Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber announced changes to his coaching staff on Monday (August 16), which included the promotion of Nate Michael to video coordinator and the additions of former Wildcat lettermen Curtis Kelly and Zack Price as graduate student managers.
Michael, who enters his third season on the coaching staff, was promoted to video coordinator after a spending the last two seasons (2019-21) as a graduate student manager for the Wildcats.
Kelly, who helped the Wildcats to their first Elite Eight in more than 22 years in 2010 during his three-year playing career (2008-11), returns to K-State as a graduate student manager after recently retiring from an eight-year professional career overseas. Price also joins as a graduate student manager after spending the last three years (2018-21) as a varsity assistant coach and junior varsity head coach at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas.
The additions are the latest for Weber, who announced A.J. Kloss as the program’s strength and conditioning coach on June 18 after he spent the past seven seasons with the women’s basketball team.
Although Weber has made several additions this offseason, he returns a majority of his staff for the 2021-22 season, including all three assistant coaches as associate head coach Chris Lowery returns for his 10th season, along with assistant coaches Jermaine Henderson (fifth season) and Shane Southwell (fourth season). In addition, he welcomes back director of operations Drew Speraw (10th season), director of student-athlete development Mike Furlong (seventh season), athletic trainer Luke Sauber (eighth season) and recruiting coordinator and assistant to the head coach Bailey Bachamp (10th season).
Michael Named Video Coordinator
Nate Michael was named video coordinator for the men’s basketball team on August 16, 2021, after the spending the previous two seasons (2019-21) as a graduate student manager.
During his time as a graduate manager, Michael was tasked with a variety of responsibilities, including 1-on-1 work with individual players and practice, film breakdown and the creation of scouting reports and game plans.
Michael came to K-State after a five-year playing career (2014-19) at McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois, where he finished 22nd on the Bearcats’ all-time scoring list with 1,528 points. One of the school’s best all-around shooters, he drained 226 three-pointers in his career, which ranks sixth on the program’s career chart, while he connected on 86.2 percent (344-of-399) from the free throw line, which ranks fifth all-time at the school.
As a junior in 2017-18, Michael poured in a school-record 51 points in the school’s regular-season finale at Quincy University on February 24, 2018, to break the 62-year-old school mark of 47 by Rich Herrin. As a fifth-year senior in 2018-19, he led the Bearcats in multiple categories, including scoring (13.8 ppg.), 3-point field goals (66), free throw percentage (91.3), to go along with averages of 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 31.3 minutes per game. He also set the single season mark for free throw percentage at 91.3 percent (84-of-92).
Michael earned bachelor’s degree in Psychology (2018) and an MBA (2019) at McKendree, while he received a master’s degree in College Student Personnel and Intercollegiate Athletics in May 2021.
Michael replaces former Wildcat Mason Schoen, who left the coaching profession to enter private business.
Kelly, Price Join Staff
Curtis Kelly and Zack Price were announced as graduate student managers for the men’s basketball team on August 16, 2021. Kelly returns to his alma mater after an eight-year international professional playing career, while Price joins the K-State staff after spending the last three years (2018-21) as a varsity assistant coach and junior varsity head coach at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas.
A native of Bronx, New York, Kelly spent three seasons (2008-11) at K-State, including a redshirt season in 2008-09, and guided the Wildcats to 52 wins and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances (2010, 2011) after transferring from Connecticut (2006-08). He scored nearly 700 points (11.1 ppg.) and grabbed nearly 400 rebounds (5.9 rpg.) in his Wildcat career. He still ranks among the Top 10 in two career categories, placing fifth in both field goal percentage (55.1) and blocked shots (107).
As a junior in 2009-10, Kelly played on one of the most exciting teams in school history, as the Wildcats won a school-record 29 games and nearly advanced to the Final Four. He teamed with All-Americans Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen to set the school’s single-season record for games played (37) and started (37) while also leading the team in double-doubles (4), field goal percentage (56.5) and rebounding (6.2 rpg.). His signature game as a Wildcat came in thrilling two-overtime win over Xavier in the NCAA West Regional Semifinal, in which, he scored 21 points on 9-of-17 field goals to go with a team-high 8 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 assists in a career-best 43 minutes.
Kelly finished his career in 2010-11, guiding the Wildcats to the third round of the NCAA Tournament while averaging 10.5 points on 53.2 percent shooting with 5.5 rebounds per game.
After graduating from K-State in 2011, Kelly logged eight professional seasons in various pro leagues in six countries (Israel, Italy, Turkey, Lebanon, France and The Philippines) before retiring earlier this month. In all, he tallied 3,234 points (13.2 ppg.) and 1,606 rebounds (6.6 rpg.) in 245 professional games in his career. He was the 2012 Balkan League Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Balkan League Second Team selection after averaging 15.9 points and 8.3 rebounds for Israeli National League Champion Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
Most recently, Kelly played for Akhisar Bial in Turkish Basketball League (TBL) in 2019, averaging 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25 games.
Kelly earned a bachelor’s degree in social science from K-State in 2011.
A native of Leawood, Kansas, Price arrives at K-State with valuable coaching experience, including stints at the college, high school and club level, as well as a supporting role with USA Basketball. He played collegiately at TCU (2010-11) and Missouri Western (2012-15).
Price most recently spent the last three years (2018-21) on the coaching staff of legendary Kansas high school basketball coach Ed Fritz at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas, where he was a varsity assistant coach and junior varsity head coach. During his tenure, the Huskies captured the 2019 Kansas 6A State Championship, three Kansas 6A Sub-State Championships (2019, 2020, 2021) and a pair of Eastern Kansas League conference championships (2020, 2021) en route to posting a 65-6 combined record.
Prior to joining the staff at Blue Valley, Price was a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Missouri Western, from 2016-18 for his college coach Brett Weiberg. He was involved in all aspects of the program, including day-to-day operations, travel, scouting and player recruitment, evaluation and development.
In addition to his coaching experience, Price has been involved in the development of players in the USA Basketball system, including stints as a staffer with both the 2021 U19 and U16 Men’s Junior National Teams. He helped head coach Jaime Dixon and the U19 staff prepare for the FIBA U19 World Cup, in which, they won a second-straight gold medal in July, while he has assisted head coach Sharman White and the U16 staff with the upcoming FIBA Americas Championship, which is set for August 23-29 in Xalapa, Mexico.
Price played one season (2010-11) for head coach Jim Christian at TCU before finishing his playing career (2012-15) at Missouri Western for head coaches Tom Smith and Brett Weiberg. He was three-time Academic Honor Roll selection (2013, 2014, 2015) and the recipient of the inaugural Griffon Award (2015).
Price earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Missouri Western in 2015 before adding a master’s degree in Sport and Fitness Management in 2018.
Michael has already begun his duties, while Kelly and Price are expected to begin in the coming weeks.
Kansas State Men’s Basketball Staff Update
