SE: Brown's Stamina a Driving Force in Improvement for K-State MBB
Feb 01, 2017 | Men's Basketball
It’s hard to get Barry Brown off the court in practice — a purposeful stubbornness he unleashed after his freshman season at K-State. In Brown’s mind, every extra rep he can get will help him become more effective late in games.
Through 21 games, his way of thinking has paid off.
Brown, K-State’s leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, has become an endurance-built weapon for K-State as a sophomore. He averages 31.5 minutes a game, including 34.0 in Big 12 play, both significant boosts from a year ago.
More importantly, Brown is handling his bulk of minutes much better, which he attributes to a concerted effort in practice.
“I tried to go 110 percent this year in conditioning and during practice, trying to get those extra reps because I know it’s going to be hard late in the game,” the 6-foot-3 guard said. “That’s what I can try to simulate, that I’m tired now but I’m going to be tired in the game, so I try to get those extra reps and still go 100 percent and just to try and make it easier in the game.”
This season, Brown has led K-State in scoring six times, a team high. He’s averaged 15.4 points in his last five games that included 22 in a road win at Oklahoma State, where he played 37 minutes.
“I feel like I’m way more conditioned. I played 37 minutes against Oklahoma State and I really didn’t feel like I played that many minutes,” Brown said. “I know last year I would’ve been dying at the end of the game. I feel like my stamina has improved a great deal.”
His stamina has allowed him to do more than score, too.
When the team needs a lockdown defender, Brown is one of the first to volunteer — he usually battles with senior Wesley Iwundu for the assignment. Brown’s defensive dedication has led to a team-high 47 steals, ranked second in the Big 12 and 18th nationally.
“That’s the type of energy we need. He’s stealing the ball, scoring the ball, just doing everything he can to help us win the game,” Iwundu said earlier this season. “I think if he keeps that up, then it gives us a chance to keep doing some good things in this league.”
Brown ranks second on the team in 3-point makes (33), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57), third in assists (55) and fourth in rebounds (70).
“He’s become one of our lockdown defenders. He wants to guard the best player,” K-State head coach Bruce Weber said of Brown. “He’s passing the ball better. Last year, every pass was an adventure. For the most part, he’s made a lot better decisions. He’s just gotten into the gym and has worked on his game, improved his game.”
One area Brown worked to improve over the offseason was his ability to get to the rim and finish once he gets there. The effort has produced enhanced results, as he’s shooting 43 percent from the field this season compared to 35 percent last year.
“I wanted to get to the lane and be able to finish through contact. That was a big focus from last year,” Brown said. “I wasn’t getting to the lane like I should’ve. Sometimes I was and I wasn’t able to finish through contact, so I just focused on getting my body ready.”
An even bigger focus, Brown added, was staying consistent with his play, another goal assisted by his improved endurance. He’s scored 10 or more points 17 times this season, already five more than his freshman campaign, and has recorded two or more steals 16 times.
“He loves to play, he’s an energizer bunny kind of guy,” Weber said. “When we have practice, he never wants to go out. ‘I need reps, I need reps,’ that attitude and that energy makes a big difference.”
After dropping two games on the road last week, K-State (15-6, 4-4) is looking to produce a different outcome when it returns home on Wednesday against TCU (14-7, 3-5) at 6:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNews.
K-State faced a sizable deficit at halftime in both losses last week, making one emphasis on Wednesday to be able to play well from the tip.
“I think it’s just emotion and having a good mindset. You just have to play every game like it’s your last game and it’s the one game that’s going to decide if you’re going to the (NCAA) Tournament or not,” Brown said. “If we come with that attitude and some good emotion and good fight, I feel like we’ll come out like we’re supposed to.
“We just have to get a consistent level of play and keep going forward.”
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