Kansas State basketball forward Achor Achor on his role with the team
Kansas State basketball forward Achor Achor talks about his role with the team hafter a big game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 1.
Kansas State basketball has lost one of its top big men just nine games into the season.
K-State coach Jerome Tang announced Wednesday afternoon that Achor Achor, a 6-foot-9, 227-pound senior forward from Melbourne, Australia, has left team for personal reasons.
“Achor and I have decided that there are more important things than basketball for him at this time,” Tang said in a statement. “I hope some time away will allow him to reprioritize things in his life and allow him to finish his degree.
“We wish him well. My focus is always to help young men become the best version of themselves and to help K-State become an elite program. We are developing men who will be great husbands and fathers.”
The announcement came hours after Jeff Goodman, college writer for The Field of 68, reported earlier in the day that Achor had been dismissed from the team.
Achor, who appeared in just seven games, averaging 7.3 points and 2.7 rebounds, was one of the most highly regarded transfers signed by Tang during the offseason. He spent the past two years at Samford, where he averaged 16.1 points and 6.1 rebounds as a senior in 2023-24.
Achor started his career at Florida junior college power Chipola, helping that team to the Final Four of the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson both years.
Achor missed the first two games of the season for what Tang called a family emergency but had seen an uptick in his playing time and productivity recently leading up to last Saturday’s disappointing 88-71 Wildcat loss at St. John’s in the Big 12/Big East Battle series.
But after scoring 21 points in 24 minutes of a record-breaking 120-73 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 1, he played just five minutes and did not score at St. John’s.
With the most recent loss, K-State fell to 6-3 on the season with just two games remaining before opening their Big 12 season at home against Cincinnati on Dec. 30. The Wildcats are off for finals this week, then travel to Kansas City on Tuesday to face Drake at T-Mobile Center.
Achor’s departure could result in more playing time for 7-foot Kentucky transfer Ugonna Onyenso, 6-11 Arkansas transfer Baye Fall, or 6-7 returning sophomore Macaleab Rich.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
