Well despite all the rumors swirling about Frank Martin and the University of Miami job opening in the past few weeks it apparently did not stop Martin and his staff from hitting the recruiting trail. Word has come down that Kansas State has received commitments from two junior college players in PG Jeremy Jones and forward James Watson.
The commitment of Jones while never a sure fire lock does not come as a major surprise. Coming from the juco ranks he was looking at schools where he could come in and get immediate playing time and with the graduation of Jacob Pullen, K-State provides just that opportunity. Last year at Seward Community College, Jones averaged 18.1 points per game and 4.6 assists. Hailing from Chicago, Jones will be looking to step right in and replace fellow Chicagoan Pullen in K-State's starting lineup.
The 6'8" Watson comes to K-State via Cowley County C.C. where he averaged 10.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He originally started his career at Washington State where he averaged 1.8 points per game in 29 contests. During his time at Washington State, Watson had been declared academically ineligible which spurred his decision to go the junior college route. He will add some much needed size to the Wildcats interior which was looking extremely thin with really only two big men returning from last year in Jordan Henriquez-Roberts and Jamar Samuels.
In addition to the two new commitments, Kansas State also has received more positive recruiting news.
PG Angel Rodriguez out of Miami has announced via his twitter account that he officially signed his letter of intent to become a Wildcat. He had originally only given his verbal commitment while waiting to see if Frank Martin would stay at Kansas State, for a little bit it seemed as if Rodriguez had made a very smart decision. Rodriguez will most likely be competing with Jones & returning point guard Will Spradling for playing time next season.Joining Rodriguez from the high school ranks for Kansas State next season are PF Thomas Gipson from Texas who is listed at 6'7" and 245 pounds and C Adrian Diaz from Miami who is listed at a rail thin 6'11" 220 pounds. Very early thoughts coming from recruiting experts are that Gipson might be able to come in and give the Wildcats some minutes next season while Diaz will need some time in the weight room as well as the cafeteria before being ready to step in and seriously contribute.
Kansas State also has one other juco commitment besides Jones and Watson for next year. Omari Lawrence who originally played at St. John's is still listed as a commit for the Wildcats, he has spent the past year at Cloud County C.C.
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