K-State Q&A: Football thoughts, beer at Bramlage and basketball recruit Davion Bradford
It’s time for another K-State Q&A ... But this week’s edition of everyone’s favorite mailbag is a little different from all the ones that came before it.
For the first time, your questions and my answers are available only to subscribers.
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That’s all I’ve got for an introduction this week. Without further ado, let’s get to your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
With the football team on its second bye week of the season, let’s switch things up and start with basketball.
This has to rank among the most important questions I’ve ever been asked on this here Q&A.
I could probably spend a few hours on it, make up my mind and then immediately want to swap out one or two of the beers for other options.
Please keep in mind, the six beers I would choose to please the masses are much different than the six beers I would choose to please beer snobs like myself.
It’s not like I can choose six strong beers like Tank 7. Selling beers with high ABV seems like a bad idea at college basketball games. I’m putting a cap of 6 percent on my selections.
But I will give it a shot. The Octagon of Booze (great new nickname) needs a good selection when it begins selling beer and wine this season.
You may not think beer options matter at sporting events, but they do. I don’t spend nearly as much money at Sporting KC games since they traded in Boulevard Beer for Budweiser.
Here we go!
Bud Light: You won’t find it in my fridge, but it’s the best selling beer in America and Gene Taylor’s drink of choice. K-State has to include this crowd-pleaser.
Coors Light: If the goal is to make money, you also have to offer the silver bullet.
Life Coach Lager: Miller Lite is the safer play, but I’ve already devoted two taps to mainstream light beer. That’s enough. I would rather go with an in-state option like this easy drinker from Kansas Territory.
Shiner Bock: A darker option that is still popular and easy to drink. Sounds perfect for a sporting event. Visiting fans from Texas will definitely buy it.
Boulevard Wheat: With most of Boulevard’s best-tasting beers off the table because of my ABV limit, let’s make room for Boulevard Wheat.
8-Bit: It tastes like a double IPA while only packing the ABV of a light beer. I don’t care that Tallgrass is no longer with us. K-State should work with the restaurant to find a way to bring 8-Bit back for basketball games.
I also recommend every concession stand have pineapple juice on hand so fans can turn a light beer into a Nancy.
You could make a strong case for any of K-State’s three remaining starters.
If Xavier Sneed develops into an all-conference player and averages something close to 15 points, the Wildcats will win lots of games.
If Makol Mawien learns to avoid foul trouble and averages anything close to a double-double, the Wildcats will take their chances.
If Cartier Diarra eliminates the peaks and valleys that were prevalent during his first two seasons in Manhattan and contends for all-conference honors, the Wildcats will be in good shape.
Still, I think the answer is Diarra. When he plays his best basketball, so does K-State. His athleticism, scoring talents and ability to play both guard positions could come in handy for Bruce Weber this season. Without Barry Brown and Kamau Stokes, this is his time to shine in the backcourt.
He could also instantly make a big impact by simply draining a few more three-pointers. In my eyes, he’s the X-Factor for this team.
I’m not in to predicting what college a teenage basketball recruit will choose on his commitment day, but I will say this: K-State is in good shape with Davion Bradford.
The 7-foot center from St. Louis who plays for MoKan Elite on the AAU circuit has a strong rapport with associate head coach Chris Lowery and a friend (three-star recruit Luke Kasubke) already heading to Manhattan.
It looks like it’s down to K-State and Missouri for Bradford. He also has scholarship offers from Arizona State, Illinois, Nebraska and many others. He also attended Late Night in the Phog at KU last week.
He will announce his college decision at 5 p.m. Friday. I will be paying attention. You should, too.
A quality big man is the only thing separating K-State’s 2020 recruiting class from really good and great. Bruce Weber has already lined up pledges from four-star guard Nijel Pack and four-star win Selton Miguel. Kasubke is ranked in the Rivals 150. So is Bradford.
If he chooses K-State, there’s no doubt this will be Weber’s top recruiting class with the Wildcats.
To answer your other question: K-State hasn’t announced a Midnight Madness type event and it is running out of time to do so. Its exhibition opener arrives on Oct. 25.
It depends on how long it takes Jordon Brown to get completely healthy.
Earlier this week, Chris Klieman said he is “knocking on wood” that K-State’s No. 2 running back might be able to return to action in two weeks against Oklahoma.
If that turns out to be the case, I think you let him play out his senior season. The Wildcats would get 10 games out of him, and they will probably need him to make a push toward bowl eligibility during the second half of the season.
But if Brown remains sidelined for a month or more and he can’t play until the last few games of the year, then the Wildcats need to seriously consider redshirting him and bringing him back for another year.
K-State is going to be young again at running back this season, and Brown would certainly be able to help as a fifth-year senior.
But he also brings a lot to the table right now.
It’s a tough call that will probably come down to his injury timetable and his own personal wishes.
I’m still standing by my preseason prediction that K-State will find a way to win six games in Chris Klieman’s first season.
I might be less confident in that prediction than I have been at any other point this season, but I’m standing by it nonetheless.
K-State will likely be favored against Kansas and West Virginia. If the Wildcats win those two games, they will only need to get one more. That should be possible with TCU, Texas Tech and Iowa State still on the schedule.
Beating the Horned Frogs next week would be a major step toward a bowl. If the Wildcats win that game, a 2-4 finish will get them to the postseason. But they will be staring at a 3-4 start with a loss and Oklahoma up next. All margin for error will be gone at that point.
If K-State becomes bowl eligible this season, it probably happens on Nov. 16 against West Virginia.
Otherwise, it will need to win at Texas Tech, which just whooped Oklahoma State, or against Iowa State, which just smashed TCU.
At this time last month, I was getting questions about a Chris Klieman statue. Now I’m getting one about him being on the hot seat.
Time flies!
Barring scandal, I don’t foresee anything that could legitimately put Klieman on the hot seat this season. He didn’t inherit a turn-key operation. But a 3-5 start that included a loss to KU would not be good.
1. Fix the running game. K-State opened the season by rushing for 361 yards against Nicholls and backed that up with 333 yards against Bowling Green. But the Wildcats’ haven’t eclipsed 150 yards on the ground since. They only managed 123 yards last week against Baylor. This offense isn’t much to look at when it can’t establish the run.
2. Tackling in the secondary. K-State’s defense has looked solid up front this season, but opposing playmakers are having way too much success when they get past the defensive line. K-State linebackers and defensive backs have whiffed badly on tackles the past two weeks, and that’s why Chuba Hubbard broke free for 296 yards. It’s also why the Bears had 194 yards on the ground.
3. Figure out the 3-3-5 defense. It felt like Oklahoma State and Baylor genuinely surprised K-State by playing three defensive linemen and blitzing linebackers from a bunch of different angles. The Wildcats will see that defensive formation again later this season. They need to be better prepared for it next time.
That’s certainly something Klieman and his coaching staff will evaluate before K-State returns to the field against TCU.
The Wildcats need to establish an identity on offense, and that’s a big part of the process.
But K-State has struggled to run the ball out of most of its formations the past few weeks. I’m not sure shotgun vs. under center has been the determining factor. Some of their worst runs have come with two tight ends and a fullback on the field.
There seems to be less surprise factor than we saw early in the season with Courtney Messingham’s “hockey line changes.” Maybe that has something to do with it.
I think playing from behind has hurt as much as anything. The Wildcats trailed against the Cowboys and Bears, forcing them to pass much more than they would like.