How Ismael Massoud turned his season around and became a key player for Kansas State
There was a point early on this season when it seemed like Ismael Massoud wasn’t going to play a meaningful for role for the Kansas State men’s basketball team.
The junior forward didn’t do much of anything during nonconference play. New head coach Jerome Tang had so little trust in him that Massoud didn’t log a single minute of playing time in four of the Wildcats’ first 11 games.
It takes some players longer than others to adapt to a new system, and it seemed like Massoud and his new coach needed a lot more time to get on the same page.
“Ish is trying to learn what it takes to win the way we want to win,” Tang said a month ago. “I think there is an inner battle with him, trying to figure out how that fits with him as a player and what has allowed him to have success in the past as opposed to how we want to play and how we feel we are going to have success moving forward. But we are working on it.”
That explanation, combined with Massoud’s lack of production before Big 12 play, made it seem like he was on the verge of falling out of K-State’s rotation. But things have changed drastically since conference play began.
Massoud has improbably carved out a vital role for himself over the past seven games. The No. 5 Wildcats would not be 6-1 in the Big 12 without him. He is averaging 7.4 points and 2.0 rebounds during conference games. And he has made crucial three-pointers that helped K-State log wins against Baylor, Kansas and Texas Tech.
That is why coaches and teammates have given Massoud a new nickname: “Big 12 Ish.”
“He’s been playing big,” K-State point guard Markquis Nowell said. “He’s doing things on the defensive end that are really translating to offense and he’s given us a lot of energy. He’s rebounding more and he’s just doing anything possible to help us. When you do stuff like that good things happen.”
When you think of a good role player in college basketball you think of Ismael Massoud over the past seven games. The 6-foot-9 forward has done everything that Tang has asked of him while coming off the bench during Big 12 play. Massoud makes three-pointers when he is open; he fights for rebounds and plays hard on defense. And you don’t notice a drop off when he’s on the floor.
His biggest contributions have come from beyond the arc, where he has made 12 three-pointers in conference games.
It’s enough to make you forget he wasn’t even playing at the start of December.
Clearly, something began clicking for Massoud about a month ago.
Tang said they had a heart-to-heart conversation near the end of nonconference play in which both player and coach learned a great deal from each other. Massoud thinks good things began to happen for him shortly after he visited his home in New York for a few days around Christmas.
“I got my mind right and just realized this team is winning and I just want to be a part of it,” Massoud said. “I just kind of wanted to do whatever it takes to to be a part of it and help us continue with it.”
That mindset has made a world of difference.
K-State fans are eager to see what “Big 12 Ish” will do next.
“What Ish is buying into is being a complete player and understanding that all the little things matter, not just the ball going in the hole,” Tang said. “In fact, he turned down a three I wanted him to shoot (against Texas Tech). He said, ‘Coach, I was trying to do what I felt you wanted me to do.’ And that was really cool. I told him, ‘Thank you,’ because he’s really thinking about what it takes to win basketball games.”