Bruce Weber mixing up lineups to get more production from Kansas State’s big men
Bruce Weber unveiled a new starting lineup in Kansas State’s last basketball game.
For the first time all season, he started Davion Bradford at center and surrounded him with four guards. That decision sent stretch forward Ismael Massoud to the bench for the first time since he joined the team as a transfer from Wake Forest, giving the Wildcats a whole new look.
Why?
“We just thought it was our best defensive lineup and maybe our better rebounding lineup,” Weber said. “Kaosi (Ezeagu) had been sitting out. Davion had played and had been in more practices. That was probably that decision there. We thought maybe we would get a little boost from (Davion) and hopefully make a difference with him.”
The results were mixed during a 60-57 loss against the TCU Horned Frogs.
Bradford delivered six points and two rebounds in 21 minutes of action. Massoud had two points and one rebound during 18 minutes as a reserve. And fellow center Kaosi Ezeagu produced five points and three rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Carlton Linguard and Logan Landers didn’t play.
It’s hard to draw any conclusions from those results. None of them played well.
In a sign of the times, that wasn’t much of a surprise. The five spot has been a weak spot for the Wildcats most of the season, and the coaching staff has experimented with many different lineups in an attempt to start getting more production out of the position.
Ezeagu started the first 11 games. COVID issues forced Linguard into the starting lineup against Texas. Then Massoud moved into the paint and played center against West Virginia. Next, it was Bradford’s turn. What lineup should Weber go with moving forward, starting with an 11 a.m. Saturday home game against No. 19 Texas Tech? The answer depends on what he’s looking for.
Weber will most likely revert back to the lineup he used during nonconference games, which features Massoud at power forward and Ezeagu at center. That seems to be the team’s most dependable combination in the front court.
Bradford has taken too much of a step back since his freshman season to depend on all alone down low. Last season, he reached double digits as a scorer in 10 different games and finished out the year with 18 points against Baylor. This season, he hasn’t scored more than nine points in any game.
But it is hard to ignore his potential.
“We need him,” Weber said. “He can move the best, he’s got the body, he’s got the hands. Now we’ve just got to get him to finish and give us some consistency.”
Weber seems to like Ezeagu more for his dependability. He is averaging 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds.
“Kaosi is probably the most dedicated of all of them,” Weber said, “just his time in the gym, taking care of his body, his knees. And he’s had some pretty nice moments.”
Or Weber could go with an unconventional lineup and play Massoud of position at the five. At 6-foot-9, he is big enough to play inside, especially with Mark Smith helping out as a rebounder. Surrounding Massoud with a small lineup would serve as a creative way to get K-State’s best players on teh floor together. It would certainly help create more offense.
But Weber seems to prefer defense. So it’s hard to see him picking that option.
Then again, maybe he’s willing to try to shake things up with K-State stuck in a four-game losing streak.
“We need something out of each one,” Weber said. “It’s going to be important. There’s no doubt. It would be nice to get a little bit of something out of each one to see them come and give us some consistency.”