K-State Q&A: What should Wildcats expect from transfers Mark Smith, Markquis Nowell?
Bruce Weber is the type of basketball coach who rarely gets angry during an interview, but it does happen.
Some of you may remember the time he lost his composure following a question from yours truly about how he handled mounting criticism from Kansas State fans following a 30-point loss at Oklahoma in 2017, which seemed like a fatal blow for his coaching future at the time. I can also you tell you he did not like it when I asked him in a one-on-one setting to explain why he pretended to throw a funeral for Bill Self when he was at Illinois. This was before his first game against KU way back in 2013.
There’s only one other time I can remember Weber acting truly upset about one of my questions, and that was around four years ago when I called him up and grilled him about why K-State was striking out with high-profile recruits and signing what felt like a parade of unheralded three-star prospects.
I mentioned Mark Smith as an example.
Smith was a four-star guard from Edwardsville, Illinois at the time. Weber was the first power-conference coach to offer Smith a scholarship. Weber got in on the ground floor with Smith and they seemed to have a great relationship, but nothing ever came of it. As time went on, other schools began to notice Smith and he ended up getting offers from schools like Kentucky, Michigan State, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Utah. Kansas also tried to get involved. In the end, he chose Illinois.
I don’t remember exactly what I asked Weber, but it was something along the lines of this: What’s it going to take for K-State to start landing that type of recruit?
I don’t remember exactly how Weber responded, but I can tell you he was not happy.
In any case, his tone made it obvious that he really wanted Smith and felt like the Wildcats missed out on a special player by not snatching him up before all those other schools got involved.
I share this story now to help illustrate how pumped Weber was to finally land Smith as a graduate transfer from Missouri.
I reminded Weber of our old conversation while talking about K-State (at long last) using the transfer portal to its advantage this week and he still wasn’t ready to laugh about it. But he did agree when I suggested it was fitting that Smith eventually ended up on the Wildcats’ roster after they came so close to connecting at various times in the past.
“His parents said the exact same thing,” Weber said. “When I first saw him play, he only had a few low-major offers. He was a really good baseball player and he didn’t get the exposure from AAU stuff in the summer. Then we went there and watched him during the year. We really liked him. But then the whole recruiting thing became a little bit of a mess. It was a circus. He had a really bad freshman year experience at Illinois and then had a great three-year run with Cuonzo (Martin). Now he’s here. Hopefully it’s a good story.”
Before Smith transferred from Illinois to Missouri, he spoke with Weber about joining K-State instead. Once again, the timing wasn’t right. Now it is. When Smith put his name in the NCAA transfer portal last weekend, he did so hoping to end up in Manhattan and he signed with the Wildcats in less than a week.
More than four years after he offered Smith a scholarship, Weber will finally get the chance to coach him.
For that reason, this feels like home-run addition for the Wildcats. Smith’s numbers (9.7 points and 3.2 rebounds last year) never blew anyone away at Mizzou, but he was the definition of solid. His shooting percentages have declined in each of the past three seasons, but he is a sniper compared to his new teammates, save for Nijel Pack. He also brings much-needed experience (80 starts over the past four years) to the roster.
Can Weber unlock some hidden potential inside of Smith given their history and mutual respect?
There’s no chance Weber gets angry about that question.
Now, let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
K-State’s men’s basketball roster is in better shape now than it was when the Wildcats’ 2020-21 season came to an end at the Big 12 Tournament last month.
That is probably the best way to summarize things at the moment.
Arkansas-Little Rock transfer Markquis Nowell and Smith are both better players than I expected Weber to bring in, and they fill valuable needs.
K-State has a much older roster now. Smith has started in 80 games over his career and he is going to be a “super senior.” Nowell was an All-Sun Belt player two seasons ago and has played in 68 college games. He is going to be a regular senior, but with two years of remaining eligibility.
Both transfers can also shoot and create a heck of a lot better than the players K-State lost to the transfer portal. This week was a victory for Weber.
There’s no guarantee that things will work out for either player next season. There never is. But I disagree that K-State is bringing on “a fair amount of baggage.”
Smith should be rock solid. He started as a freshman at Illinois and then started for three more seasons at Missouri. He’s a smart player and a leader. He may not make a Mac McClung type impact, but you know he’s going to average around 10 points and be a positive influence in the locker room. If nothing else, he provides a high floor. There’s no baggage there.
I agree Nowell is a bit of a wildcard. His junior year wasn’t perfect at Little Rock and it seems like he had a “mutual parting of ways” with the team when there were still eight games on the schedule. He’s also only 5-foot-7.
But he explained to me that COVID-19 had a lot to do with his troubles last season. The Trojans were breaking in some new players, and the team didn’t perform up to expectations when they didn’t get a normal amount of practice time. Everyone was frustrated about a lack of team chemistry, including him. Eventually, he decided to transfer. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a bad influence on a locker room.
I reached out to a Sun Belt assistant who coached against Nowell the past three years to get an unbiased opinion, and the coach responded with nothing but praise. He called him “damn good” and seemed thrilled to see him leaving the conference.
Marcus Foster never had any problems at Creighton after flaming out with K-State as a sophomore. Sometimes, a fresh start can really help a player.
We might need to take a wait-and-see approach with him, especially if he is asked to come off the bench. But he is a “bucket-getter.” And the Wildcats desperately need one of those. He also goes way back with Shane Southwell.
I think he is worth the gamble.
If those things happen there’s no reason why K-State can’t finish in the top half of the Big 12 standings and return to the NCAA Tournament next season.
I’m not necessarily predicting that will happen before we see how this new roster comes together, but those are real possibilities now.
K-State only had one senior and two shooters last season. Next year, it will have three seniors and four shooters.
On paper, the Wildcats will be better on offense. Can they pick up where they left off on defense?
Montavious Murphy getting healthy will also be important. So will avoiding new injuries. Can Logan Landers help stretch the floor? Can Luke Kasubke find his shot? Can Selton Miguel learn to dribble with his left hand? Will Weber go with a bigger lineup? Will he stay small? Will he mix and match?
Those are all important questions we don’t know the answers to. But if things go right K-State’s ceiling will be back where it was during Weber’s good seasons. Somebody else asked me the other day if next season was going to be another rebuilding year for the Wildcats. It won’t be. They will have legitimate postseason aspirations.
Sure, he could try. Why not?
They might also keep an eye on incoming freshmen that re-open their recruitments this spring. Tamar Bates was going to Texas but asked to be released from his scholarship after Shaka Smart left for Marquette. C.J. Noland is supposed to play at Oklahoma next year, but his dad is a former K-State player. What if he becomes available?
Weber wouldn’t commit to anything when I asked him about how he planned to fill the team’s final scholarship. They might not even use it. All I can tell you is the Wildcats want to be selective.
“It depends on what’s right,” Weber said. “We could go high school, we could go transfer. But we have got to make sure it’s the right person, the right fit, someone that can help our team. I don’t know if I want to go to 14, I don’t think I can keep everyone happy at 14. That would be really hard.”
Hiring Tom Asbury and Jim Wooldridge back-to-back and letting them both coach at K-State for six years seems like a pretty big error.
They both finished with losing records. I suppose Asbury did reach one NCAA Tournament and one NIT. Wooldridge never made it past the Big 12 Tournament, but he did win in Lawrence once.
Some love to complain about Weber, but his two Big 12 championship rings and five NCAA Tournament appearances look like a dynasty compared to those 12 years.
I would also say letting so many quality coaches leave on their own was a mistake, if you can call it that. Tex Winter, Lon Kruger, Dana Altman, Bob Huggins and Frank Martin all left for different jobs because they wanted to leave for different jobs. How cool would it have been had Kruger stayed in Manhattan his entire career?
I will be looking for confirmation that Julius Brents and Daniel Imatorbhebhe are as good as their teammates have made them out to be this spring.
Are they truly worthy of preseason hype?
My eyes will also be locked in on the linebackers and receivers. I think we have a good idea that Daniel Green and Cody Fletcher will play a lot in the middle of the defense. And I think we all know Malik Knowles will catch some passes. But who else is going to make plays at those positions next season? They are both huge question marks.
I will definitely look to see how Skylar Thompson and Will Howard are slinging it. Jake Rubley will also be worth a look. That’s a given. Have heard good things about Jaren Lewis, too. So maybe I should just watch all the quarterbacks.
It sounds like Jacardia Wright and Joe Ervin are also looking good at running back. I want confirmation on that, as well.
But I will try to evaluate every position on the team. Hopefully someone unexpected catches my eye and I can write about him, too.
Tyler Lockett and Byron Pringle playing well at the NFL certainly can’t hurt.
I want to say it will help K-State coaches bring in new talent at receiver. But that has actually been a tough spot for the Wildcats to evaluate on the recruiting trail. Outside of Joshua Youngblood, who is now playing at Rutgers, I don’t think Klieman has recruited a receiver that has even caught a pass at K-State.
Thompson is still relying mostly on Bill Snyder holdovers like Chabastin Taylor, Phillip Brooks and Knowles.
And none of them were very productive last year.
The Wildcats desperately need to upgrade talent at that position. I suppose the good news is Tyler’s little brother, Sterling Lockett, will be on campus before too long.