Nobody on Kansas State’s roster looks the part of what the modern professional basketball game is more than junior forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin. The 6-foot-10 forward from Harlem, New York, has the physical tools for greatness. He’s got wingspan that makes NBA scouts blush and can move in transition like few big men can.

But there’s a rawness to his game. The lanky Kansas State big man didn’t try out for his high school basketball team until he was a senior, and even then was deemed academically ineligible after making the roster.

So for his first season in the best conference in college basketball to consist of 31 games and 31 appearances in the K-State starting lineup goes to show how talented he is.

“He’s been getting better every day,” senior forward Keyontae Johnson said of Tomlin, who is averaging 10.2 points per game as the Wildcats get set for the Big 12 Tournament. “He’s learning just what to do off the ball and rebounding for us and getting possessions.”

Jerome Tang points to November for evidence as to how Tomlin has grown throughout a season that’s seen Kansas State go 23-8 and finish third in the Big 12. During the first game of the Cayman Islands Classic, Tomlin dominated. The transfer from Chipola College had 15 points, six rebounds and five blocks in a win over Rhode Island that improved K-State to 4-0 on the season.

“Then his focus went to trying to do other things other than trying to be the energy guy that he needs to be,” the first-year Kansas State head coach said Monday. “And it took away from what he does best and he struggled there for a little while.”

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