Ten reasons why K-State fans should care about basketball as Cats rebuild this season
Expectations are understandably low for the Kansas State men’s basketball team right now. After winning only 11 games and then losing a whopping nine scholarship players last season, the Wildcats are now the obvious pick to finish last in the Big 12.
But that doesn’t mean there is nothing for K-State fans to be excited about as games begin on Wednesday.
When else will the Wildcats get to start a season by hosting their very own tournament (called the Little Apple Classic) with games against Drake and Colorado at Bramlage Coliseum?
When else will K-State welcome in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes?
When else will Bruce Weber’s team have a better opportunity to exceed expectations?
Here are 10 reasons why this may be an interesting season for K-State fans to watch:
1. Bruce Weber’s last rebuild was a success
This season feels eerily similar to K-State’s 2015-16 campaign, when the Wildcats replaced Marcus Foster and a handful of other transfers with a plethora of newcomers that included Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade.
K-State bid farewell to all but four scholarship players during this past offseason and welcomed in its highest rated recruiting class of the Bruce Weber era. The coaching staff is very high on freshman point guard Nijel Pack, freshman wing Selton Miguel and freshman center Davion Bradford. Other newcomers like Rudi Williams, Kaosi Ezeagu and Seryee Lewis should also contribute right away.
The Wildcats will really lean on their youngest players whenever freshman guard Luke Kasubke recovers from a foot injury and is cleared to return to the court.
Roster turnover is rarely a good thing, but K-State needed an infusion of new talent after winning just 11 games and finishing last in the Big 12 a year ago.
It’s possible this group could follow the same path as the Wildcats five years ago. Weber led K-State to 17 victories in 2015-16, beating then-No. 1 Oklahoma along the way. The Wildcats were back in the NCAA Tournament a year later and followed that up with an appearance in the Elite Eight and then a shared Big 12 championship.
Expectations are understandably low right now. But that doesn’t mean this season can’t lead to better days.
2. The Wildcats could be vastly improved in the front court
No offense to Makol Mawien, but it is exciting to see what some new blood can do down low for the Wildcats.
K-State has lacked consistent low-post scoring and rebounding over the past few years. That could change with UTEP transfer Kaosi Ezeagu and 7-foot freshman Davion Bradford joining Montavious Murphy and Antonio Gordon in the front court.
Weber has called Bradford the team’s “biggest surprise” leading up to the season, as the former four-star recruit has impressed in practice with his ability to protect the rim on defense and finish around the basket on offense.
Ezeagu also provides some interesting potential in the paint, as he led UTEP in blocks as a freshman before transferring to K-State last season.
Murphy was K-State’s best freshman last season and should be even better as a sophomore. The days of playing small out of necessity may be over. If Antonio Gordon can continue providing a scoring boost inside and out this could be a much more versatile front court than we have seen in the past.
3. Mike McGuirl deserves to go out on a high note
Mike McGuirl has been part of some memorable moments during his time with the Wildcats.
He came out of nowhere to lift K-State past Creighton in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. He also caught fire and helped the Wildcats complete an epic comeback against West Virginia as a sophomore, which started a nine-game winning streak on that team’s way to a Big 12 championship.
A player with those kind of credentials deserves to go out with a bang.
Believe it or not, McGuirl is the only player remaining from K-State’s Big 12 championship team. He stuck around to help lead a young group as a senior this season. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be a crowd favorite.
McGuirl has never averaged more than 6.9 points in a season for the Wildcats, but Weber says he has been the team’s best player during preseason practices. It will be interesting to see if he can make a big jump as a senior.
4. K-State’s freshman class has serious potential
There’s a reason why K-State recruiting class of 2020 ranked among the nation’s best. Weber landed some talented freshmen.
Nijel Pack, Selton Miguel and Davion Bradford were all four-star recruits coming out of high school, and all three of them figure to play ample minutes right away this season.
Weber has compared Pack to former K-State guard Kamau Stokes, as he is both a distributor and a scorer at the point. Miguel might have the highest ceiling of the bunch, especially as a scorer, though he may need to start off playing behind both Mike McGuirl and DaJuan Gordon this season. Bradford also seems ahead of schedule as a big man.
Relying on freshmen usually comes with growing pains. This group will probably have its fair share of those. But it could also provide some highlights.
5. Anything can happen during a pandemic
The Wildcats were correctly picked to finish last in the preseason Big 12 poll, as they finished in the conference cellar last season and must now replace long-time contributors Cartier Diarra, Makol Mawien and Xavier Sneed.
That being said, sports have been impossible to predict since the coronavirus pandemic began. Just take a look at the Big 12 football standings, which are currently much more jumbled than usual.
Games are being decided by more than coaching and talent right now. Home court will mean less than ever before with limited fans in attendance. Avoiding injuries and COVID-19 outbreaks can be just as important as a good game plan.
With so many wild cards in play, it’s impossible to right off anytime this season.
6. Bruce Weber seems genuinely excited about this group.
By the end of last season, it was obvious Weber had grown tired of managing K-State’s dysfunctional roster.
But his face lights up when he talks about the current team he has on campus. The Wildcats may not have as much high end talent as they did last season when Cartier Diarra and Xavier Sneed were threats to take over games. But this group is tighter in the locker room.
7. The Big 12 is strong as ever at the top, but unusually soft at the bottom
Finishing near the top of the conference standings will be difficult this season with Baylor and Kansas carrying the Big 12 flag.
Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech won’t be easy to beat, either.
But avoiding the league cellar doesn’t seem like much of a chore with Iowa State, K-State and TCU all in rebuilding mode.
8. Super sophomores?
One of the few bright spots on last season’s roster was the freshman class of DaJuan Gordon, Montavious Murphy and Antonio Gordon.
They are all back as sophomores to help provide K-State with a solid nucleus of young, but experienced players.
DaJuan Gordon was one of the team’s leaders as a freshman. Murphy was a dependable starter, when healthy, at the four spot. And Antonio Gordon showed some scoring versatility by scoring in the paint and hitting some three-pointers.
K-State will need DaJuan Gordon (6.3 points, 2.4 rebounds) and Murphy (5.2 points, 3.7 rebounds) to make big leaps this season, as both figure to be in the starting lineup. But both could do exactly that.
9. K-State ended last season strong
It’s easy to forget that the Wildcats ended last season on a winning streak, but they did look like an improving team when the pandemic brought college sports to a halt last March.
K-State ended a 10-game losing skid by bulldozing Iowa State 79-63 on senior day at Bramlage Coliseum and then defeated TCU 53-49 in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament. Mike McGuirl made several clutch plays in the narrow victory over the Horned Frogs, which is promising for what he could accomplish this season.
10. Every game will feel more important than usual
With game cancellations rising across college sports, no one can be sure how many times K-State will actually take the court this season.
That should place heightened importance on every game the Wildcats play. Early nonconference games are sometimes hardly worth watching, but that may not be the case this season. Every game could have a big impact on K-State’s overall resume.