athlete as well as helping them develop into young men who have a positive impact on our community,” Klieman said. “In Joe, not only did we find a dynamic individual who has experience in this area, but he also has lived it as a football student-athlete here at K-State. We are thrilled for him to join our staff and know he will have a tremendous impact on our players.”

Most recently, Hall has worked as a behavior interventionist and counselor at various schools throughout northeast Kansas, including Junction City High School and Topeka West High School. While working in those schools, he helped counsel students from all walks of life, including military backgrounds, low socioeconomic backgrounds and students with behavioral issues.

Hall’s work in schools came after serving three seasons as an assistant coach at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas. While at NMU, Hall began to transition to off-the-field work by guiding a working group of student-athletes with children, serving as a diversity council member and as a community liaison.

A native of Compton, California, Hall lettered two years for the Wildcats after transferring from Palomar Community College. He totaled 864 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 160 carries during his two seasons, including a 613-yard, six-touchdown performance as a junior in 1999. That season featured a stretch of three-straight games with 100 rushing yards, including a career-best 195 yards against Utah State. Hall went on to play parts of four seasons in the NFL.

Hall obtained his bachelor’s degree from Kansas State in 2012, a master’s of science in management from MidAmerica Nazarene in 2015 and a master’s in school counseling from Kansas State in 2017. He is currently working toward his doctorate degree in organizational leadership.

Hall and his wife, Hollie, have four children, Joe III (15), Jorryn (10), Joss (8) and Jagger (7).

Not believing in getting K-Stated or whatever...

I may have to reconsider.