K-State Q&A: What if Bruce Weber had a decent big man? Should the Wildcats play BYU?
Should the Kansas State men’s basketball team add a game to its schedule next week?
A few days have passed since K-State coach Bruce Weber said the Wildcats were exploring the idea of playing a team like BYU at home in a last-minute attempt to boost their NCAA Tournament resume, and I’m still not totally sure how I feel about it.
On one hand, it would be fun to see K-State host BYU next week. It would feel a lot like those old Bracket Buster games that ESPN used to arrange between mid-majors with postseason aspirations two decades ago. Students could get in free. Everyone else could get in for a few bucks. There would be high stakes involved. Part of me really wants to see it happen.
On the other hand, the Wildcats are already scheduled to play Iowa State at home on Saturday, Texas Tech on the road on Monday and then Oklahoma back at home on March 5. Adding a game to that mix feels a lot like me asking my oldest son to do his laundry in between taking out the trash and putting away the dishes. The odds of all those tasks being completed successfully are slim to none.
Here’s what it boils down to for me: If K-State coaches think three more victories is all it will take to get the Wildcats into March Madness, then they should do everything they can to schedule the game. They are more likely to sweep three games at home against Iowa State, BYU and Oklahoma than they are to win at Texas Tech or advance in the Big 12 Tournament.
Otherwise, it doesn’t seem worth the trouble.
If K-State needs to beat Tech or reach the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament to make the Big Dance, it’s better to focus on those games and forget about the Cougars.
Playing BYU could hurt K-State’s chances against Oklahoma. And losing to BYU could knock the Wildcats off the bubble entirely. The reward may not be worth the risk.
The timing of the game could also be problematic. BYU needs to be in Las Vegas for the West Coast Conference Tournament on Friday. So Wednesday is the only day they could play. The K-State women’s team has a home game scheduled for 6:30 p.m. that day. The men would have to play BYU in the afternoon (in front of a small crowd) less than 48 hours after they played a road game in Lubbock, Texas.
Nothing is likely to be decided until after both teams are finished playing on Saturday. Right now, my guess is they decide against playing. It feels like both teams would have more to lose than to gain.
But time will tell. It’s a fascinating idea, regardless of what they decide.
Without further ado, it’s time for another K-State Q&A. Let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Before I answer your question, allow me to present a different question of my own.
What would Kansas State’s record be right now if this team had a decent big man? Not a good big man or a great big man. I’m not talking about a physical specimen who can pull down double-doubles every night and make a run at all-conference honors. I’m talking about a decent center who averages something close to eight points and five rebounds.
Nothing special. Just decent.
Personally, I think the Wildcats would be flirting with 20 wins right now.
That is how bad the team has been inside this season. They are one decent player away from being comfortably in the NCAA Tournament and finishing in the top half of the Big 12 standings.
Why can’t Weber bring in more talented players in the post?
I don’t have a great answer for you, other than to say it’s generally harder to find quality bigs than it is guards. Weber also hasn’t done the greatest job developing the forwards/centers he has brought to campus.
I looked back through the entirety of Weber’s tenure at K-State and only found three instances of his big men earning any kind of all-conference recognition.
Dean Wade was twice named to the All-Big 12 first team. But he was more of a stretch forward than a true center, which is what you’re asking about.
Thomas Gipson twice earned honorable mention from the conference while playing for Weber. But he was a Frank Martin recruit.
D.J. Johnson was honorable mention as a senior. He is the only true center that Weber has been able to recruit and coach up to an impressive level.
Off the top of my head, other big men like Makol Mawien and Stephen Hurt weren’t bad. They were far from great, but both would be upgrades for this team. It would take me until the end of the NCAA Tournament to list every unproductive center Weber has coached in Manhattan.
The strange thing about this season is that it seemed like Weber had finally found a gem of a center in Davion Bradford. The former four-star recruit averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds as a freshman. He ended last season by scoring 18 points and grabbing three rebounds against Baylor.
At long last, it seemed like Weber had found a promising center. A year later, Bradford is averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds. I’ve never seen a player regress more as a sophomore.
I asked Markquis Nowell in the nicest way possible why he keeps showing faith in K-State’s big men and insists on trying to get them involved every game when the results aren’t there.
His reply: “I would never bring down my big guys. They are working, and they are learning. They just have to get better. That is the only thing I can say about them.”
Well, that says a lot.
I asked Weber the day before the game if he wanted to turn the Sunflower Showdown into a rock fight or try to beat the Jayhawks in a shootout.
His answer was emphatic: The slower the better.
So, of course, the Wildcats responded by trying to match the Big 12’s best offense shot for shot and lost 102-83.
That wasn’t the plan going into the game, but Markquis Nowell found success attacking the basket and Mike McGuirl got some open looks from three early in possessions, so K-State decided to bomb away.
“They couldn’t stop us, either,” Weber said.
I honestly didn’t hate the quicker approach on offense. I mean, 83 points is normally way more than they need to win games. But they simply couldn’t get back on defense quickly enough to make KU run half-court sets.
If you’re legitimately asking about winning just one game in either of those sports, the answer is obviously K-State men’s basketball.
The Wildcats should have beaten the Jayhawks at Bramlage Coliseum earlier this season, for crying out loud.
Upsets happen all the time in college basketball and teams can be completely re-shaped with one strong recruiting class or a group of transfers. The odds of K-State beating KU on the hardwood are much higher than KU beating K-State on the gridiron, at least in the short term.
But if you’re talking about one team catching the other in either sport, they are equally far apart.
Kansas has won 64 of the past 70 Sunflower Showdown men’s basketball games.
K-State has won 13 straight over KU on the football field.
This has to be the most predictable rivalry in all of college sports.
It would still be easier for K-State to play catch up in basketball for the reasons I mentioned above. But Lance Leipold did some very nice things during his first season in Lawrence. If KU football can build on what it accomplished late last year it could start being at least competitive with K-State sooner rather than later.
1. Tex Winter: He won eight conference championships and went on to become one of the best assistant coaches in NBA history.
2. Jack Gardner: He won 73% of his games and twice reached the Final Four.
3. Jack Hartman: No K-State coach has won more games.
4. Lon Kruger: It’s too bad he left after only four seasons with the Wildcats.
5. Bruce Weber: Only Hartman and Winter have won more games than Weber in Manhattan. Only Gardner and Winter have won more conference championships. Weber also took Illinois to a Final Four and Southern Illinois to a Sweet 16. He’s had an excellent career, even if his down years have driven fans crazy.
Unless the person who invented Ovaltine enjoyed drinking out of oval-shaped glasses they really should change the name to Roundtine.
Jerry Seinfeld will always be right about that one.
Don’t get me started on the names/classifications of fruits and vegetables.
Tomatoes are the most infuriating of them all. How do you pronounce the word? Are they a fruit? Are they a vegetable?
And what does that make ketchup?
Maybe my opinion will change after spring practices, but I don’t see any true freshman helping K-State immediately next season. At least not in a big way.
I really like the long-term potential of Jalen Klemm, but it’s not realistic for him to start on the offensive line next season.
Maybe Jake Clifton can play a little at linebacker. If Sterling Lockett is anything like his older brother he could play next season. But I’m not expecting that.
Deuce Vaughn is the team’s biggest strength.
I’m not sure what the team’s biggest weakness is yet. There are question marks in the secondary. That’s probably the answer. But the Wildcats could also use some work at linebacker, wide receiver and running back (outside of Vaughn).
Much will be resolved when practices begin in March and end in April.