How will Kentucky basketball’s freshman class fare when portal players are the craze?

Markquis Nowell was terrific in Kansas State’s second-round win over Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. The 5-foot-7 point guard scored 27 points. He made nine assists. He hit key shots down the stretch as K-State prevailed 75-69.

Nowell was epic in the Wildcats’ East Region semifinal win over Michigan State on Thursday night. Back home in the Big Apple, the Harlem native scored 20 points and dished a tournament-record 19 assists, including a no-look lob pass for Keyontae Johnson’s deciding dunk, in Kansas State’s 98-93 overtime victory at Madison Square Garden.

So where did this little wizard come from?

The transfer portal.

Of course.

That’s the story of college basketball these days, and one the local team must navigate and master if it wants to make a deeper run in next year’s Big Dance and beyond.

After playing a season for Cordia High School in Eastern Kentucky under former UK forward Rodrick Rhodes, Nowell played for the Patrick School in Hillsdale, New Jersey, before signing with Little Rock. He spent three seasons at the Sun Belt Conference school before transferring to Kansas State. After one season playing for Bruce Weber, Nowell became one of a collection of terrific transfers for new coach Jerome Tang.

Keyontae Johnson transferred to Manhattan from Florida; Desi Sills from Arkansas State; David N’Guessan from Virginia Tech; Cam Carter from Mississippi State; Ismael Massoud from Wake Forest. Nae’Qwan Tomlin started at Chipola (Fla.) College before landing at Kansas State.

Consider this: That group reached Saturday’s East Region finals against Florida Atlantic while only three of 247Sports’ top 10 class of 2022 recruits (Arkansas’ Nick Smith, Texas’ Dillon Mitchell and UCLA’s Amari Bailey) made it out of the second round.

It’s also one reason why teams from 11 conferences reached the Sweet 16. It’s a trend that is likely to continue.