Casey Alexander and Kansas State men’s basketball might’ve just missed out on one of their coach’s best former players at Belmont. Former Bruins former Sam Orme is expected to land with Nebraska over the Wildcats, according to On3 analyst Robin Washut.
Orme, a four-star transfer from Carmel, Indiana, produced 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game for Alexander last season at Belmont. He finished second in team scoring only to senior guard Tyler Lundblade, and finished 39.7% from the 3-point line.
Nebraska’s in the market for a big, too, after junior forward Berke Büyüktuncel announced he’d be leaving town after two seasons.
Now, it’s worth mentioning that Washut’s prediction isn’t concrete, and that the Second Team All-MVC honoree has been targeted by Indiana as well. As of Thursday, 247 Sports doesn’t have a Crystal Ball prediction for where Orme will end up.
Naturally, you’d think Alexander would have the sharpest advantage in recruiting one of his former players to the Big 12, but with as volatile as the portal has become this offseason, perhaps coaching ties aren’t enough to justify following your former coach to Kansas State.
After all, Fred Hoiberg led Nebraska to the Sweet 16 despite falling short of Iowa 77-71 to reach the Elite Eight. Still, that’s a far more exciting sell than Alexander’s job, which is tied to fixing the mess left by Jerome Tang and six players already in the portal.
Fact is, it’s not really Alexander’s fault. There’s a lot of money to made in college basketball and, while current litigation potentially subjects the college level to tighter restraints, it’s still an open book right now as to where and why guys will leave a school behind.
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