Kansas State
Jerome Tang’s first season couldn’t have gone any better, leading Kansas State to the Elite Eight. It was the combination of Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson that led the Wildcats to those heights and replacing their contributions has been a big focus of this offseason. The Wildcats missed out on a few of the major backcourt pieces in the transfer portal, like Max Abmas, but landing Dingle could turn this offseason back into a big win.
Four-star recruits Dai Dai Ames and RJ Jones join Cam Carter in the backcourt, though Dingle could give this team quite the boost for next season. They’re still looking to replace a lot of the scoring from Nowell and Johnson and his experience and leadership would be really valuable as well. Dingle was the best player in the Ivy League and could still have a fantastic impact in the Big 12.
Kentucky
Kentucky boasts the nation’s top recruiting class, a group that includes DJ Wagner, Robert Dillingham, and Reed Sheppard in the backcourt. There are a lot of new faces this season for a Wildcats team losing a lot of their talent from last year and adding Dingle to the group would be a major move. Not only would Kentucky greatly benefit from his shooting touch, but adding a fourth-year player on a team filled with freshmen would be valuable.
What makes Dingle and Kentucky an intriguing connection is that his father Dana played under John Calipari nearly three decades ago at UMass. There are actually a few other players on this Kentucky roster whose fathers have connections to Calipari or this program. This might be the most sensible fit for Dingle, not just for the connection but for his value and experience.