K-State Q&A: Bill Snyder, bowl possibilities and Bruce Weber’s starting five
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
Thanks, as always, for all your questions. We’ve got some good ones to get to this week, so let’s dive right in.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What in your eyes can <a href="https://twitter.com/KStateFB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KStateFB</a> do to improve itself from this year's slow start til Snyder's Retirement (5 years or less). What is Kellis' master plan for improvement? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KStateQandA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KStateQandA</a></p>— Greg Houser (@BigHouse_Greg) <a href="https://twitter.com/BigHouse_Greg/status/1047874624846004227?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Where to begin?
It’s going to be a process. So the Wildcats will definitely need a football coach (Snyder, me or someone else) who understands that and trusts the process. There is considerable fan unrest right now in Manhattan, but things might get worse before they get better. Years of attrition and lackluster recruiting will make it very hard for K-State to replace departing seniors Dalton Risner, Duke Shelley, Dalvin Warmack, Kendall Adams and Eli Walker next season. If juniors like Alex Barnes leave early for the NFL or look elsewhere as graduate transfers, things will get even harder.
K-State has some talented up-and-coming players, don’t get me wrong, but the roster lacks depth. That needs to be addressed. And that can only happen with a new recruiting approach. Snyder and some of his assistants simply aren’t engaged in that area. At the very least, the Wildcats need to add more on-campus recruiters and social media experts. Schools are allowed to employ as many people as they want in those positions, but K-State chooses to have a bare-bones staff.
The Wildcats are never going to top the Big 12 in recruiting rankings, but they are capable of more. The classes they have produced in recent years have all ranked at or near the bottom of the conference.
I was struck by the presence of Kansas natives Ben Powers and Amani Bledsoe in Oklahoma’s starting lineup last week. The Wildcats let two players capable of starting at OU leave the state without much of a fight. They would have had Powers if they offered him out of high school. But he went to junior college and later spurned the Wildcats for the Sooners. More and more it seems like the best players in Wichita and Kansas City aren’t choosing K-State. That has to change.
K-State has to close the talent gap that exists between it and Oklahoma/Texas. Snyder is an active Hall of Famer and his assistants know their stuff, but the Wildcats had stars like Arthur Brown, Collin Klein, Chris Harper, Tyler Lockett and Justin Tuggle when they won their last Big 12 championship in 2012. Now they don’t.
Other than that, I would endorse any move that makes football practices and offseason work more enjoyable. Play modern music, put a ping-pong table in the locker room, have a Halloween party ... Look at some of the stuff K-State’s basketball team has done this preseason, including Barry Brown’s Halloween prank on Bruce Weber.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"> This video is barry scary <br><br>Happy Halloween from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KStateMBB?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KStateMBB</a> <a href="https://t.co/m5LgISWIyE">pic.twitter.com/m5LgISWIyE</a></p>— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/KStateMBB/status/1057663991592423424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
There’s a group that looks like it is having a blast, and they are ranked 12th in the preseason AP Top 25. It would be cool to see more of that happen with football.
And, most importantly, I would unveil new uniforms.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is Bruce’s performance in yesterday’s basketball video the most iconic scare scene in history?</p>— Paul Harris (@palexharris) <a href="https://twitter.com/palexharris/status/1058104473116119042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It’s up there with Sigourney Weaver in the original “Alien” movies and Jim Varney in “Ernest Scared Stupid.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Has AD been exposed to anything close to the situation right now, where a very vocal group is calling for a legendary coach to be replaced ?</p>— Larry Ross (@BowTieMetal) <a href="https://twitter.com/BowTieMetal/status/1058067886965747713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The closest thing would be last year, before Bruce Weber led K-State basketball to the Elite Eight, and certain fans were howling for the current most popular coach on campus to be fired. Weber and Snyder have switched places since then. It’s weird.
Still, that’s not the same. Snyder is the most iconic man in town. He built K-State football. The current situation surrounding his uncertain future is much messier than anything Gene Taylor briefly encountered with Weber.
Taylor did have to replace Craig Bohl, a championship coach at North Dakota State, and he made that transition perfectly to another championship coach. But, again, that’s not necessarily the same thing.
This is closer to Bobby Bowden’s last days at Florida State.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Probably too early for this, but... If K-State goes 5-7 and there are more bowl games than "eligible" teams, what's the likelihood it receives/accepts a bid? If I recall, it was gonna happen in '15, but K-State eked out a sixth win. Also, what are your thoughts on bowling at 5-7?</p>— Justin Nutter (@JNutter) <a href="https://twitter.com/JNutter/status/1052961423582736387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Well, the Wildcats have a strong APR in football and that’s what determines which 5-7 teams get to go to the overflow bowl games and which teams have to stay home. So K-State would probably sneak into one of the hilariously named bowls (my favorite is the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl) with two more wins.
Snyder said he would have left the decision to play in a bowl with a losing record up to a team vote back in 2015, but the team finished 6-6 so it was moot.
I think K-State would accept any bowl invite at 5-7, if for no other reason than to extend its current bowl streak to nine, but it wouldn’t be a great look. Never is, even though plenty of teams do it. I highly doubt there would be much fan interest or ticket sales for a 5-7 bowl game this year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What would this weekends game against TCU be called if it was a bowl game? The Low Moral Bowl? The WTH Went Wrong Bowl? Others??</p>— BusMedicMike (@BusMedicMike) <a href="https://twitter.com/BusMedicMike/status/1058145929495302144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Oh man, there are some great name possibilities for this game.
The Disappointment Bowl.
The What Happened Bowl.
The Bad Dream Bowl.
The At Least Someone Gets To Win Bowl.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">With football season down to it's last four games, is there any chance redshirts get pulled?</p>— Tom McKenna (@TomMcKenna29) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomMcKenna29/status/1058051442936811522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Maybe. We’ve already seen Malik Knowles catch passes for the offense and John Holcombe travel and warm up for a road game. If any true freshmen are lighting it up on the scout team, now would be the time to play them.
At the same time, the Wildcats need to win three of the last four to clinch a bowl game and they want to extend their bowl streak. I could see Snyder leaning more heavily than ever on experience. So it’s hard to say.
Snyder said earlier this week he will favor effort over talent. If any redshirt players have shown enough grit to earn playing time, I bet we will see them get it. But I doubt you’ll see major changes. Nothing more than a freshman here and a freshman there.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Who do you think the starters for Friday nights game will be? Think Dean will get 20 pts.?</p>— Kenn Wealand (@KennWealand) <a href="https://twitter.com/KennWealand/status/1058048992028909571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
We asked Bruce Weber this at Big 12 media days last week and he said he’s been arguing with his assistants all month about which combination will make the best starting five.
That suggests there could be some changes from last season. But I’m not so sure.
My starting five prediction: Kamau Stokes, Barry Brown, Xavier Sneed, Dean Wade, Makol Mawien. That’s the exact same thing we saw last year when everyone was healthy. Boring, right?
Here’s the thing, I don’t think those are the five players who will lead the team in minutes played. I’m very curious to see if Cartier Diarra or Austin Trice can push for starter minutes off the bench. I think they will. Mike McGuirl could also play a ton, filling in for both guard spots and small forward.
Weber has said he wants this group to follow the Villanova model, where the sixth man is every bit as important as the leading scorer. I’m more interested to see who finishes important games than who starts exhibition games.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Why have I seen little respect (or lack there of) for Cartier Diarra this offseason? I definitely think he could come alive as a 12-13 PPG scorer this season. <br><br>I see the point distribution like this amongst starters:<br><br>Mawien: 7.5<br>Wade: 17<br>Sneed: 12.5<br>Brown: 16<br>Diarra: 9.5</p>— Kstateman (@kstateman14) <a href="https://twitter.com/kstateman14/status/1058246782784745472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Cartier Diarra earned his respect last year when he stepped in for an injured Kamau Stokes and became a regular double-digit scorer in his absence. Respect isn’t an issue. As mentioned above, I think he could play starter minutes this season.
He can create his own shot and score better than Stokes and that will make him very valuable to this team.
But Stokes has more experience and is better as a distributor, which probably makes him the better starting point guard candidate. And if you look back at Diarra’s numbers from last year, his production dropped considerably when Stokes returned to the lineup. He failed to reach double figures in K-State’s final nine games.
His main challenge this season will be playing like Stokes isn’t available when he actually is.
It will be interesting to see how Weber shares minutes at the guard positions this season. No matter what, Diarra will be heavily involved.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My phone keeps autocorrecting the word to Patrick Mahomes... You know a fix?</p>— Zach Etzel (@KsZach14) <a href="https://twitter.com/KsZach14/status/1058049113575567360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
What’s there to fix? Seems like your phone is working perfectly.
The Patrick Mahomes effect was most visible for me on Halloween when I took my boys out to trick-or-treat and spotted one kid after another dressed as Chiefs football players. I’m not used to seeing any, but that was a more popular costume than Darth Vader this year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-cards="hidden" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If K-State hosts Alabama this weekend, but Bama makes the trip without Saban or any of its starters, how does that game go?</p>— Justin Nutter (@JNutter) <a href="https://twitter.com/JNutter/status/1058051345339572224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
That would be quite the game. How many college football teams could Alabama’s backups beat? It’s a hell of a question.
I would set the betting line at Alabama minus-6.