Former Kansas State guard Nijel Pack transferring to Miami

By Manny Navarro

April 23, 2022 Updated 8:22 PM EDT

Former Kansas State guard Nijel Pack transferring to Miami. Former Kansas State guard Nijel Pack is transferring to Miami, he announced Saturday.

Pack was The Athletic’s second-best available transfer behind Iowa State freshman Tyrese Hunter.

The 6-foot sophomore — who announced he was entering the transfer portal on March 31 — is one of the best knockdown shooters in the country. Pack averaged 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game last season while shooting 45.5 percent from the field. He’s a career 42.3 percent 3-point shooter.

Kansas State went 14-17 last season, falling to West Virginia in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. Miami, meanwhile, lost to Duke in the ACC tournament semifinals but went on to make a run to the Elite Eight before losing to Kansas.

Pack, an Indianapolis native, recently visited Ohio State and Purdue among other top programs amid the transfer process.

Shortly after Pack’s commitment was announced, Florida-based health tech company LifeWallet said it signed him to a two-year name, image and likeness deal for $400,000 per year. Pack will also receive a car as part of the deal.

Pack entered the transfer portal on March 31. Pack’s NIL representative at NEXT Sports said Pack, “wanted to go somewhere he could show NBA teams he’s an elite point guard,” and “Jim Larranaga’s history of success with smaller point guards like Charlie Moore, Angel Rodriguez and Shane Larkin was a major factor.”

Pack committed to Miami on Thursday, signed his national letter of intent on Friday and will be enrolling in classes in Coral Gables on May 16, his NIL rep said. In the meantime, Pack is training in Atlanta and gaining feedback from NBA teams on what they hope to see from him next season. Pack’s NIL rep said he didn’t agree to the NIL deal with LifeWallet until Saturday and has yet to formally sign the contract.

The NIL deal with Pack is the second signed by a Miami basketball player, according to John H. Ruiz, the Founder and CEO of MSP Recovery and LifeWallet. Ruiz told The Athletic on Saturday he recently reached a NIL deal with Isaiah Wong, an All-ACC Third Team selection who averaged 17.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals last season.

Ruiz declined to share the amount of Wong’s deal because Wong doesn’t want it out publicly, Ruiz said.

“If I had to guess there’s a 90 percent chance he’s coming back,” Ruiz said of Wong.