Kansas State Wildcats coach Casey Alexander has the tough task of somehow getting a nearly revamped roster on the same page in time for the start of the season.
And he has only a short time to do it.
If Alexander needs any help, he should turn to transfers Brandon Rechsteiner and Jaren Schutt. They were both teammates for the Virginia Tech Hokies before going their separate ways for a bit but now once again in the same locker room.
Last week both spoke about the importance of reuniting with a familiar face.
"It was interesting because I was on my flight to my visit, and he had called me a ton," Schutt said of Rechsteiner. "He'd committed and that I should look into K-State. So, it was kind of an interesting development. Obviously, I didn't know that each of us were being recruited by K-State. Obviously, it worked out. It's just nice. I mean, obviously we both started together at Virginia Tech and played a full season together, so it's just always nice having a familiar face around. And obviously, he's a tremendous basketball player; can really shoot the ball. So, it's just kind of fun playing with him, and yeah, so it's been fun so far."
Schutt and Rechsteiner were teammates at Virginia Tech for one season in 2024. Both received playing time but decided to make a change. After playing last year at Colorado State, Rechsteiner made the move to K-State because of a prior relationship with Alexander while he was in high school. Schutt followed because it gave him a chance to play closer to home (he's from Illinois.)
"That was cool," Rechsteiner said. "I think I was like one of the first guys to commit here, apart from like the high school kids that came with Casey [Alexander]. But I was just thinking, like, trying to get this thing going. I called Jaden [Schutt] and I was like, "Yo, like I just committed to Kansas State. Like I didn't announce it or nothing. I was like, you should come. And he's like, "That's crazy. Like I'm gonna go on a visit. I'm on the way to the airport now. I was like, "Wow! Like we didn't even know. And then from there, I think just having that connection is cool."
The Wildcats need all of the connection they can get. Of the 14 players on the roster, Andrej Kostic is the only returner. They are coming off a third straight losing season under former coach Jerome Tang.
KOSTIC GETTING ACCLIMATED
Like any freshman, Kansas State guard Andrej Kostic had some adjustments to make.
In his case, they were just a little bit different and more difficult. A native of Serbia, Kostic is growing more comfortable during his transition. He spoke about it last week while answering questions from reporters.
"Yeah, like as I talked before, like people here are just different, and I can see that when I go to the other states and cities, and I just love to be here. Like I know the whole city."
Last year Kostic averaged just 5.2 points while playing for former K-State coach Jerome Tang. Kostic was the only freshman to see action for the Wildcats
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of KStateRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
