Kansas State Basketball Lands Post Player Recruit Stephen Hurt

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest knocks on Bruce Weber’s initial recruiting class was his inability to bring in size when the program sorely needed it. K-State appears to have found some this week when JUCO recruit Stephen Hurt announced his intention to transfer to Kansas State in 2014.

Hurt is a 6’10”, 270 pound post player with an interesting history. He was not highly recruited in high school, and eventually settled on Division I Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. He was an immediate star there, averaging 11.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in 2012-13, earning him Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year honors. However, he left Lipscomb after the season when the program’s head coach resigned and decided to transfer to Northwest Florida State – hoping to parlay his play into offers at bigger schools.

Hurt’s decision paid dividends, with offers from not only the Wildcats but other major programs such as Wichita State, Miami, and Indiana. And because he is moving down a division this year before returning to Division I play in 2014, he will not have to sit out a season and brings two years of eligibility to Manhattan. Hurt is arguably the best center prospect that will be coming out of the junior college ranks, and is probably Bruce Weber’s biggest recruiting win to-date.