The K-State men’s basketball team faced their fourth offseason departure Wednesday after sophomore guard Nigel Johnson announced via Twitter that he intends to transfer out of the program.
“After much deliberation, I say farewell,” Johnson wrote on Twitter. “Thank you to my KSU coaches, my teammates, KSU community, to all my fans & supporters.”
News of Johnson’s decision was first reported Wednesday morning by Matthew Hatfield of VirginiaPreps.com. Shortly after the original report, Johnson took to social media to formally announce his intentions.
In two years at K-State, Johnson averaged 4.6 points and 1.6 assists per game. This past season, the sophomore guard played in all 32 games, starting seven times. His minutes increased toward the end of the season after scoring a career-high 20 points on 8-11 shooting in a 70-63 upset of No. 8 Kansas. Later that week, Johnson tallied 17 points on 7-13 shooting in another upset of No. 12 Iowa State.
Johnson is the fourth player to leave the program this offseason. Sophomore guard Jevon Thomas announced two weeks ago that he, too, was transferring. Also at that time, K-State head coach Bruce Weber announced that sophomore guard Marcus Foster and freshman guard Tre Harris were dismissed from the program for not living up to its standards.
K-State is now without a returning point guard for the 2015-16 season, and only sophomore Wesley Iwundu and junior Justin Edwards return with starting experience in the backcourt. The Wildcats are also down to five scholarship players (not counting the incoming recruiting class), two of which are working their way back from injury.
