Eight days ago, the K-State Wildcats opened Big 12 conference play against the Oklahoma Sooners. Although the Sooners were ranked No. 6 in the nation, I fully expected Frank Martin's Wildcats - with their 11-3 non-conference record and some impressive perfomances along the way - to be in the game until the very end. In fact, I actually predicted an upset. (Granted, I see the world through Wildcat purple, Royal blue, or Chief red glasses depending on the season, so such upsets are predicted about as often as football announcers talk about Brett Favre or Tim Tebow.*) Such a victory, I thought, could be just the "signature win" that gives certain tournament selection committee that warm and fuzzy feeling at the end of the season.
*This statement is false. Nothing happens with the same frequency as football announcers discuss Favre or Tebow.
Five days ago, the Wildcats, now 0-1 in conference play, headed to Lawrence to face off with the defending national champions. (Wow, it really is painful to type that.) Although the Jayhawks normally have a distinct homecourt advantage, the fact remains that the squad on the floor this season is not near the talent level that KU had last season. Again, where others saw a problem for the Wildcats, I saw an opportunity. K-State could top this team, and I estimated that a win (combined with stellar play the rest of the way) could provide a good argument for the team receiving some love (of the platonic sort) when the postseason came around.
One day ago, the purple-clad crew from the Little Apple found themselves in the middle of corn-husking country. With the Wildcats sitting 0-2 in league play, some labeled the game a "must win" contest for the 'cats. Others might have called it a "can't lose" considering the fact that Nebraska lost to UMBC (that's University of Maryland, Baltimore County, not Utah's Morman Broadcasting Company) on their home floor just one month earlier. Winning this game had less to do with the postseason for K-State than it did with building some momentum, gaining some confidence, and avoiding some embarrassment. Alas, leaving the Devaney Center with a 22-point loss in the books had bizarro results for Kansas State.
Now, I'm not here to shout that the sky is falling*, or say that it's time to give up on the season. That would not fit well into the hokey optimism I normally attempt to employ. I do, however, know there are some issues that the Wildcats need to address, and address as soon as possible.
*Can you imagine if the sky was falling though? Yikes. I don't know if you've looked around much lately, but that thing seems to be everywhere. Try getting away from it.**
**Despite what you might hear from some broadcasters, neither Brett Favre or Tim Tebow would be able to escape if the sky was falling.***
***Odds are, if you present a broadcaster in question with this information, they'll attempt to tell you that Favre and Tebow are the ones who decided that the sky should fall.
One thing this team needs to find is an identity. When they have been at their best this season, the Wildcats have been an up-tempo, defensive-minded squad that rattled other teams so much that it seemed "fling the ball into the crowd" was an actual play in their playbook (which the opponents ran pretty well). Good defense led into quick scores on offense, and away the Wildcats went. Alas, although they have found success with this style, K-State seems to fight the notion with personnel, continually playing at least two and occasionally three "bigs" at a time.
This fondness for players who shop in the big-and-tall department could have been an advantage against the Huskers, who played much of the game with college basketball's version of the Lollipop Guild (no player taller than 6-5) on the floor. K-State's size should have made a difference on the interior. Instead, the post quartet combined for a total of 23 points and 14 rebounds (about an average game for one particular Wildcat post player a season ago).
Now, the lack of scoring productivity from the bigs cannot be heaped entirely on their shoulders. It's hard to have anyone score many points when your team turns the ball over 25 times. With K-State struggling to handle the quick, pesky Husker defense, an emphasis should have been placed on ball control - an area those on the upper end of the size spectrum aren't always known to have great prowess in. The question that then arises in my mind is why the Wildcats didn't attempt to adapt, sacrificing a big or two to get more talented ball handlers on the floor.
The Husker defense also did not do the Wildcats any favors when they proved that they had actually studied game film. Nebraska put little defensive pressure on Wildcats that have not proven themselves to be scoring threats this season, often backing away as if the ballhandler in question had some sort of uber-hybrid of leprosy, the plague, and cooties.* Unfortunately (especially since I'm confident other teams in the Big 12 study game film, as well, and will notice the effectiveness of this strategy), the K-State response was non-existent. There were no surges in aggressiveness from the essentially unguarded players and there were no real efforts to sub in others who might give the defense something more to think about. The result was Nebraska defenders free to run kamikaze.
*I am pretty confident no one in college basketball suffers from this affliction.
Of course, one might argue that it would not have mattered if K-State had (illegally, as far as I know) cloned the original Dream Team and had them running the court - shots just were not falling for those in purple. The fact that the Wildcats shot from long range with the accuracy of a cross-eyed sniper with his closed eye at the scope supports this claim. Whatever the case may be, K-State cannot afford many more nights of Saturday's perfect storm of ugly basketball.
Three days from now, the Wildcats return to the floor. Against the Baylor Bears, they will attempt to get the bad taste out of their mouths, right the ship, get back on the right foot, and perform many other cliched actions. While a game like the one against Nebraska may be enough to get one down, we at The Writings still have some hokey, unbridled optimism to pass around. The 'cats can win this game, and getting back in front of the home crowd may be just what they need.
"What if it's not?" you're asking.* What if the Baylor game, and the Colorado game after that, and the Missouri game, Texas game, Iowa State game, and all the rest go just as the Nebraska game did?
*Check the fine print, here at The Writings I am allowed to ask your questions for you.
Well...
27 days from now, Kansas City Royals picthers and catchers report to Spring Training. Then I can begin to funnel some hokey optimism their way, as well.
*This statement is false. Nothing happens with the same frequency as football announcers discuss Favre or Tebow.
Five days ago, the Wildcats, now 0-1 in conference play, headed to Lawrence to face off with the defending national champions. (Wow, it really is painful to type that.) Although the Jayhawks normally have a distinct homecourt advantage, the fact remains that the squad on the floor this season is not near the talent level that KU had last season. Again, where others saw a problem for the Wildcats, I saw an opportunity. K-State could top this team, and I estimated that a win (combined with stellar play the rest of the way) could provide a good argument for the team receiving some love (of the platonic sort) when the postseason came around.
One day ago, the purple-clad crew from the Little Apple found themselves in the middle of corn-husking country. With the Wildcats sitting 0-2 in league play, some labeled the game a "must win" contest for the 'cats. Others might have called it a "can't lose" considering the fact that Nebraska lost to UMBC (that's University of Maryland, Baltimore County, not Utah's Morman Broadcasting Company) on their home floor just one month earlier. Winning this game had less to do with the postseason for K-State than it did with building some momentum, gaining some confidence, and avoiding some embarrassment. Alas, leaving the Devaney Center with a 22-point loss in the books had bizarro results for Kansas State.
Now, I'm not here to shout that the sky is falling*, or say that it's time to give up on the season. That would not fit well into the hokey optimism I normally attempt to employ. I do, however, know there are some issues that the Wildcats need to address, and address as soon as possible.
*Can you imagine if the sky was falling though? Yikes. I don't know if you've looked around much lately, but that thing seems to be everywhere. Try getting away from it.**
**Despite what you might hear from some broadcasters, neither Brett Favre or Tim Tebow would be able to escape if the sky was falling.***
***Odds are, if you present a broadcaster in question with this information, they'll attempt to tell you that Favre and Tebow are the ones who decided that the sky should fall.
One thing this team needs to find is an identity. When they have been at their best this season, the Wildcats have been an up-tempo, defensive-minded squad that rattled other teams so much that it seemed "fling the ball into the crowd" was an actual play in their playbook (which the opponents ran pretty well). Good defense led into quick scores on offense, and away the Wildcats went. Alas, although they have found success with this style, K-State seems to fight the notion with personnel, continually playing at least two and occasionally three "bigs" at a time.
This fondness for players who shop in the big-and-tall department could have been an advantage against the Huskers, who played much of the game with college basketball's version of the Lollipop Guild (no player taller than 6-5) on the floor. K-State's size should have made a difference on the interior. Instead, the post quartet combined for a total of 23 points and 14 rebounds (about an average game for one particular Wildcat post player a season ago).
Now, the lack of scoring productivity from the bigs cannot be heaped entirely on their shoulders. It's hard to have anyone score many points when your team turns the ball over 25 times. With K-State struggling to handle the quick, pesky Husker defense, an emphasis should have been placed on ball control - an area those on the upper end of the size spectrum aren't always known to have great prowess in. The question that then arises in my mind is why the Wildcats didn't attempt to adapt, sacrificing a big or two to get more talented ball handlers on the floor.
The Husker defense also did not do the Wildcats any favors when they proved that they had actually studied game film. Nebraska put little defensive pressure on Wildcats that have not proven themselves to be scoring threats this season, often backing away as if the ballhandler in question had some sort of uber-hybrid of leprosy, the plague, and cooties.* Unfortunately (especially since I'm confident other teams in the Big 12 study game film, as well, and will notice the effectiveness of this strategy), the K-State response was non-existent. There were no surges in aggressiveness from the essentially unguarded players and there were no real efforts to sub in others who might give the defense something more to think about. The result was Nebraska defenders free to run kamikaze.
*I am pretty confident no one in college basketball suffers from this affliction.
Of course, one might argue that it would not have mattered if K-State had (illegally, as far as I know) cloned the original Dream Team and had them running the court - shots just were not falling for those in purple. The fact that the Wildcats shot from long range with the accuracy of a cross-eyed sniper with his closed eye at the scope supports this claim. Whatever the case may be, K-State cannot afford many more nights of Saturday's perfect storm of ugly basketball.
Three days from now, the Wildcats return to the floor. Against the Baylor Bears, they will attempt to get the bad taste out of their mouths, right the ship, get back on the right foot, and perform many other cliched actions. While a game like the one against Nebraska may be enough to get one down, we at The Writings still have some hokey, unbridled optimism to pass around. The 'cats can win this game, and getting back in front of the home crowd may be just what they need.
"What if it's not?" you're asking.* What if the Baylor game, and the Colorado game after that, and the Missouri game, Texas game, Iowa State game, and all the rest go just as the Nebraska game did?
*Check the fine print, here at The Writings I am allowed to ask your questions for you.
Well...
27 days from now, Kansas City Royals picthers and catchers report to Spring Training. Then I can begin to funnel some hokey optimism their way, as well.
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