Kansas State has finally gotten their first transfer portal target. Tylor Perry (NOT the actor/director) former guard on North Texas and widely regarded as the #2 overall transfer portal recruit remaining (obviously until this pickup), chose the Wildcats over Florida, Texas Tech, and other schools. He is the Markquis Nowell replacement they were looking for and will fit in nicely on the Cats roster. The NIT Most Outstanding Player will be a plug and play guy for Jerome Tang, and with one year of eligibility remaining, he will also be the predecessor to David Castillo coming onboard in 2024.
Perry didn't choose Kansas State though just because of their success last year and his ability to start right away though. He has connections. According to ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Perry started his college basketball career at Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas, about 3 hours away from Manhattan, Kansas. He played two years there and impressed enough to be brought on by the North Texas Mean Green, under head coach at the time Jareem Dowling, who is now an assistant coach at Kansas State. That year he won Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 13.5 PPG and shooting 41.3% from 3 (via ESPN.com and Jeff Borzello) This past year, Perry won CUSA Player of the Year, NIT Most Outstanding Player, averaging 17.3 PPG, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and hit 41.3% back to back years from 3. He ranked 4th nationally in 3s made and made the top 20 in percentage.
This pick made too much sense for both parties. Perry already had connections to Dowling, he started his career in Kansas, he'll make an excellent replacement for Nowell and a great predecessor for Castillo, and to boot, he's one of the best sharpshooters in the country. Something a certain team about 2 hours east of Manhattan has struggled to defend against since as long as I can remember. Perry, if he can handle the ramping up of competition from CUSA to Big 12 (Given the NIT Championship as well as North Texas regularly going up against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, among other spottier matchups against other Big 12 teams, I think he can) he could be dominant. This is the first time Tang has truly proven himself in the transfer portal, and potentially won't be the last. An excellent pick all-around, Perry has high potential to run teams out of the gym himself, and if given a bit more help Kansas State could be right back to where they left off last year competing for a Big 12 Title and National Title. Other teams have certainly taken notice, and unless Kansas can pick up Hunter Dickinson, this will be the marquee transfer pickup in the Big 12. He may not have made Madea, but he certainly made a splash in the Big 12.
Burn Notice: 10/10 Perry says "HELLUR" to the Cats
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