There was a phone call with Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin. Another one with Matt Painter at Purdue and Tom Izzo at Michigan State.
It's springtime in Manhattan and Bruce Weber has been working the phones, focused on the NCAA transfer portal that's been chipping away at the idea of a college basketball "offseason" since it was introduced in 2018.
"You want to stay in the game, you got to be flexible, you got to change," Weber said. "I think we've done a good job of finding some older guys that will help us. We've lost some, we gained some. Hopefully, it's a positive on our end."
As he prepares for his 10th season at K-State, Weber is focused on reshaping one of the youngest teams in college basketball as the Wildcats look to keep climbing in the Big 12.
And that means getting older.
Weber added three players to K-State this spring through the transfer portal, with Mark Smith (Missouri), Markquis Nowell (Little Rock) and Ismael Massoud (Wake Forest) arriving in Manhattan.
With every player in college basketball receiving an extra year due to COVID-19, Smith will be a senior, Nowell a junior and Massoud a sophomore. The trio brings more experience than all but two returning members of the Wildcats.
"That's been a big thing that everybody has talked about. How can you stay old?" Weber said. "Well, now you can stay old by getting in the portal."
More than just an SEC veteran, Smith has been a part of a winning program at Missouri.
Welcome to the family, Mark Smith! ✍️#KStateMBB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/aWu1eAKgNk
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) March 31, 2021
He played in the NCAA Tournament last season, starting 24 games for Mizzou as the Tigers defeated four ranked teams to punch their ticket to the postseason. Smith was recruited twice by Weber, committing to Illinois before he transferred to Missouri as a sophomore.
"We know Mark," Weber said. "This third time we just basically said, 'Hey, we recruited you. Either you want to come here or not, and you know what we're about.' We have a relationship."
The decision to bring Smith to Manhattan was an easier one for Weber after a conversation with Martin, his coach at Missouri, about what the senior could bring to the 'Cats.
"When Mark Smith popped up, I said (to Martin), 'We recruited him twice, what do you think?' He said he loved him as a young man," Weber said. "He had just had lunch with him. That's kind of when they said goodbye, but he was very positive (about Smith)."
Nowell used a First Team All-Sun Belt season to lead Little Rock to a conference title in 2020, before opting out of his junior season in February.
He profiles as another member of the K-State backcourt who isn't afraid to shoot the ball. In his last full season with the Trojans, Nowell shot 39 percent from three-point range.
That's a number Weber is focused on hitting again in 2021.
Welcome to the family, Markquis Nowell
✍️ @MrNewYorkCityy#KStateMBB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/3nBhF8G7wH
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) March 31, 2021
"We talked a lot about Baylor all year. They won it [and] I said back in December that I thought they should win it or had a chance to," Weber said. "Those guys took tough shots, but they made them, and they shot 40-something percent from three. That's our goal."
Massoud is another floor spacer and a big who can shoot the ball. The junior held offers from every Power 5 conference coming out of high school, plus Harvard and Yale (247sports.com).
He averaged eight points and three rebounds a game in the 2020-21 season.
"He just seems like a great young man and a hard worker," Weber said. "(Former K-State and current Wake Forest AD) John Currie texted me and just said you're getting a great one."
Welcome to the family, Ismael Massoud
✍️ @IsmaelMassoud#KStateMBB x EMAW pic.twitter.com/vPdYKKiPJ1
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) April 15, 2021
Only one team in the nation started more true freshmen than the Wildcats in 2021. Before the addition of Smith, Nowell and Massoud, the average age on the K-State roster was 19.
By the time the 2021-22 season tips off, the Wildcats will have just two teenagers on the roster.
"You saw this year, and COVID obviously was different, but the teams that did not have a lot of experience, including ourselves, really struggled early," Weber said. "It took a while."
The K-State head coach is anticipating a full offseason this summer, as his team will have time that simply wasn't available in 2020 to bring their three impact transfers into the program, along with incoming freshmen Logan Landers and Maximus Edwards.
For Weber, that's the next step on the road back to contending in the Big 12.
"Why did Baylor win? Not only were they old with an average age of 22, but they also were together, and had that continuity, being together and playing together," Weber said. "When you keep bringing guys in and try to piece them together, the continuity is so important."
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