When senior forward Kansas State transfer Arthur Kaluma plays in his first Texas basketball game this season, he will have played in three separate conferences during his collegiate basketball career.
“I feel like I’ve been doing the tour of the best conferences, Big East, Big 12 and now the SEC,” Kaluma said. “(I’m) extremely excited, I mean this is an amazing opportunity that God has blessed me with, I’m just looking to take it forward (and) take advantage of every opportunity I get here.”
Kaluma started his career in the Big East Conference, playing for two years at Creighton University. He helped lead his team to the school’s first Elite Eight appearance, starting in all 37 games.
However, after playing Texas at the Moody Center that same year in the 2022-23 season, Kaluma wanted the opportunity to play in a more competitive league: the Big 12.
“I just really wanted to have a chance to play against (Texas),” Kaluma said. “Going to the Big 12 was a really big decision for me and I wanted to play against the best competition. And I feel like Texas always brings it, every year.”
So, Kaluma transferred to Kansas State for his junior season. There, he led the team in rebounding with an average of seven rebounds per game and ranked third in scoring, assists, steals and minutes. He also appeared back on the Moody Center court, where his team fell to the Longhorns 62-56.
“The Moody Center gets crazy,” Kaluma said. “I mean, that’s a great environment to play in. Every college basketball player would want to play in Moody.”
The third time was the charm for Kaluma. Later in the season, Kansas State beat Texas 78-74 in the Big 12 Championship and Kaluma got an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 selection.
Now, Kaluma is adjusting his mindset, rooting for Texas instead of against it, and his multi-conference experience will likely help the Longhorns this season.
“I feel like what I bring to the team is experience,” Kaluma said. “This is my fourth year playing college basketball. (I) feel like an old head, but what I bring is rebounding, energy, communication and just leadership.”
Kaluma’s experience isn’t just limited to college basketball — he also already has experience playing professional basketball.
After receiving his Ugandan citizenship in 2020, Kaluma played for the Ugandan National Team at FIBA AfroBasket in the summer of 2021 and the FIBA World Cup African Qualifiers in the summer of 2022.
“The National Team was a great experience,” Kaluma said. “I mean, being able to go outside the country is always great. (You can) see how other people live and experience different cultures.”
This past summer, Kaluma moved to Austin and practiced with his new team. Although waking up for early morning practices was not Kaluma’s highlight of the summer, he had a lot of fun on the court.
“I’m with a great group of people, and it’s just fun playing basketball,” Kaluma said. “It’s something I’ve been doing since I was 7 years old, so (I) just gotta keep having fun with it.”
