It was just two years ago when K-State brought in Nick Russell for his final official visit before he gave the Wildcats a verbal commitment to join the men’s basketball program. Before his visit, he had dwindled his list to Iowa, Kansas State, Southern Methodist and Texas Tech.
Ultimately, playing with Rodney McGruder and Wally Judge was ideal. After Judge committed to play for the Wildcats, Russell inked his name as well.
The 6’4” guard from Duncanville, Texas, averaged 1.5 points and one rebound in 6.8 minutes per game as a freshman.
He was certainly one of the players that Frank Martin looked upon to step up after the departure of Denis Clemente. Russell met the starting lineup for the first time in his college career against James Madison where he turned in a magnificent offensive and defensive performance. In that game, Russell finished with 19 points and four assists.
But as the season progressed, Russell started to fade into the background of the Wildcats’ deep guard rotation. The former Grace Prep star went from logging big minutes to not getting any at all.
After such a hot start to the season, Russell ended the season averaging 4.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists on 12.2 minutes per game.
After two seasons were he averaged just around nine minutes per game, Russell decided to confirm the rumors and reported that he will seek a transfer for better basketball opportunities.
“I feel like it’s a better fit for me to go somewhere else so I can try to continue to grow as a basketball player,” he told Kellis Robinett of the Kansas City Star. ““I wish it could have [worked out], but ultimately it all came down to playing time.”
Before coming to Kansas State, Russell cited playing time being the biggest factor in his decision. After two years and no progression, he opted to transfer. It also didn’t help that Kansas State brought in three guards in the 2011 recruiting class.
Russell is the third Wildcat to transfer this season and the fourth in the past two seasons, joining Dominique Sutton, Freddy Asprilla, and Wally Judge. Russell’s transfer opens a small portion of space for newcomers.
Wherever Nick Russell transfers, we wish him nothing but the best. Good luck, Nick!
