The Kansas State Wildcats went on a big late-season run to make the NCAA Tournament, after it appeared that the program was stuck in a rut and didn’t seem ready to find a way out of trouble. As long as the team is making NCAA Tournament appearances, the program is doing the minimum to meet expectations and satisfy some standards. However, coach Bruce Weber shows no signs of being able to take the program to a higher level reached under former coach Frank Martin, who just made the Final Four with South Carolina last season. Kansas State lives in an uncomfortable place where it usually does enough to make March Madness, but nothing more. Can this season break the mold and lift the Wildcats to a stronger position in the Big 12?
Offseason Changes
Wesley Iwundu leaves behind his shotmaking skills and tenacious defense – he anchored the team and guided it through tough spots last season. He made clutch baskets and was a fiery presence on the court. His team needed him to be great in late February at the end of the Big 12 regular season and in the Big 12 Tournament, when Kansas State needed a few more wins to feel safe about its NCAA Tournament chances. Iwundu delivered for his team, and without him, Kansas State knows it needs other leaders to step up this season – both in terms of matching the statistical production and also making timely plays when the team really needs them.
Will Succeed If…
Kamau Stokes raises his game to take Iwundu’s place as the man this team can trust in crunch time. It’s a measurement of both the numbers and the ability to respond in periods of crisis which must define Stokes as a player in the coming months. If the team knows that Stokes will be there, there will be no confusion about who should get the ball in the final minutes of games. Moreover, this will have a domino effect. Opposing defenses will key on Stokes, and if they take the ball out of his hands, other players will be ready to do their part. Stokes – just by being on the court – could draw extra defenders, which will help other players to get open for layups or threes on backdoor cuts or other kinds of maneuvers. Stokes will be the epicenter of this team.
Won’t Succeed If…
Dean Wade doesn’t get help on interior defense and on the glass – Wade is a good jump shooter who provides balance for the offense, but he is not an elite defender and has to get support from his teammates all season long. Otherwise, teams will post up and pound the ball to the basket against the Wildcats. Kansas State has some concerns about its defensive speed in a league where Oklahoma’s Trey Young and Kansas’ Devonte Graham will be a lot to handle. The Wildcats can play at a slower tempo if they need to, but the 30-second shot clock makes it harder to slow a game down compared to when the shot clock was at 35 seconds.
Roster
Mike McGuirl
Mawdo Sallah
Cartier Diarra
Kamau Stokes
Barry Brown
Brian Patrick
Mason Schoen
Makol Mawien
Xavier Sneed
James Love III
Amaad Wainright
Pierson McAtee
Dean Wade
Levi Stockard III
Patrick Muldoon
Kade Kinnamon
Nigel Shadd
Outlook
The Wildcats always seem to be around the bubble, never too far away for better or worse. They don’t seem to be noticeably improved from last season, but they also don’t figure to suffer a major drop-off with Stokes and Wade on the roster. However, that kind of existence can get tiring. The Wildcats will probably finish sixth or seventh in the Big 12, which means their NCAA Tournament fate probably won’t be known until Selection Sunday – it will go down to the wire in terms of making March Madness or being the top seed in the NIT. Don’t expect them to have the same type of season that they did last year.
The 2018 March Madness futures are out. There has been plenty of news to keep up with in the offseason but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest college basketball betting lines right here.
