Arthur Kaluma has withdrawn from NBA Draft. Is a return to Kansas State possible?

A familiar face could once again become a recruiting priority for Jerome Tang and the Kansas State men’s basketball team.

Arthur Kaluma reportedly withdrew his name from consideration for the NBA Draft on Wednesday, which means he intends to return to college for at least one more season.

But where will he play?

That is suddenly an important question for both K-State and every other team with open scholarships to fill ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Kaluma averaged 14.4 points, seven rebounds and two assists while playing on the wing for K-State as a junior last season. But his future college basketball home is currently unknown because he opted to enter the transfer portal when he turned pro earlier this spring.

That should give him plenty of options. The 6-foot-7 athlete figures to be one of the top available players in the cycle, and teams will be motivated to recruit him now that he is no longer pursuing a professional career.

He followed a similar path last season when he tested the NBA Draft waters and also announced that he would be transferring away from Creighton if he decided to retain his college eligibility. He removed his name from the draft last year and ended up at K-State.

Last week, Tang said he will once again be in contact with Kaluma if he has any desire to return to Manhattan.

“If he gets drafted that is a great thing for our program,” Tang said during a Catbacker event in Manhattan. “If he comes back to school and we have a chance to get him that is something we are going to try and do.”

How important could retaining Kaluma be for the Wildcats? Well, college basketball statistician Bart Torvik would give K-State a bump from No. 54 to No. 38 in his national rankings with Kaluma still on the roster.

The Wildcats currently have two open scholarships to recruit with. It seems as though they will at least explore using one of them on one of their best players from last season.