Why K-State basketball players have refused to quit amid a disappointing season
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Effort has improved and persisted since Matthew Driscoll became interim coach.
- In final home game, defense and a 21-0 run led to a win over West Virginia.
- Seniors celebrated a morale-boosting win before Kansas and the Big 12 Tournament.
Dorin Buca wasn’t supposed to play for the Kansas State men’s basketball team during its 65-63 victory over West Virginia on Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
The 7-foot-2 Italian center had missed the previous two games with an ankle injury, and he was still hobbled. The Wildcats listed him as “out” on the pre-game availability report, along with Abdi Bashir, PJ Haggerty and Mobi Ikegwuruka. K-State interim head coach Matthew Driscoll planned to use other players in the frontcourt.
But Buca surprised everyone when he got dressed for warmups and told his coaches, “I want to try” to play.
Buca didn’t end up doing much as he played through his injury against the Mountaineers. He finished the game with one block in four minutes of action. Still, the effort he displayed was symbolic of K-State’s unexpected victory.
The Wildcats (12-18, 3-14 Big 12) had little to play for in their final home game of a nightmare season. And yet, they fought hard enough to beat a conference opponent that was vying for a NCAA Tournament berth.
“These guys don’t want to quit,” Driscoll said. “They want to play. That is very encouraging.”
K-State basketball players could have given up on this season long ago. Few would have blamed them after they sunk to the bottom of the Big 12 standings and their coach was fired “for cause” midway through the campaign.
But effort hasn’t been an issue for the Wildcats ever since Driscoll was named interim coach. K-State has gone 2-3 with him in the lead chair, and the team has fought hard even in its losses.
On Tuesday, everything clicked for a stretch of play that saw K-State go on a 21-0 run against West Virginia.
“It felt special,” K-State forward Khamari McGriff said. “We were coming together more every play. The energy kept rising at each media timeout. And the coaches kept telling us the right things. It was fun.”
The fact that they rallied together and won without leading scorer PJ Haggerty in the lineup made the result feel even more satisfying. K-State won without a memorable effort on offense. It won by holding West Virginia to 63 points and by making hustle plays.
With a road game against rival Kansas and the Big 12 Tournament on deck, Driscoll reminisced about the time he helped Baylor reach the conference championship game as a No. 9 seed in 2009.
Maybe this K-State team can also end the season on a high note?
One thing seems for certain: the Wildcats will continue playing hard. Their effort was rewarded in their final home game of the season.
“It feels great,” Nate Johnson said. “To end our careers at Bramlage with a win, there is nothing more special than that, especially because we beat a good team like West Virginia. It’s special to go out like that.”