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Kansas State junior forward Arthur Kaluma lays in a ball during K-State win over Israel Select during a scrimmage in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Kaluma had a team-high 23 points in the win. The Wildcats are in the middle of a 10-day tour of Israel and Abu Dhabi.
Kansas State junior forward Arthur Kaluma lays in a ball during K-State win over Israel Select during a scrimmage in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Kaluma had a team-high 23 points in the win. The Wildcats are in the middle of a 10-day tour of Israel and Abu Dhabi.
Kansas State fans got their first look at the 2023-24 men’s basketball team Tuesday during its international scrimmage with Israel Select, a 94-87 win, at Hadar Yosef Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ten of the 11 Wildcat players on the roster saw the floor during the scrimmage with senior forward David N’Guessan, who is currently playing with the Netherlands national team in Turkey, being the lone absence.
“I was super excited that we got the win,” head coach Jerome Tang said in a written statement. “The goal was to try and get everybody in and get some experience, see the young guys play, then their competitiveness kicked in and they were trying to figure out how to win it. I was pleased with the outcome. We’re gonna learn more about our team off the court (during this trip) than we’re going to learn on the floor. And so that’s important to us. It’s been a great experience so far.”
As a team, the Wildcats connected on 43.7% of shots from the field, 32.4% (12-of-37) from 3-point range and made 66.7% (20-of-30) from the free throw line.
The Wildcats scored 27 points off 18 Israeli turnovers (13 of which were steals). They also outscored Israel Select in the paint by 20 (36-to-16).
K-State’s two transfers stepped up in a big way, led by former Creighton forward Arthur Kaluma who had a team-high 23 points on 73% shooting. Kaluma scored the Wildcats’ first eight points of the game and had five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in 32 minutes.
North Texas transfer Tylor Perry got off to a slow start but finished strong, ending up with 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting from long range and 5-of-6 free throws. He also had a game-high seven assists and had seven rebounds in 35 minutes.
“Arthur and TP came here for a reason,” Tang said. “We expect them to be major contributors and All-Big 12 type of players, so they showed a glimpse of some of the things they can do. They are learning something new and how to play differently and play with new teammates.”
Joining those two in double-figures for the Wildcats was junior guard Cam Carter who also had 17 points and a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds. Freshman R.J. Jones had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and senior Nae’Qwan Tomlin had 10 points.
The Wildcats led by as much as 12 in the first half before Israel Select mounted a comeback that brought them within a point, 43-42, at the half.
K-State rebuilt the lead through the third and early part of the fourth before the Israelis battled their way back to a three-point advantage, 84-81, with a little less than four minutes to play.
The Wildcats finished strong though, closing out the game on a 13-3 run, trigged by a 3-pointer from Carter.
Israel Select was led by American forward Ryan Turell who had 32 points and eight rebounds. Turell currently plays for the NBA G-League’s Motor City Cruise, the Detroit Pistons’ G-League affiliate.
The Wildcats are currently on a 10-day tour of Israel and Abu Dhabi, their first international trip since 2016.
The Wildcats traveled to Abu Dhabi Wednesday. They will play Mexico Thursday morning at 8 a.m. central and a third game on Friday. K-State expects the game to be streamed but a link wasn’t available as of press time.
