Wheeler is ‘Made of the Right Stuff’
Oct 05, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The introduction arrives shortly before 3 o'clock on an unseasonably warm late-September in the Little Apple, so drenched by hours of rain showers causing the light limestone brick encasing the Ice Family Basketball Center to glow. Inside the two-story building, past the lobby and down a dark carpet, a young man in a black Nike long-sleeved t-shirt enters the team theater room, and upon glancing at the seated reporters for the first time, breaks the silence with politeness.
"Hi everybody," he says, "I'm Montana Wheeler."
Wheeler, a 20-year-old sophomore point guard, delivers a lasting first impression. He is one of 13 newcomers on a 14-member roster for a Kansas State men's basketball team led by head coach Casey Alexander, who enters his first season as K-State head coach after amassing 303 career victories at Stetson, Lipscomb and Belmont. Wheeler, Alexander and his assistant coaches from Belmont who joined him at K-State, have a history.
"We know how tough Montana is, how great he is, and how fast he is with the ball," says K-State assistant coach Kerron Johnson, one of the most decorated players in Belmont history, who as a coach also knows something about good guard play as he helped coach Ben Sheppard to become pick No. 26 in the 2023 NBA Draft. "We were definitely worried about those things when we went against Montana."
Last season, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Wheeler played in all 34 games as a true freshman at Bradley, where he was named to the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Bench Team after ranking second in the team with 96 assists, third with 35 made 3-pointers, and fourth with 8.5 points per game despite not starting a game.
Wheeler also scored in double figures in 11 games.
That included a season-high 22 points against Belmont.
He hit a school-record seven 3-pointers in that game.
"You play Montana and see his aggressiveness and how fearless he is," Johnson says. "He made countless big shots for Bradley last year and played in all the big moments. As a freshman, for him to have that type of confidence in that league and to be in those moments, says a lot about that kid and the confidence he has in himself to perform."
And now, Wheeler, who signed with K-State on April 28 and has four years of eligibility remaining after transferring, is expected to be one of the top players on Alexander's first K-State team. It'll be the first season for coach and player at the Power 4 level.
"I was just blessed to have the opportunity to put on the K-State uniform," Wheeler says. "I know the legacy and how legendary this program was, so just having the opportunity to rep that uniform and play college at the highest level has always been my dream. I was super excited and wasn't going to pass it up."
Alexander already knows what he's getting with Wheeler on his roster. The two spoke for hours. Wheeler was ready. Alexander knew Wheeler was so much more.
"He's made of the right stuff," Alexander says. "I mean, he's a real competitor. He's a hoops junkie, very astute in basketball knowledge. I have really enjoyed learning that about him. I already knew what kind of player he was because we had played against him, but those things really stood out to me in our conversations. He's a winner."
It's a basketball life forged through family, as Wheeler was the star player for his father, Teddy Wheeler, who coached at Xavier Academy in Houston, Texas. Wheeler was a four-star prospect, a top-20 player in the state of Texas, while averaging 22.0 points and shooting 40% from 3-point range, and dishing out 8.0 assists and collecting 2.0 steals per game his junior season at Houston Chrisitan.
Teddy has helped more than 60 players secure Division I commitments, including three McDonald's All-Americans. Montana's brother, Savhir Wheeler, was a top 80 prospect by ESPN and enjoyed a three-stop career at Georgia, Kentucky and Washington from 2019 to 2023.
Asked if Alexander or his father was tougher as a coach, Wheeler laughs.
"They're great coaches in their own way. That's a good question," he replies. "Coach Casey is very cool. He's detail oriented, likes to move at a fast pace, but also likes to get things right. He wants you to understand what he's saying. He's not just saying it out loud and watching for you to figure it out. I've learned a lot from him these past couple months and I look forward to continue to learn."
Alexander was impressed with Wheeler's unselfishness as a team player and ability to be versatile.
"He had a tremendous year as a freshman, where he really was never himself," Alexander says. "He played behind Jaquan Johnson, who was one of the best guards in the portal this off season. And so, he was really off the ball a lot, but he still found a way to be to make a great contribution on a really good team."
Wheeler remembers the feeling in playing against Alexander and a really good Belmont team. Alexander joins Mark Few, Kelvin Sampson and Bill Self as the only Division I head coaches to post at least 20 wins in 10 straight seasons.
"Preparing for Belmont was hectic," Wheeler says. "We couldn't really scout for them because what they do is pretty unpredictable. It was really good to see the backside of it in preparing for it. Now being on this side, there's a reason why he wins. He's very detail oriented, very disciplined. It's good seeing both of those sides."
Wheeler strives each day in hopes that his contributions might help K-State to emerge as a really good team as well.
"It's just the freedom you have in Coach Casey's offense," Wheeler says. "He gives you rules but you also have freedom within those guidelines to be a player at the end of the day. We're all basketball players at the end of the day, so just trying not to complicate it too much, just do what we do best, and just play basketball.
"The whole summer I felt like we were challenged as a group whether that was strength coaching or hard days stacked upon each other. Those days and moments really helped us to where we can play a game. I feel like we're ready."
It'll come when K-State opens its exhibition season against Missouri on October 23 at Bramlage Coliseum. From there, it's all about becoming better each day and chasing goals.
"That's the ultimate goal, to get to the NCAA Tournament, but we're more focused on getting better each day," Wheeler says. "If we stack days, stack really good games, that's going to come in time."
Wheeler nods a parting goodbye to reporters and pushes in his seat at the conclusion of the interview at the team meeting room.
There's work to do.
But already Wheeler is good at making lasting introductions.
The introduction arrives shortly before 3 o'clock on an unseasonably warm late-September in the Little Apple, so drenched by hours of rain showers causing the light limestone brick encasing the Ice Family Basketball Center to glow. Inside the two-story building, past the lobby and down a dark carpet, a young man in a black Nike long-sleeved t-shirt enters the team theater room, and upon glancing at the seated reporters for the first time, breaks the silence with politeness.
"Hi everybody," he says, "I'm Montana Wheeler."
Wheeler, a 20-year-old sophomore point guard, delivers a lasting first impression. He is one of 13 newcomers on a 14-member roster for a Kansas State men's basketball team led by head coach Casey Alexander, who enters his first season as K-State head coach after amassing 303 career victories at Stetson, Lipscomb and Belmont. Wheeler, Alexander and his assistant coaches from Belmont who joined him at K-State, have a history.
"We know how tough Montana is, how great he is, and how fast he is with the ball," says K-State assistant coach Kerron Johnson, one of the most decorated players in Belmont history, who as a coach also knows something about good guard play as he helped coach Ben Sheppard to become pick No. 26 in the 2023 NBA Draft. "We were definitely worried about those things when we went against Montana."
Last season, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Wheeler played in all 34 games as a true freshman at Bradley, where he was named to the Missouri Valley Conference's All-Bench Team after ranking second in the team with 96 assists, third with 35 made 3-pointers, and fourth with 8.5 points per game despite not starting a game.
Wheeler also scored in double figures in 11 games.
That included a season-high 22 points against Belmont.
He hit a school-record seven 3-pointers in that game.
"You play Montana and see his aggressiveness and how fearless he is," Johnson says. "He made countless big shots for Bradley last year and played in all the big moments. As a freshman, for him to have that type of confidence in that league and to be in those moments, says a lot about that kid and the confidence he has in himself to perform."
And now, Wheeler, who signed with K-State on April 28 and has four years of eligibility remaining after transferring, is expected to be one of the top players on Alexander's first K-State team. It'll be the first season for coach and player at the Power 4 level.
"I was just blessed to have the opportunity to put on the K-State uniform," Wheeler says. "I know the legacy and how legendary this program was, so just having the opportunity to rep that uniform and play college at the highest level has always been my dream. I was super excited and wasn't going to pass it up."
Alexander already knows what he's getting with Wheeler on his roster. The two spoke for hours. Wheeler was ready. Alexander knew Wheeler was so much more.
"He's made of the right stuff," Alexander says. "I mean, he's a real competitor. He's a hoops junkie, very astute in basketball knowledge. I have really enjoyed learning that about him. I already knew what kind of player he was because we had played against him, but those things really stood out to me in our conversations. He's a winner."
It's a basketball life forged through family, as Wheeler was the star player for his father, Teddy Wheeler, who coached at Xavier Academy in Houston, Texas. Wheeler was a four-star prospect, a top-20 player in the state of Texas, while averaging 22.0 points and shooting 40% from 3-point range, and dishing out 8.0 assists and collecting 2.0 steals per game his junior season at Houston Chrisitan.
Teddy has helped more than 60 players secure Division I commitments, including three McDonald's All-Americans. Montana's brother, Savhir Wheeler, was a top 80 prospect by ESPN and enjoyed a three-stop career at Georgia, Kentucky and Washington from 2019 to 2023.
Asked if Alexander or his father was tougher as a coach, Wheeler laughs.
"They're great coaches in their own way. That's a good question," he replies. "Coach Casey is very cool. He's detail oriented, likes to move at a fast pace, but also likes to get things right. He wants you to understand what he's saying. He's not just saying it out loud and watching for you to figure it out. I've learned a lot from him these past couple months and I look forward to continue to learn."
Alexander was impressed with Wheeler's unselfishness as a team player and ability to be versatile.
"He had a tremendous year as a freshman, where he really was never himself," Alexander says. "He played behind Jaquan Johnson, who was one of the best guards in the portal this off season. And so, he was really off the ball a lot, but he still found a way to be to make a great contribution on a really good team."
Wheeler remembers the feeling in playing against Alexander and a really good Belmont team. Alexander joins Mark Few, Kelvin Sampson and Bill Self as the only Division I head coaches to post at least 20 wins in 10 straight seasons.
"Preparing for Belmont was hectic," Wheeler says. "We couldn't really scout for them because what they do is pretty unpredictable. It was really good to see the backside of it in preparing for it. Now being on this side, there's a reason why he wins. He's very detail oriented, very disciplined. It's good seeing both of those sides."
Wheeler strives each day in hopes that his contributions might help K-State to emerge as a really good team as well.
"It's just the freedom you have in Coach Casey's offense," Wheeler says. "He gives you rules but you also have freedom within those guidelines to be a player at the end of the day. We're all basketball players at the end of the day, so just trying not to complicate it too much, just do what we do best, and just play basketball.
"The whole summer I felt like we were challenged as a group whether that was strength coaching or hard days stacked upon each other. Those days and moments really helped us to where we can play a game. I feel like we're ready."
It'll come when K-State opens its exhibition season against Missouri on October 23 at Bramlage Coliseum. From there, it's all about becoming better each day and chasing goals.
"That's the ultimate goal, to get to the NCAA Tournament, but we're more focused on getting better each day," Wheeler says. "If we stack days, stack really good games, that's going to come in time."
Wheeler nods a parting goodbye to reporters and pushes in his seat at the conclusion of the interview at the team meeting room.
There's work to do.
But already Wheeler is good at making lasting introductions.
Players Mentioned
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