‘I Can Feel the Energy in the Air’
Apr 20, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Andrej Kostic stands inside the sixth floor press box at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on a beautiful, cloudless April afternoon, and the native of Belgrade, Serbia, stares at the football field below — and he's utterly blown away.
"What's the most people who've ever been in the stadium?" he asks, almost giddy, like a third grader on a class field trip.
Smiling, he says: "The new coach played here. He's going to do a good job?"
Then he asks: "They're going to be pretty good this year?"
Kostic attended Kansas State football games last fall. It was one of a hundred first-time experiences last year for the 6-foot-6, 210-pound true freshman guard, who's 5,446 miles from his home, and who prior to stepping off a plane at Manhattan Regional Airport last July had never stepped foot onto American soil — and upon doing so, he, too, was utterly blown away.
"I was excited," he says. "I liked it so much. It was July last year. I couldn't come in the early summer due to visa things. This was my first time in the U.S. It was unbelievable. Everything was about K-State. I'd never seen anything like that, this small city, and everything is purple, and everything is about K-State. I thought, 'I love this. People really care about this.'"
Now the 19-year-old Kostic is here, in the Little Apple, and he's seemingly laid down roots inside the Ice Family Basketball Center and Bramlage Coliseum by virtue of his social media announcement on April 6 that simply read, "Unfinished Business." The K-State fan response left Kostic speechless.
"I'm not much into Twitter, but their comments and everything, I think they really wanted me to stay," he says. "I really appreciate that. I mean, I love them."
As of last Thursday's interview, the official 2026-27 K-State men's basketball roster on the athletic department website featured a single name: "Andrej Kostic." Kostic's K-State teammates left after the end of a season in which the Wildcats finished 12-20 overall and 3-15 in the Big 12 Conference. Kostic, who arrived at K-State as one of the top prospects in Europe prior to last season, averaged 5.2 points on 37.7% (40-of-106) shooting from the floor, including 37.5% (30-of-80) shooting from 3-point range. He also added 1.7 rebounds while averaging 13.5 minutes in 23 appearances.
"I was more thinking about leaving than staying because I talked with everybody and everybody said they were going to leave," Kostic says. "To be honest, I didn't know what to do."
Then Kostic, while visiting Tristan Vukcevic during a 10-day spring break trip to Washington, D.C., to see his friend from the homeland play with the Washington Wizards, received a phone call.
It was new K-State men's basketball head coach Casey Alexander, who was hired on March 13 after accumulating more than 300 wins in stops at Stetson (2011-2013), Lipscomb (2013-19) and Belmont (2019-26), where he guided the Bruins to 166 wins, four conference championships, and the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. Alexander's teams are known for high-scoring, efficient offenses that ranked in the top 10 nationally in effective field goal percentage four times in seven years, and he is known for fostering a strong team-building culture.
The coach and player spoke on the phone.
Kostic bought in almost immediately.
"We talked and I liked our conversation," Kostic says. "After I returned from spring break, we talked in person and he told me how he saw me on the court, and I really liked that. The staff, the coaches, a lot of guys had played for Coach Alexander, and that's something I really liked, because they know how things work.
"I spoke with my family and my agents and I was like, 'Why not?' I could find any college, that's not a problem, and it wasn't money or anything like that for me, but I have a good relationship with fans at K-State, and I know the city, and I know how things are going right here. That's why I decided to stay. I love how people care about K-State. Anyone can see it's about football, baseball and basketball, and we need to win for them — and for us."
Sitting inside the sixth-floor press box while recalling his conversations, Kostic's eyes momentarily bounce from Bill Snyder Family Stadium to the adjacent Bramlage Coliseum as he speaks.
"Coach Alexander is a really good person and good coach," Kostic says. "He's really busy right now because of everything, but yeah, I like his style, how he's playing. That's also why I stayed. His style is something similar to Europe. Everybody is involved in the game instead of just one or two guys. It's like a real team. Everybody needs to play for the team and for the school. That's what I like.
"Fans and people and everyone are going to be excited and a lot happier."
A certain refreshing vibe permeates the Ice Family Basketball Center each day as Kostic arrives at around 11:00 a.m. after taking his English class. Inside the gym, he's met by K-State assistant coaches Kerron Johnson, JJ Butler, Luke Smith, and a couple of team managers.
The roster continues to grow, and new teammates haven't yet arrived in Manhattan, but for the next three hours, Kostic is in his home, his laboratory, and he apparently makes the most of every moment.
"I can feel the energy in the air," he says. "I'm working out every day. I'm the only one, and that's the problem. It's long practices. I cannot lie. It's a lot of running right now and a lot of shots and the weight room."
How many shots? Two-hundred? Three-hundred?
"More," he says.
Four-hundred?
"I don't know exactly," he says," but probably 500 or 600."
It's a labor of love. In an era of uncertainty, Kostic controls what he can control — and that's his shot, his strength, and his physical and mental conditioning. All under the watchful eye of assistant coaches who have long known Alexander, his style, and the necessary ingredients to succeed, and flourish, in his tried-and-true system. Johnson spent four years on Alexander's staff at Belmont (2022-26) and was a part of 89 wins, including a 20-game winning streak, as an assistant coach, after finishing his playing career as one of the most decorated players in Belmont history behind his playmaking and leadership as a point guard that helped the Bruins to a 102-32 record. Butler played 86 games for Alexander at Lipscomb (2013-16). Smith spent the past two seasons (2024-26) on Alexander's staff at Belmont and helped the Bruins to 48 wins while the sharpshooting guard helped them win 77 games in (2019-22) as a player.
"I was, and I am, really excited about everything," Kostic says. "It's been fun. I talk a lot with the coaches. I have a connection with them. They're much younger than the last staff, and I like that. They can probably understand me more. Sometimes they ask me about some players. If I can help them, I'm there. It's fun. I cannot lie.
"They know what they're doing. They're really bringing up some really good team players."
Kostic offers a hopeful smile about six, seven, or eight weeks after hope was fleeting toward the end of last season.
"It was difficult," he says. "It was hard. I mean, it was my first time away from home alone, and I didn't have homesickness, but it was hard, and I didn't play, and then there was the coaching change, and I was very sad, and we kept playing."
Kostic played more than 15 minutes in 10 games (a season-high 27 against Iowa State), attempted more than seven shots in a game only once (nine at Colorado), and scored in double figures three times — 12 against Kansas, 10 at Colorado, and 11 at Kansas.
His biggest highlight of the season?
"Scoring four 3s against Kansas, yeah," he says. "I could've scored more in the second half. But, yeah, scoring those 3s against KU was amazing. I was really motivated for that game because I knew how much people cared about that rivalry. We have the same type of rivalry in Serbia with two teams close together, and it's the same thing."
He recalls the cheers at Bramlage when things went well and that rush that he felt when fans cheered as he came off the bench and jogged onto the floor and made a 3-pointer to help the team in limited minutes.
"The fans like me, and I like them," he says. "I need to show them that I'm not the guy who played last year. My game is much different than just shooting the ball. It was a tough season. It was a little bit of hard times for me, but I had to fight through it. I'm really thankful for that because I learned a lot. A lot of work, a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of emotions. We could've been much more. We were really capable of it because we had good players, but it is what it is.
"Yeah, I need to work a lot and really hard over the summer. My problem last year was I couldn't come until late in the summer because of visa things. Now, I'm here, and so I think it's going to be a fun summer, and we're going to work a lot. I just pray that it's going to be good."
From an early age, being good was never a problem for Kostic. He began playing soccer and basketball at age 8, moving into organized sports by age 13. His older brother, Mateja, played basketball and was a major influence.
"I decided to play basketball," Kostic says. "I think it was a good move. I just shot in all the games, and I could see I could shoot, and it started looking good."
It was when Kostic signed his first professional contract with Crvena Zvezda and played on the Crvena Zvezda MTS Beograd U19 Team that Kostic believed that basketball could take him places in life. Then, he was selected to play on the Serbian U18 National Team at the FIBA U18 European Championship. Then he averaged 18.6 points and sank a team-high 48 3-pointers and added 4.0 rebounds while averaging 27.9 minutes in 22 games for Crvena Zvezda MTS Beograd U19 Team in 2023-24. At the 2024 Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Belgrade, Kostic averaged a tournament-high 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals. After averaging 12.0 points (17-of-46 on 3-pointers), 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the 2024 FIBA U18 Eurobasket Tournament, Kostic empathically came alive as a standout while playing for Dynamic VIP Pay Beograd in 2024-25.
Kostic averaged 16.4 points on 43.2% (149-of-345) shooting, including 35.2% (75-of-213) from 3-point range, with 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 27.3 minutes per game. He led the team in scoring, 3-point attempts and 3-point makes, while scoring in double digits in 22 games, including one 20-point game and two 30-point games.
Kostic earned international honors and opened eyes since he was a member of the 2024 All-Serbian Junior League First Team while also earning 2024 All-Serbian Junior League Guard of the Year. He also earned all-tournament honors at the 2025 Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy. During one game, he scored 39 points. Another game he grabbed 10 rebounds. Another game he had eight assists. Another game, he had five steals.
It was while scoring 30 points against OKK Beograd one steamy night on March 22, 2025, that Kostic confirmed the initial evaluation by former K-State head coach Jerome Tang and assistant coach Anthony Winchester, who believed that 18-year-old Kostic was the real deal. Tang and Winchester flew to Serbia and drove two hours up mountainous roads to reach a small town and the packed gym that echoed with cheers each time Kostic made a basket. On one play in the game, Kostic came off a pick-and-roll, went between the legs and behind the back, and hit a circus shot. The crowd went wild as Kostic thrived against some of the best basketball players in Europe, opening eyes of colleges and scouts.
"To be honest, I wasn't a guy who wanted to come to the U.S.," Kostic says. "I always wanted to play Europe professionally, but I saw a lot of things change and a lot of my friends started coming to the U.S. I started thinking about it. There were a lot of colleges and NBA scouts at the game. That's normal. I didn't care about that, to be honest. I just wanted to play and win. We lost to the best team in the league in an away game. I played well. Afterward, my agent told me I could talk a few seconds on the way to the bus. At first, I didn't know what Coach Tang looked like. I chose Coach Tang. He came all the way to Serbia to watch me. I spoke with him for about 30 seconds and that was it."
Shortly after arriving at K-State, Kostic realized contrasting styles in basketball.
"To me, it's the same game," he says. "You need to score and you need to stop the opponent. In the U.S., I can say, it's a lot tougher. It's about how strong you are, how strong you need to be, and probably more of the guys can really jump. In Europe it's smarter basketball than here, in my opinion, and probably the speed of the game is different."
Kostic also noticed changes within himself last season as well.
"It was my mentality," he says. "I just started working harder and started loving to work harder. Two years or three years ago, I was a lazy guy because everybody was talking about how talented I was, and I thought, 'This is easy. I'll just play.' But here, seeing guys play so well, I want to fight for it. That's why I'm really thankful. That's really going to change."
For now, Kostic continues to refine his craft inside the gym each day, as the roster seemingly grows daily.
"I've met some of the guys and they're cool," Kostic says. "I think they're really good players. We just need to be tougher, that's it. And I know we're going to be together. So far, I've met JT Rock (a 7-foot-1, 255-pound transfer center from New Mexico) and a couple other guys."
As spring hits the Little Apple, newness shines upon K-State — from football to men's basketball, from Bill Snyder Family Stadium to adjacent Bramlage Coliseum. Kostic has gratitude in his heart and improvement in his mind while controlling what he can control in this ever-shifting college basketball world. There will be a time when newness fades, but there will be a ton of firsts along the way in the Alexander era.
"What I've learned most is that I need to be more patient and appreciate everything and work for everybody and for yourself," Kostic says. "I need to think about how much better I can be and what I can do to be better here at K-State. If I'm not in Serbia, I can't think about Serbia. Of course, I can miss my family, but this is my new home."
He pauses.
"I can say," he says, "K-State is my new home."
Andrej Kostic stands inside the sixth floor press box at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on a beautiful, cloudless April afternoon, and the native of Belgrade, Serbia, stares at the football field below — and he's utterly blown away.
"What's the most people who've ever been in the stadium?" he asks, almost giddy, like a third grader on a class field trip.
Smiling, he says: "The new coach played here. He's going to do a good job?"
Then he asks: "They're going to be pretty good this year?"
Kostic attended Kansas State football games last fall. It was one of a hundred first-time experiences last year for the 6-foot-6, 210-pound true freshman guard, who's 5,446 miles from his home, and who prior to stepping off a plane at Manhattan Regional Airport last July had never stepped foot onto American soil — and upon doing so, he, too, was utterly blown away.
"I was excited," he says. "I liked it so much. It was July last year. I couldn't come in the early summer due to visa things. This was my first time in the U.S. It was unbelievable. Everything was about K-State. I'd never seen anything like that, this small city, and everything is purple, and everything is about K-State. I thought, 'I love this. People really care about this.'"
Now the 19-year-old Kostic is here, in the Little Apple, and he's seemingly laid down roots inside the Ice Family Basketball Center and Bramlage Coliseum by virtue of his social media announcement on April 6 that simply read, "Unfinished Business." The K-State fan response left Kostic speechless.
"I'm not much into Twitter, but their comments and everything, I think they really wanted me to stay," he says. "I really appreciate that. I mean, I love them."
As of last Thursday's interview, the official 2026-27 K-State men's basketball roster on the athletic department website featured a single name: "Andrej Kostic." Kostic's K-State teammates left after the end of a season in which the Wildcats finished 12-20 overall and 3-15 in the Big 12 Conference. Kostic, who arrived at K-State as one of the top prospects in Europe prior to last season, averaged 5.2 points on 37.7% (40-of-106) shooting from the floor, including 37.5% (30-of-80) shooting from 3-point range. He also added 1.7 rebounds while averaging 13.5 minutes in 23 appearances.
"I was more thinking about leaving than staying because I talked with everybody and everybody said they were going to leave," Kostic says. "To be honest, I didn't know what to do."
Then Kostic, while visiting Tristan Vukcevic during a 10-day spring break trip to Washington, D.C., to see his friend from the homeland play with the Washington Wizards, received a phone call.
It was new K-State men's basketball head coach Casey Alexander, who was hired on March 13 after accumulating more than 300 wins in stops at Stetson (2011-2013), Lipscomb (2013-19) and Belmont (2019-26), where he guided the Bruins to 166 wins, four conference championships, and the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. Alexander's teams are known for high-scoring, efficient offenses that ranked in the top 10 nationally in effective field goal percentage four times in seven years, and he is known for fostering a strong team-building culture.
The coach and player spoke on the phone.
Kostic bought in almost immediately.
"We talked and I liked our conversation," Kostic says. "After I returned from spring break, we talked in person and he told me how he saw me on the court, and I really liked that. The staff, the coaches, a lot of guys had played for Coach Alexander, and that's something I really liked, because they know how things work.
"I spoke with my family and my agents and I was like, 'Why not?' I could find any college, that's not a problem, and it wasn't money or anything like that for me, but I have a good relationship with fans at K-State, and I know the city, and I know how things are going right here. That's why I decided to stay. I love how people care about K-State. Anyone can see it's about football, baseball and basketball, and we need to win for them — and for us."
Sitting inside the sixth-floor press box while recalling his conversations, Kostic's eyes momentarily bounce from Bill Snyder Family Stadium to the adjacent Bramlage Coliseum as he speaks.
"Coach Alexander is a really good person and good coach," Kostic says. "He's really busy right now because of everything, but yeah, I like his style, how he's playing. That's also why I stayed. His style is something similar to Europe. Everybody is involved in the game instead of just one or two guys. It's like a real team. Everybody needs to play for the team and for the school. That's what I like.
"Fans and people and everyone are going to be excited and a lot happier."
A certain refreshing vibe permeates the Ice Family Basketball Center each day as Kostic arrives at around 11:00 a.m. after taking his English class. Inside the gym, he's met by K-State assistant coaches Kerron Johnson, JJ Butler, Luke Smith, and a couple of team managers.
The roster continues to grow, and new teammates haven't yet arrived in Manhattan, but for the next three hours, Kostic is in his home, his laboratory, and he apparently makes the most of every moment.
"I can feel the energy in the air," he says. "I'm working out every day. I'm the only one, and that's the problem. It's long practices. I cannot lie. It's a lot of running right now and a lot of shots and the weight room."
How many shots? Two-hundred? Three-hundred?
"More," he says.
Four-hundred?
"I don't know exactly," he says," but probably 500 or 600."
It's a labor of love. In an era of uncertainty, Kostic controls what he can control — and that's his shot, his strength, and his physical and mental conditioning. All under the watchful eye of assistant coaches who have long known Alexander, his style, and the necessary ingredients to succeed, and flourish, in his tried-and-true system. Johnson spent four years on Alexander's staff at Belmont (2022-26) and was a part of 89 wins, including a 20-game winning streak, as an assistant coach, after finishing his playing career as one of the most decorated players in Belmont history behind his playmaking and leadership as a point guard that helped the Bruins to a 102-32 record. Butler played 86 games for Alexander at Lipscomb (2013-16). Smith spent the past two seasons (2024-26) on Alexander's staff at Belmont and helped the Bruins to 48 wins while the sharpshooting guard helped them win 77 games in (2019-22) as a player.
"I was, and I am, really excited about everything," Kostic says. "It's been fun. I talk a lot with the coaches. I have a connection with them. They're much younger than the last staff, and I like that. They can probably understand me more. Sometimes they ask me about some players. If I can help them, I'm there. It's fun. I cannot lie.
"They know what they're doing. They're really bringing up some really good team players."
Kostic offers a hopeful smile about six, seven, or eight weeks after hope was fleeting toward the end of last season.
"It was difficult," he says. "It was hard. I mean, it was my first time away from home alone, and I didn't have homesickness, but it was hard, and I didn't play, and then there was the coaching change, and I was very sad, and we kept playing."
Kostic played more than 15 minutes in 10 games (a season-high 27 against Iowa State), attempted more than seven shots in a game only once (nine at Colorado), and scored in double figures three times — 12 against Kansas, 10 at Colorado, and 11 at Kansas.
His biggest highlight of the season?
"Scoring four 3s against Kansas, yeah," he says. "I could've scored more in the second half. But, yeah, scoring those 3s against KU was amazing. I was really motivated for that game because I knew how much people cared about that rivalry. We have the same type of rivalry in Serbia with two teams close together, and it's the same thing."
He recalls the cheers at Bramlage when things went well and that rush that he felt when fans cheered as he came off the bench and jogged onto the floor and made a 3-pointer to help the team in limited minutes.
"The fans like me, and I like them," he says. "I need to show them that I'm not the guy who played last year. My game is much different than just shooting the ball. It was a tough season. It was a little bit of hard times for me, but I had to fight through it. I'm really thankful for that because I learned a lot. A lot of work, a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of emotions. We could've been much more. We were really capable of it because we had good players, but it is what it is.
"Yeah, I need to work a lot and really hard over the summer. My problem last year was I couldn't come until late in the summer because of visa things. Now, I'm here, and so I think it's going to be a fun summer, and we're going to work a lot. I just pray that it's going to be good."
From an early age, being good was never a problem for Kostic. He began playing soccer and basketball at age 8, moving into organized sports by age 13. His older brother, Mateja, played basketball and was a major influence.
"I decided to play basketball," Kostic says. "I think it was a good move. I just shot in all the games, and I could see I could shoot, and it started looking good."
It was when Kostic signed his first professional contract with Crvena Zvezda and played on the Crvena Zvezda MTS Beograd U19 Team that Kostic believed that basketball could take him places in life. Then, he was selected to play on the Serbian U18 National Team at the FIBA U18 European Championship. Then he averaged 18.6 points and sank a team-high 48 3-pointers and added 4.0 rebounds while averaging 27.9 minutes in 22 games for Crvena Zvezda MTS Beograd U19 Team in 2023-24. At the 2024 Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Belgrade, Kostic averaged a tournament-high 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals. After averaging 12.0 points (17-of-46 on 3-pointers), 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in the 2024 FIBA U18 Eurobasket Tournament, Kostic empathically came alive as a standout while playing for Dynamic VIP Pay Beograd in 2024-25.
Kostic averaged 16.4 points on 43.2% (149-of-345) shooting, including 35.2% (75-of-213) from 3-point range, with 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 27.3 minutes per game. He led the team in scoring, 3-point attempts and 3-point makes, while scoring in double digits in 22 games, including one 20-point game and two 30-point games.
Kostic earned international honors and opened eyes since he was a member of the 2024 All-Serbian Junior League First Team while also earning 2024 All-Serbian Junior League Guard of the Year. He also earned all-tournament honors at the 2025 Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy. During one game, he scored 39 points. Another game he grabbed 10 rebounds. Another game he had eight assists. Another game, he had five steals.
It was while scoring 30 points against OKK Beograd one steamy night on March 22, 2025, that Kostic confirmed the initial evaluation by former K-State head coach Jerome Tang and assistant coach Anthony Winchester, who believed that 18-year-old Kostic was the real deal. Tang and Winchester flew to Serbia and drove two hours up mountainous roads to reach a small town and the packed gym that echoed with cheers each time Kostic made a basket. On one play in the game, Kostic came off a pick-and-roll, went between the legs and behind the back, and hit a circus shot. The crowd went wild as Kostic thrived against some of the best basketball players in Europe, opening eyes of colleges and scouts.
"To be honest, I wasn't a guy who wanted to come to the U.S.," Kostic says. "I always wanted to play Europe professionally, but I saw a lot of things change and a lot of my friends started coming to the U.S. I started thinking about it. There were a lot of colleges and NBA scouts at the game. That's normal. I didn't care about that, to be honest. I just wanted to play and win. We lost to the best team in the league in an away game. I played well. Afterward, my agent told me I could talk a few seconds on the way to the bus. At first, I didn't know what Coach Tang looked like. I chose Coach Tang. He came all the way to Serbia to watch me. I spoke with him for about 30 seconds and that was it."
Shortly after arriving at K-State, Kostic realized contrasting styles in basketball.
"To me, it's the same game," he says. "You need to score and you need to stop the opponent. In the U.S., I can say, it's a lot tougher. It's about how strong you are, how strong you need to be, and probably more of the guys can really jump. In Europe it's smarter basketball than here, in my opinion, and probably the speed of the game is different."
Kostic also noticed changes within himself last season as well.
"It was my mentality," he says. "I just started working harder and started loving to work harder. Two years or three years ago, I was a lazy guy because everybody was talking about how talented I was, and I thought, 'This is easy. I'll just play.' But here, seeing guys play so well, I want to fight for it. That's why I'm really thankful. That's really going to change."
For now, Kostic continues to refine his craft inside the gym each day, as the roster seemingly grows daily.
"I've met some of the guys and they're cool," Kostic says. "I think they're really good players. We just need to be tougher, that's it. And I know we're going to be together. So far, I've met JT Rock (a 7-foot-1, 255-pound transfer center from New Mexico) and a couple other guys."
As spring hits the Little Apple, newness shines upon K-State — from football to men's basketball, from Bill Snyder Family Stadium to adjacent Bramlage Coliseum. Kostic has gratitude in his heart and improvement in his mind while controlling what he can control in this ever-shifting college basketball world. There will be a time when newness fades, but there will be a ton of firsts along the way in the Alexander era.
"What I've learned most is that I need to be more patient and appreciate everything and work for everybody and for yourself," Kostic says. "I need to think about how much better I can be and what I can do to be better here at K-State. If I'm not in Serbia, I can't think about Serbia. Of course, I can miss my family, but this is my new home."
He pauses.
"I can say," he says, "K-State is my new home."
Players Mentioned
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