SE: With Wade Thriving, K-State Rises to No. 25 in AP Poll Before Road Test vs. Texas Tech
Jan 10, 2017 | Men's Basketball
There’s no more open than open.
The K-State men’s basketball team will hear this phrase from time to time, likely from associate head coach Chris Lowery. At its core, the phrase is meant as a reminder that, in K-State’s motion offense, passing up an open shot can be as damaging as taking a bad one.
Lately, Dean Wade has taken the message to heart.
Wade, hesitant to shoot or attack early in the season, has developed a quicker trigger and more aggressive mindset offensively, scoring in double figures in seven of the last eight games. He’s averaging a team-best 16.7 points in conference play en route to helping K-State to a 13-2 record, including a 2-1 Big 12 start to move to No. 25 in the Associated Press poll.
Coupled with the women’s team also being ranked 25th this week, it marks the first time the K-State men’s and women’s programs have been in the AP top 25 at the same time since January 2012.
To continue moving up in the rankings, K-State likely will need Wade to maintain his strong play.
“We want him to shoot the ball. When you have four guys on the court who can shoot the ball, that makes the game a lot easier,” sophomore point guard Kamau Stokes said of Wade. “We want him to be aggressive. A lot of people can’t guard Dean because of his size and versatility, so we want him to be really aggressive on offense. It helps us a lot.”
Against Kansas, a team Wade scored a combined 11 points against in three games last season, the 6-foot-10 sophomore tied his career-high with 20 points. This followed an 18-point performance against Texas.
“I finally realized that if I’m aggressive and hold the defense accountable, we’re a lot better team,” said Wade, who put up 10 points in the first half against Oklahoma before foul trouble limited his opportunities in the second.
Early in the season, Wade struggled to find his role on this Wildcat team. The St. John product only posted two double-digit scoring performances in the first seven games. Some of it was a lack of confidence, he said. Some of it was misplaced worry.
“I think against Maryland I wasn’t worried about rebounding or playing hard, I was more worried about scoring, and I was being selfish to my teammates,” said Wade, who has averaged 13.2 points a game since going scoreless against Maryland on November 26, 2016. “I’m playing with a lot more confidence. Last year, I just felt like was trying to survive in college basketball. This year, I feel like I’ve tried to step it up more, thrive more in college basketball, rather than survive.”
As Wade thrives, typically so do the Wildcats. In his 25 career games scoring 10 or more points at K-State, the Wildcats are 21-4. Three of those losses either went to overtime or were decided by two points or less.
“He’s a big part of this team. I don’t want to say he’s the X-factor, but he’s probably the most important player on this team, I would say, because he can change the game by what he brings to the team,” senior Wesley Iwundu said after K-State’s 11-point victory against Oklahoma on Saturday in Bramlage Coliseum. “When Dean’s having a good game, 10 times out of 10 the whole team’s going to have a good game and we’re going to be pretty successful. The capabilities of what he can do on offense and on defense is pretty big for us as a whole.”
During Wade’s struggles, Weber said he reminded the St. John product to play hard, focus on other areas of the game and the scoring would come. Wade, averaging 10.5 points a game, now ranks second for K-State in rebounding, blocks, free throw makes and field goal percentage.
“He needs to believe in himself, and we need him. With D.J. (Johnson) diving and moving, they have to worry about him. Big guys, they’re worrying about helping each other, and that allows Dean to get open,” Weber said. “Coach Lowery has this old saying, ‘There’s no more open than open.’ When you’re open, you have to shoot it. It hurts your offense, whether it’s Dean or somebody else, if you don’t. When you move the basketball and you’re open, you have to shoot it.”
K-State (13-2, 2-1) will shoot for its first Big 12 road victory of the season on Tuesday against Texas Tech (12-3, 1-2). The Wildcats split last year’s series against the Red Raiders, with both teams protecting home court.
“It’s a tough game. Every game is tough. Every game is so important for us. They’re good,” Weber said of Texas Tech, which upset then-No. 7 West Virginia in Lubbock last week. “They run old-school motion; it’s Coach Bob Knight motion. (Head coach Chris Beard) was an assistant for him, and they have versatile big guys who go out and shoot threes. We’re going to have to play well. It’s a huge game for us.”
The game will tip off at 8:15 p.m., and be nationally televised on ESPNews.
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