Five thoughts on the plight of Kansas State’s struggling men’s basketball program
Kansas State fans seemed to collectively shrug when the men’s basketball team lost three of its first four games this season, but that changed on Tuesday night when the Wildcats stunningly lost to Fort Hays State 81-68 at Bramlage Coliseum.
Anger has replaced apathy.
Losing games to Drake, Colorado and UNLV in a season that began with low expectations is one thing. Failing to compete against a Division II opponent that was previously winless is quite another.
There is suddenly renewed interest in K-State basketball — for all the wrong reasons.
Perhaps that is why K-State coach Bruce Weber began his news conference after Tuesday’s loss reminding fans that he has guided the Wildcats to a pair of shared Big 12 championships and reached one Elite Eight during his nine seasons in Manhattan, before then apologizing for the inexcusable defeat and preaching patience as he works to develop a young roster.
It’s fair to wonder if this team is heading toward a historically bad season. After all, its lone victory came against UMKC, by just four points. Then again, March is still a long way away.
Here are some thoughts on the current state of K-State basketball:
1. This is K-State’s worst defense in the Weber era
Here is one aspect of K-State basketball that can’t currently be debated. The Wildcats are atrocious on defense right now, allowing a Big 12 worst 72.6 points per game and 1.1 points per possession.
Defense has long been the calling card of Weber’s teams at K-State, but that has turned into a weakness this season. It has nullified any potential improvements on offense with a young roster that features nine new scholarship players.
Opponents are making 58.2% of their two-pointers and 36.2% of their three-pointers. Add it up and K-State ranks 122nd nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to college basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy. That is a massive drop. In Weber’s first eight seasons, they routinely cracked the top 25 and never ranked lower than 52nd.
Teams are now scoring on the Wildcats with ease, and that was most evident Tuesday when six Fort Hays players reached double figures.
No preseason scrimmages or exhibition games likely have made K-State’s defensive issues worse than they would be under normal circumstances. Still, K-State defenders were losing one-on-one matchups and getting beat off the dribble against Fort Hays. It seems like some young players haven’t yet grasped the importance of getting stops.
K-State guard Mike McGuirl sounded like he has had enough of these defensive breakdowns.
“We’re worrying about the wrong things,” McGuirl said Tuesday after the game. “BS, to me, is worrying about, I don’t know, say a person missing you for an open shot when really you aren’t in the right spot on help defense. It’s things like that. If you’re worried about the wrong things, that’s BS. Everybody has to worry about the right things and the things that affect winning.”
Perhaps K-State can find an answer by switching to some zone looks or switching around personnel. But something needs to change.
“We’ve had three teams shoot 50 percent and now a fourth team in our gym,” Weber said. “That has not happened in my career. There’s no excuses. It’s us. We gotta go back to the drawing board. We probably have to go more compact with our defense.”
2. The offense hasn’t been great, either
Though defense tops the list of Weber’s problems this season, it is hardly the only area K-State needs to fix.
The Wildcats currently rank last in the Big 12 in scoring offense (63.2 points per game) and scoring margin (minus-9.2 points per game).
Ouch.
McGuirl has taken a nice step as a scorer, averaging a team high 15.2 points through five games. Freshman guard Nijel Pack has also seemed as good as advertised at point guard. And DaJuan Gordon has improved slightly, averaging 10.6 points per game.
But there aren’t many other positives on that side of the ball. Antonio Gordon and Montavious Murphy are barely scoring at all inside, and they are both sophomores who spent last season playing in Weber’s system.
K-State has improved as an outside shooting team, as both McGuirl and Pack are shooting better than 40% from three-point range. But the team has taken a step back within the arc, shooting only 47% from two-point range. Weber’s best teams have all shot better than 50% inside. The Wildcats aren’t making enough threes to make up for that disparity at the moment.
Working the ball around for open shots has also been difficult. K-State ranks last in the Big 12 in assists (59) to turnovers (77) ratio.
Weber optimistically talked about being able to do new and exciting things down low with a remodeled front court, but that has proven to be easier said than done. Starting forward Kaosi Ezeagu has appeared slow, though capable as a back-to-the-basket scorer. Davion Bradford has flashed potential, but clearly needs time to develop. K-State has found itself going small more than it hoped this season.
3. Injuries have been a factor
The Wildcats haven’t played a single game with a completely healthy roster yet.
That shouldn’t be an excuse for the team’s early struggles, but it is a fact. Ezeagu didn’t play against Fort Hays, Murphy has missed the past two games, Carlton Linguard made his first appearance on Tuesday and freshman guard Luke Kasubke is still recovering from a toe injury.
Missing three scholarship players no doubt hurt K-State against Fort Hays.
Getting Ezeagu and Murphy back should give K-State an instant boost in the front court. It’s also possible Kasubke could provide a lift as an outside shooter.
If you are searching for a path to improvement this season, getting healthy (or not) could play a big factor.
4. Sophomore slumps
Easy as it is to blame K-State’s early struggles on youth and its nine newcomers still trying to adjust to a new style of play, that might not be the most frustrating issue on the roster.
The sophomore class of Antonio and DaJuan Gordon and Murphy are also underachieving. That’s not a good sign, because Weber was banking on all three of them taking big steps forward.
Murphy was K-State’s most solid freshman last year, but he lost his starting spot after one game this year and only averaged 3.7 points and two rebounds before exiting the rotation with an injury. Antonio Gordon has improved as a rebounder, but is struggling in most other areas. DaJuan Gordon has looked good at times and bad at others. His missed dunk seemed to summarize the Fort Hays game.
It’s hard to see the freshmen taking on leadership roles until the sophomores do first.
5. Wake up call
It’s worth pointing out that K-State has struggled against Division II opponents before and recovered to have a good season.
The Wildcats needed overtime to beat Washburn in an exhibition game during Bob Huggins’ lone season as coach in 2006. That team went on to win 23 games. A few years later, the Wildcats only beat Fort Hays by seven. That team went on to win 29 games and reach the Elite Eight under Frank Martin.
Now, there is obviously a massive difference between barely beating a Division II opponent and losing soundly to one. But sometimes one bad game is exactly that.
“Our season doesn’t end tonight,” McGuirl said Tuesday.
There’s a chance K-State will use its most recent loss as a wake-up call. Players seemed oddly upbeat after their first three losses and talked as if their problems would go away by snapping their fingers. Perhaps losing to Fort Hays will grab their attention and help them realize that major change is needed.
It’s not too late to start winning.
“We aren’t going to fold,” McGuirl said. “We aren’t going to give up. We aren’t going to look at any opponent like they are too good. We are coming to win every game. We just need to pick our intensity up and pick everything up, because I still believe in this team.”