Kansas State's David N'Guessan Explains His Role In Group Of Newcomers
Kansas State Wildcats forward David N'Guessan made his expectations clear entering his third season with the program.
N'Guessan is coming off of a season where the Wildcats were a few games short of an NCAA Tournament appearance under Jerome Tang, finishing 19-14 with an NIT appearance.
The Wildcats brought in a plethora of high-profile transfers, including fifth-year ex-Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins and Michigan's Dug McDaniel, among others.
Given the team's non-veteran outlook, N'Guessan says he sees leadership as a major portion of his role.
"I feel just like being a leader, leading by example," N'Guessan said. "Being my third year here but also my fifth year in college, I've been through it. I see what it has looked like when we made it to the Elite Eight compared to last year when we went to the NIT, so I've seen the good and the bad. I try to set a good example for the rest of the guys so they can learn faster and kind of speed up that process."
Despite coming from the portal, McDaniel, the former Wolverine, wants to gel with his teammates immediately to shock the college basketball landscape. He said the lack of media recognition is a positive.
"I was excited. We might not have big names like everybody expected, but you know we have a lot of great dudes," McDaniel said. "Leading up to the season, you know we're going to find a way to mesh and make it work, and we're going to be really good this season."
The Wildcats face a challenging Big 12 schedule, which includes key games against Kansas, TCU, and Oklahoma State throughout the season.
Zain Bando is a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at zainbando99@gmail.com and on Instagram/'X' @zainbando99.
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