Improving 3-point shooting a priority for K-State for 2024-25 season | K-State Sports

Perhaps one of the biggest issues Kansas State coaches are hoping to correct from last year's team is their poor 3-point shooting.

The Wildcats were in the bottom third of the country in three-point percentage, ranking 289th with an average of 31.7 percent. K-State was last in the Big 12 and among the 10 worst teams in any of the Power 6 conferences.

What made the situation even more frustrating was that reports from practices throughout the year indicated that K-State was shooting great in practice. Tang has repeatedly said that the Wildcats' shooting performance in practice is at a higher level than any other team he has coached.

But for some reason, it didn't work. Only transfers Tylor Perry and Arthur Kaluma shot better than 33 percent from behind the arc, and K-State's bench averaged 27.8 percent from 3-point range.

Finding talented 3-point shooters has become a major priority for Wildcat coaches as they navigate the transfer portal this summer.

“Our shooting quality (last season) was comparable to the top 10 offenses in the country,” Tang said. “I always felt like we had good shooters who, for whatever reason, weren’t making those shots. We also didn’t have the depth to turn to the bench when guys on the floor weren’t making those shots. Now we have the ability to have more guys who can make shots and if someone on the floor isn’t making their shots, now we can turn to the bench and put someone in there who can make them.”

And, if their previous statistics are anything to go by, Tang and his team may have found the perfect group to turn the tide.

Of the nine incoming transfers, six players (Dug McDaniel, Brendan Hausen, CJ Jones, Max Jones, Achor Achor and Coleman Hawkins) shot at least 36.8 percent from 3-point range last season. K-State's leading shooter last season, Kaluma, shot just 34.5 percent from 3-point range.

Of those six players, four have made more than 100 three-pointers (McDaniel, Hausen, Max Jones and Hawkins), and three (McDaniel, Hausen and Hawkins) have made more than 150 three-pointers this season.

Add to that the fact that five of those six players are 6'4″ and taller, and it gives K-State some added versatility to go along with its newly added firepower.

“I think what I like about this team is we have a number of players that can shoot and score three-pointers at a high rate,” Tang said. “Whether it’s Coleman Hawkins (6’2”) or Dug (McDaniel) (5’10”), we have players that can shoot at a high rate… I feel like our team is set up to handle any problem that another team throws at us. We have a team that can answer any answer.”

K-State's returning players don't offer much help in the 3-point shooting department (David N'Guessan, Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich all made four 3-pointers last season), but newcomer David Castillo also has the potential to be dangerous from deep.

He averaged 23.7 points per game during his three seasons at Bartlesville High in Oklahoma before transferring to the highly talented Sunrise Christian in Wichita for his senior season.

“What he’s done really quickly is he’s earned our trust as a staff,” Tang said. “We’re down by one with 30 seconds left and the crowd is going crazy on the road, but he’s going to do well on the court. I can trust him on the court. He can make the right decision. I’m really impressed with him.”