Carlton Linguard learned a lot about himself during his lone basketball season in junior college.
For starters, he is a better player than he once thought.
Linguard was not the most confident of forwards coming out of high school in San Antonio, even though he stands nearly seven feet tall. That's one of the reasons he accepted an offer to play at Temple Junior College a few hours north on I-35 last season rather than to play for one of the mid-major schools that courted him at the Division I level.
"It was really the only option for me," Linguard said in a phone interview. "I wasn't confident in my game as a high school senior, but I figured out how to play with a lot more confidence in junior college. That really showed in my scoring. Being aggressive also got me more rebounds and blocked shots. That's what got me noticed."
Kansas State was one of the first power-conference teams that showed interest in Linguard. A host of others followed, including Arizona State, Colorado, TCU, Texas A&M and Southern California. He was also considering Tulsa.
He had options after averaging 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds as a freshman in junior college. But he ultimately decided to continue his career at K-State and signed with the school on Monday.
"They have been there from the start, showing me love more than anybody else," Linguard said. "I can't wait to get up there and play next season. Playing in a conference like the Big 12 and playing college basketball at that higher level has always been a dream of mine."
After weeks of roster turnover, the K-State basketball team once again boasts a full assortment of 13 scholarship players.
Linguard, a 6-foot-11 and 200-pound forward, rounded out the class.
It was unclear what K-State coach Bruce Weber planned to do with the team's lone available scholarship when the Wildcats missed out on Donovan Williams last week, but Weber and his staff acted quickly to land another big man.
Originally from San Antonio, Linguard spent one year in junior college in hopes of raising his recruiting profile. He did exactly that while showing off his inside skills and earning a three-star rating while playing against college competition.
He will be eligible to play immediately for the Wildcats as a sophomore next season and have three years of eligibility remaining.
Though most recruiting services list him as a center, Linguard says he will play power forward for the Wildcats. Though he has the size to play the role of a traditional five, Linguard considers himself more of a stretch four.
"They are going to let me play my game and play the position that I want to, which is more of a four than a five," Linguard said. "I have always been a shooter. With my height and how I have developed, my game is more about spacing away from the basket. This past year I worked on my back-to-basket moves, but most of my scoring comes through shooting. I like to step out and do it all."
That being said, Linguard is happy to go down low and play defense against a traditional center. He is proud to point out that he was one of the nation's top junior-college shot-blockers last season.
If Weber uses Linguard at the four, he won't compete much with returning forward Levi Stockard, UTEP transfer Kaosi Ezeagu or incoming incoming freshman Davion Bradford down low.
Instead, he will likely complement returning starter Montavious Murphy, as well as Antonio Gordon and incoming recruit Seryee Lewis in a more versatile frontcourt position.
Either way, K-State will likely feature more depth inside next season, as all seven are likely play in some capacity.
Adding weight is something Linguard will prioritize in hopes of finding a role immediately. He hopes to weigh closer to 220 pounds than 200 when he takes the court for the first time in a K-State uniform.
Weber previously said he hoped to add to a wing player with K-State's final scholarship, but he ultimately decided to add size.
Adding Linguard should lock K-State's roster into place as the Wildcats prepare for the 2020-21 basketball season. K-State lost three seniors to graduation (Xavier Sneed, Makol Mawien, Pierson McAtee) and five potential returners to transfer (David Sloan, Nigel Shadd, James Love, Cartier Diarra and Shaun Williams).
Linguard will round out K-State's largest recruiting class of the Weber era at eight.
Before Linguard committed, the Wildcats boasted a consensus top 25 recruiting class.
"I'm looking forward to improving myself as a player and surrounding myself with guys that really want it," Linguard said. "We are going to be competing every day."
