K-Nation (10/19/25) – Laith Marjan, Desmond Purnell, basketball previews and more

NORTHEAST KANSAS (KSNT) – This week’s episode of K-Nation focuses on previewing the upcoming seasons for KU and K-State men’s and women’s basketball, plus exclusive interviews with Kansas’ Laith Marjan and K-State’s Desmond Purnell ahead of the Sunflower Showdown.

• Kansas men’s basketball head coach Bill Self is excited to see how top-recruit Darryn Peterson will impact the team
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• Peterson has high expectations for the team this season, and his teammates are impressed by his maturity
• In his senior season, Darryn Peterson averaged 30.4 points, 7.4 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game
• KU women’s basketball head coach Brandon Schneider has high hopes for incoming freshman Jaliya Davis
• Jayhawks junior guard S’Mya Nichols is impressed with Davis’ work ethic early on
• In her senior season, Jaliya Davis averaged 25 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game
• K-State men’s basketball head coach Jerome Tang knows sophomore David Castillo will be crucial to the team with 10 newcomers joining the squad
• Memphis transfer P.J. Haggerty was the 2024-25 AAC Player of the Year, averaging just under 22 points a game
• K-State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie is embracing the challenges of having an almost entirely new roster with nine newcomers
• International recruit Gina Garcia averaged 11.3 points, 4.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds in this summer’s FIBA U20 Eurobasket for Team Spain
• The ‘Cats fell 3-2 to the No. 24 West Virginia Mountaineers on the pitch on Sunday
• Jayhawk soccer grabbed a 1-0 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats on Sunday
• Wildcat volleyball took one set in a 3-1 loss to No. 11 TCU
• Kansas volleyball swept the Houston Cougars on the road on Thursday
• K-Nation’s Kole Emplit sits down in an exclusive interview with Kansas kicker Laith Marjan
• K-Nation’s Sydney Clark talks one-on-one with K-State’s Desmond Purnell

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