K-State Q&A: Jerome Tang, basketball predictions, Big 12 road trips and more
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Author laments Big 12 realignment yet notes expansion adds new venues to visit.
- K-State relies on 3-point shooting; lacks defense and rebounding, needs coaching change.
- European players show promise intermittently; Kostic underused, Buca reliable and growing.
I am not a fan of conference realignment. Truth be told, I long for the old days of the Big 12.
Back then, the conference had 12 members and they were located in neighboring states. Motel 6 and Whataburger commercials played during every game. Those were simpler times.
But the changing landscape hasn’t been all bad. Big 12 expansion has provided us with some new locations to visit. It’s great to have Colorado back in the conference. And it has been fun watching football games in the mountains at BYU and Utah. I experienced something else new this week when I watched my first Arizona basketball game at McKale Center.
I had been to the arena before, but it was for the NCAA Tournament. Arizona and its fans were not in the building. After watching many Arizona home games on TV, I was eager to check out the environment when K-State visited Tucson on Wednesday.
It was a good experience, but I was disappointed that the game was played in early January. Arizona students were still out of school for winter break, so there was no student section to speak of. Fans still packed the arena, the pep band was loud and K-State coach Jerome Tang went out of his way to point out that it was a great college basketball setting.
But without students, the atmosphere felt a bit stale.
With that in mind, I would rank McKale Center a notch below the top basketball arenas in the Big 12. It was good, but not great.
My trip to Tucson for a K-State/Arizona football game last year was actually more memorable. I loved the view from the press box.
Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas) has history and sellout crowds for every game. United Supermarkets Arena (Texas Tech) has the loudest music in the country and a party vibe. Fertitta Center (Houston) has a cool intimate feel with students on the floor. Hilton Coliseum (Iowa State) is always packed. Marriott Center (BYU) has a capacity of nearly 18,000.
McKale Center is a fun place to watch a game. The pep band, in particular, was entertaining. But I like a few other Big 12 venues better.
Now, let’s dive into your questions about the Kansas State Wildcats. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
How do we fix basketball? - @Catsfan20012002 via X
Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done to fix the men’s basketball team this season.
When K-State plays its best on offense and gets hot from 3-point range, it can compete with some of the best teams in the country. Remember when the Wildcats nearly beat Nebraska in Kansas City?
Problem is, K-State becomes incredibly average when its outside shots aren’t falling. The Wildcats don’t play defense or rebound well enough to win when they aren’t clicking on offense.
They are 7-0 when they score 90 or more points. They are 2-6 when they don’t.
The gap between K-State and the best teams in the Big 12 is extremely wide at the moment. The Wildcats may need a coaching change — they definitely need a different roster — in order to close it.
Here is what Tang said earlier this week:
“I’m trying to figure out how we’re going to win the next one. I’m a small-picture guy. Let’s figure out what happened this game, and how we’re going to fix it. We will that do tomorrow and give us the best chance to win on Saturday in this league.
“That is what you have got to do, try to win the next one. That gap happens in the offseason when you’re recruiting. That’s how you close the gap in that area.”
When will we see more of the three European players? - Glenn D. via e-mail
All three of the Eurocats were on the floor at the same time when K-State played at Arizona.
It didnt’ last long. But, sure enough, Dorin Buca was out there with Elias Rapieque and Andrej Kostic.
Buca has actually turned into a reliable player. The 7-foot-2 center from Italy is a good rim defender and he shockingly made a pair of 3-pointers against Arizona. Rapieque is in the starting lineup, but the German forward hasn’t been putting up the best stats. Kostic is the enigma of the three. He came to K-State from Serbia with the highest expectations of the trio, but he rarely sees the floor.
I would prefer to see more of Kostic and less of a few other K-State reserves. He has offensive skills. Why not let him use them?
Tang had an interesting comment on Kostic this week: “I wanted to get Andrej minutes. I’ve been wanting to do that. I thought he’d get a couple in the first half so he could feel the environment, because we’ve got a plan Andrej, moving forward, a big-picture plan in that area. I was pleased he got out there and he competed.”
It seems to me that moving Linkon Cure to wide receiver full time would make sense. He has the size, speed and hands, to be an elite receiver. He can also block. Your thoughts -@SteveTa52127231
He doesn’t have enough speed to play on the perimeter, but he could dominate as a slot receiver.
That is how K-State used him as a freshman. I was disappointed that the Wildcats didn’t work harder to get him the ball.
Maybe that will change next season.
I hate to say he should leave tight end entirely, though. Cure has more than enough size to play tight end. And if K-State brings him in to block, that could open up some opportunities for him to get open in the middle of the field. Some of the easiest throws in football happen after a tight end makes a block and then goes out for a pass.
Cure can play both positions. But I agree with you that he should be a consistent target in the passing game.
Is Ben Newman going to be associated with the football program any longer? -@mrtroyh via X.
I don’t believe so.
The expectation is that Ben Newman will not continue attending K-State football games as a performance coach. He had a strong bond with Chris Klieman going back to their time at North Dakota State. They won a lot of trophies together.
Newman has also worked with other teams, including Alabama.
But I don’t expect him to have a sideline presence now that Collin Klein is the Wildcats’ head coach.
Who had the more disappointing season, Cats or Chiefs? -@BusMedicMike via X.
That’s a tough one.
Both teams entered their respective seasons with high hopes and came nowhere close to achieving their goals.
I lean Chiefs, because this was a bad year for them to miss the playoffs. Things are wide open in the AFC with upstart teams like Denver and New England as the top seeds. If Kansas City could have eked into the playoffs, anything could have happened.
There was no Super Bowl for K-State to win. The fan base would certainly have been happier with victories over Arizona, Iowa State and Army instead of losses. But the Wildcats were never going to win the Big 12 with Texas Tech bullying the conference. I’m not sure how rewarding a 9-3 regular season would have been.
At least both teams got something out of their disappointing seasons.
The Chiefs are getting a high draft pick and the Wildcats have a new head coach.