Kansas State basketball coach’s Cat-Signal a sign of third Wildcat commitment for next year
Gotham City has the Bat Signal.
Coach Jerome Tang and Kansas State basketball now have the Cat-Signal.
Unlike the distress signal from the Batman comics, the Cat Signal — an animated Twitter graphic of Tang shouting, “It’s a great day to be a Wildcat,” — has quickly become the new coach’s way of letting fans know that a new recruit is on the way.
Tang used it to foreshadow commitments from transfers Jerrell Colbert from LSU and Cam Carter from Mississippi State, and on Thursday night he tweeted it out again. While no potential recruit had yet announced his intention as of Saturday, the likely target was 6-foot-5 high school guard Dorian Finister of New Orleans, who completed an on-campus visit to Manhattan on Friday.
Coaches may not comment on potential recruits before they officially sign, but point guard Markquis Nowell seemed to confirm Tang’s signal on his own Twitter account Thursday night with the words, “Another 1.”
The addition of Finister would push K-State’s roster total to six, with seven spots still open. Nowell and forward Ismael Massoud are the only holdovers from last season, and the new coaches added Colbert and Carter, while November signee Taj Manning is expected to join the team as well.
More: Markquis Nowell, Ismael Massoud lend a hand with Kansas State basketball recruiting
If things go to according to plan for Tang and his staff, there soon could be more to come for the Wildcats. A pair of big men — four-star high school prospect Shawn Phillips, a 6-11 center, and 6-10 junior college forward Nae’Qwan Tomlins — were scheduled weekend visitors.
And then there is high-scoring Detroit Mercy transfer Antoine Thomas, who was on campus last weekend and by all accounts — including his own on Twitter — came away impressed. He took a final visit Thursday and Friday to BYU, which means his decision could be coming any day.
Davis, a four-year starter at guard for his father Mike at Detroit Mercy, is one of the most prolific scorers in NCAA history, averaging 24.6 points, 4.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds for his career. As a senior in 2021-22, he averaged 23.9 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 37.9% from 3-point range and hitting 88.2% of his free throws.
More: Former Kansas State basketball All-Big 12 guard Nijel Pack is headed to Miami and the ACC
Finister, a consensus three-star prospect, averaged 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals last year as a senior in helping Carver Collegiate Academy to a 33-5 record. He shot 56% overall from the field, made 32% of his 3-point attempts and was 79% from the free-throw line.
Phillips, who recently decommitted from North Carolina State, played his senior season at Dream City Christian in Glendale, Arizona. He is originally from Dayton, Ohio. Tomlin, a New York native, played his sophomore season at Chipola College in Florida.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State basketball’s Jerome Tang signals another commitment