How a selfless gesture from one K-State freshman gave Pierson McAtee a special moment
Kansas State basketball coach Bruce Weber has never changed his starting lineup specifically to honor seniors before the final home game of their careers … Until now.
Weber bucked his personal tradition and gave senior forward Pierson McAtee his first start in a Wildcats uniform on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.
That turned out to be a sage decision, as McAtee made several quality plays during a 79-63 victory over Iowa State, including a driving dunk that opened up the scoring and a nifty layup that he banked in high off the glass over a defender.
“Pierson did a great job,” Weber said. “Career high in minutes (25), points (six), rebounds (five), anything he did was probably a career high. So it was great for him.”
McAtee played so well that it made some wonder why it took Weber so long to put this kind of trust in him. He will almost certainly now receive a boost in playing time at the Big 12 Tournament.
Question is: What made Weber throw McAtee into the starting lineup in the final game of the regular season after McAtee had spent the first 30 sitting at the end of the bench, averaging 3.1 minutes per contest.
You have to consult K-State freshman DaJuan Gordon for the answer.
Gordon usually starts for the Wildcats, but he has looked up to McAtee as a leader since Gordon arrived on campus last summer. When Gordon was in high school, his coach honored seniors every year by starting them at their final home game. He wanted the Wildcats to do the same with McAtee, so he sent a text message to Weber and suggested the lineup change.
Gordon was willing to come off the bench as long as it meant McAtee got the start.
“I feel like he deserves to play, because he comes hard at practice every day and doesn’t complain,” Gordon said. “He’s a guy that you can talk to about anything on and off the court.”
Weber was impressed by Gordon’s gesture.
“That’s so selfless,” Weber said, “and so heart-warming that he would even think of it.”
McAtee made both Gordon and Weber look like geniuses, regardless of who originally came up with the idea of using him in the starting lineup.
K-State entered this game on a 10-game losing streak and hadn’t celebrated a victory since Jan. 29. During that time, the Wildcats have routinely started slowly and faded late. But that wasn’t the case against the Cyclones.
With McAtee in the lineup, K-State raced to a 41-23 halftime lead and closed out the regular season with a bang, taking away some of the sting of a lousy record (10-21, 3-15 Big 12) and a last-place conference finish.
To be fair, much of the credit for this victory goes to fellow senior Xavier Sneed, who scorched Iowa State with a career-high 31 points. The Cyclones also had to play without their two best players, Tyrese Haliburton and Rasir Bolton. The Wildcats have played several teams at wrong times this season, but they caught Iowa State at exactly the right moment.
But McAtee helped them take advantage.
It was a memorable senior day for him. McAtee is a Manhattan local who walked onto the team five years ago and was elevated to scholarship status as a senior mainly because of his work ethic. He has rarely played for the Wildcats, but he has led as much as he can from the bench.
On Saturday, he finally got the chance to hear his name during starting lineups and make plays on the court.
“It was just a true testament to the type of person that DaJuan is,” McAtee said. “I had no idea that he was going to do that. He showed me a text that he had send to coach and said ‘I am going to help you out.’ I said, ‘We’re going to win this game and that’ll be really special.’ For him to do that and be that unselfish, it shows his true character and who he is, and he made it a special day for all of us seniors.”
Gordon felt vindicated as he watched his older teammate make one solid play after another.
“I was pretty hyped on the bench when he got that dunk,” Gordon said. “I saw it coming as soon as he caught it. It was pretty cool to see him score six.”
When the game was over, it was hard for McAtee to come to grips with the realization that he will never play another game at Bramlage Coliseum again. He has been around the basketball program for so long. Next year, he will be doing something else.
But he was proud of how far he has come as a college basketball player.
“I can’t thank Coach enough for giving me that opportunity,” McAtee said. “Five years ago, I was at 165 pounds. Now I’m out here. I think I lead in rebounds for our team for the game. I put some weight on over the years, and for him to have trust in me and obviously Makol (Mawien) making a great pass, that (dunk) was a truly special moment, and I think it kick started a good first half for us.”
This big game gave McAtee and his coaches something else to think about.
This might not be his last start in a K-State uniform.
“There’s no doubt,” Weber said, “he’ll get a shot.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 7:06 PM.