K-State basketball loses Arthur Kaluma to NBA draft, R.J. Jones to transfer portal
Kansas State Wildcats men’s basketball lost a pair of contributors on Wednesday, with Arthur Kaluma declaring for the NBA draft and R.J. Jones reportedly entering the transfer portal.
Kaluma joined K-State last year after spending the previous two seasons with the Creighton Bluejays. In his lone season in Manhattan, Kaluma started 32 of his 33 games played and averaged a career-high 14.4 points per game on 42.7% shooting. He also set new career highs in rebounds and assists with seven and two per game, respectively.
He did not clarify whether or not he will forgo his additional eligibility, but also did not specify that he would keep it intact. If Kaluma eventually withdraws from the NBA draft, he will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Kaluma also entered the NBA draft process last year before electing to return to college and to play for the Wildcats.
Jones was the first player offered by coach Jerome Tang after he took the job with Kansas State. In his lone season with the program, Jones averaged 2.4 points per game and shot 29.8% from three-point range, playing in 28 games off the bench.
As a recruit, Jones was the 77th-ranked player in the country according to the 247Sports composite. He had 19 other reported offers, with K-State beating out other high majors including TCU, Oklahoma, Colorado, Illinois and others to earn his commitment.
That’s now four Wildcats who have entered the transfer portal this offseason. The other three include Cam Carter, who has already committed to the LSU Tigers, as well as Dorian Finister and Jerrell Colbert.
The Wildcats have also added a pair of players through the portal this offseason. Point guard Dug McDaniel previously played for the Michigan Wolverines before transferring to Kansas State, while C.J. Jones will join the program after spending the last two seasons with the UIC Flames.
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