Kansas State’s Pack becomes a Hurricane

With several players from the men’s basketball team departing, Jim Larrañaga is working the transfer portal to fill out the Hurricanes’ roster.

Standout Kansas State guard Nijel Pack is going to be the newest Hurricane as he announced on his Instagram account that he will to transfer to UM. The team announced soon after that he had signed.

“Nijel is a tremendous addition to our team,” Larrañaga said in a press release. “He is truly one of the finest players in the country, as well as an excellent young man with an elite work ethic who loves basketball.

“Nijel is not only a high-level scorer with elite shooting abilities but also a superb playmaker and defender. We’re thrilled to welcome Nijel and his family into the Miami basketball program.”

Pack was a first-team All-Big 12 pick after last season. He averaged 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals last season and shot 45.5% from the field. He also hit 43.6% of his 3-point shots.

Arizona, Gonzaga, NC State, Marquette, Ohio State, Purdue, Tennessee and Xavier were among the teams also interested in Pack, according to 247Sports.

Pack is a key pickup for Larrañaga and the Hurricanes after guards Charlie Moore and Kameron McGusty exhausted their eligibility after playing their sixth season of college basketball.

Pack also received a large NIL deal from booster John Ruiz’s company, LifeWallet. Ruiz said on his Twitter account that Pack will sign a deal worth $800,000 over two years. The deal also includes a car, Ruiz said.