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Reasons Casey Alexander can get off to a Great Start at Kansas State

Newly hired head basketball coach Casey Alexander is looking to have a positive forward-moving impact on the Wildcats program in year one.
Ryan Kay|
Casey Alexander is welcomed as the new head coach of the Kansas State men’s basketball team.
Casey Alexander is welcomed as the new head coach of the Kansas State men’s basketball team. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Kansas State Wildcats

Casey Alexander is the 27th head men's basketball coach at Kansas State, and people in Manhattan, Kansas, are quite excited about it.

Alexander is known as a "program builder" at Belmont, and there are several good reasons why he is ready to make a big difference in the Big 12 right away.

He is already working to convince key former players to transfer to Kansas State. The most compelling argument to transfer to KSU is the increase in competition. Alexander may have the opportunity to tell former players about the chance to play against well-known colleges such as Kansas, Arizona, and Houston. A player who wants to play in the NBA may be motivated to transfer for the opportunity for success in the Big 12, which is a far faster path to move up the draft boards than staying and playing in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Kansas State has been quite active and successful in the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) sector, and transferring from Belmont to Kansas State will have its financial benefits. Belmont players typically have few options for making money because they play on a non-Power Four conference team. Alexander can get professional-level assistance and substantially higher NIL values from K-State's established collectives to convince them to transfer to play with him in this upcoming season.

Alexander has stated that at K-State, he finally has the funds to keep the players he produces rather than sending them to larger colleges. Alexander can give his former players, who are already familiar with his offensive and defensive schemes, a sense of ease in transferring to KSU. They won't need to spend a year learning a new system in comparison to if they transferred somewhere else. He may inform his former players that they would be the foundation of his new culture, rather than just "depth pieces" if they were to transfer somewhere else.

Big 12 athletes do substantially better financially in terms of compensation than mid-major athletes. Mid-major athletes generally don't have access to world-class rehabilitation technologies, private chefs, and chartered aircraft. Selling the experience of playing in front of a large, boisterous crowd at Bramlage Coliseum is an effective emotional selling point for coach Alexander to his former players.

In the past, when Alexander changed schools (from Stetson to Lipscomb or Lipscomb to Belmont), he brought a "culture core" of assistant coaches with him. He often hires long-term assistants who know how to teach his very unusual, offensive-minded attacking approach, which is a "motion-heavy" style that needs meticulous coaching.

Even while the K-State athletics website is still updating its official titles, you should expect to see names like Brian Ayers and Casey Bond (two longstanding Belmont stars) linked to Manhattan. These coaches play a crucial role in swiftly implementing his system in the Big 12.

Alexander made it clear during his first press conference that he doesn't want to "flip the roster every year." Those in the media who have covered him and his teams claim he talks to people "directly and honestly." He is showing that the players are his first priority by meeting with them right away instead of immediately searching for new players on the transfer portal.

He is promoting the concept of "continuity" to players who have witnessed numerous players leave and join the team via the transfer portal. He wants them to commit to the program this offseason in his first year in Manhattan. He can help convince players to stay by telling them he can develop them to play at the next level, as evidenced by Ben Sheppard, a first-round pick in 2023, who is proof that his coaching techniques and philosophy get guards ready for the NBA.

He can also contend that staying at K-State and winning in the Big 12 with a "pro-style" motion offense is a better "draft resume" than going to a third or fourth school and having to learn a whole new system, which will not prepare them as well as if they were to stay in preparation to play pro basketball post-college.

Lastly, he is making the rounds by throwing out the first pitch at a KSU vs. Arizona State baseball game and getting to meet and speak with Wildcat fans. He understands the importance of getting to know the community and fanbase as he prepares to go into this off-season.

Stay up-to-date with the Wildcats by bookmarking Kansas State On SI   and following us on X/Twitter. 

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Ryan Kay
RYAN KAY

Ryan Kay is a journalist who graduated from Michigan State in 2003 and is passionate about covering college sports and enjoys writing features and articles covering various collegiate teams. He has worked as an editor at Go Joe Bruin and has been a contributor for Longhorns Wire and Busting Brackets. He is a contributor for Kansas State On SI.

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