Only two short weeks have passed since the Kansas State Wildcats disappointing 2014-15 season came to an early conclusion after Bruce Weber’s club compiled a 15-17 (8-10) record and missed out on the NCAA tournament.
But just when K-State seemed to have been on the path to placing the forgettable performance that was their most recent season in their rear view, bad news reared its ugly head once more, as the Kansas State and Weber have announced the dismissals of Marcus Foster and Tre Harris, along with the transfer of Jevon Thomas.
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Weber spoke on the matter surrounding the three departures from his basketball program; all of which broke news on Tuesday, via kstatesports.com:
“Marcus and Tre have been unable to live up to the standards that we expect of our players,” said Weber. “It is a privilege to represent Kansas State University and there are consequences when players don’t live up to those expectations. Hopefully, they will learn from this experience and make the necessary progress to continue their basketball careers elsewhere.”
“As for Jevon, he has worked diligently to succeed in our program both athletically and academically,” Weber continued. “He has made tremendous strides during his time at K-State. We wish him the best as he moves forward in his college career.”
Of all the departures, Foster’s will certainly comes as the most notable and will likely have the biggest impact on the hardwood next season. The sophomore guard had led the Wildcats in scoring during his two years in Manhattan, scoring 12.5 points per game this season and 15.5 per as a freshman.
In his second season on camps, Foster had been a shell of himself at times with apparent inconsistencies in his performance, along with numerous disciplinary issues, that ultimately cost him three games during conference play.
Harris, the freshman guard who was dismissed Tuesday had far less of an impact during his lone season for K-State, averaging only 3.8 points in 10 minutes per game, but he did show some rare glimpses of what he can provide with three outings of at least 12 points.
As for Thomas; he’s the only Wildcat of the three parting ways with the program on a good note, as he’s reportedly seeking to continue his basketball career closer to home in Queens, New York. Thomas averaged 4.5 points, 3.3 assists and three rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game as a sophomore.
As expected, Kansas State will have more than its fair share of productions to make up for on the court next season, as it will also lose the efforts of seniors Nino Williams and Thomas Gipson.
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In addition to Kansas State losing 68-percent of its scoring from last season, five of the 10 guys who played double figure minutes each night for Weber. Factor in Shawn Meyer – who played only 1.2 minutes per game – graduating, as well, and you have six of the 15 guys who wore the K-State jersey this season who won’t be there next year.
That’s a pretty heavy load for Weber to seek to replace, especially with some of these departures being such crucial pieces to what little success his team did have in 2014-15. But on the bright side for Wildcats’ fans, Weber does have a decent recruiting class with five current commits coming in next season.
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