SE: K-State WBB Comes Together During Mini Camp Grind
Oct 08, 2018 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
K-State women's basketball head coach Jeff Mittie called it a mini camp. His players described it in different terms.
"It was a grind," senior forward Kali Jones said.
"Definitely a grind," echoed freshman guard Christianna Carr.
"Very intense," sophomore guard Rachel Ranke added.
What they all were referring to was the start of the 2018-19 season, which consisted of four days, from September 28 to October 1, of four-hour long practices. So, not exactly the typical first week of practice. In fact, Mittie said it's the first time he's ever done anything like it.
Setting it up this way, he added, served two main purposes. One, it allowed his players to go home last weekend before the much-longer grind of their season's practice routine begins on Monday. Two, and most importantly, it challenged them.
"It was unique," he said. "But they handled the grind pretty well. They handled the intensive information that they were getting, especially for a young group. They had their ups and downs, but all in all it was a pretty successful weekend."
"It definitely challenged us, and we overcame it with flying colors," Jones added. "We grinded. We struggled. We failed (at times) but, at the end, it was good for us."
In terms of notable moments from the four-day mini camp, Jones referred to one in particular. Carr brought up the same experience as well. It was from Sunday, the third day of the mini camp, near the end of conditioning. When one Wildcat struggled from exhaustion to finish a drill in the allotted time, Carr said two of her teammates, Ashley Ray and Maary Lakes, stepped in to run the make-up sprints for their teammate.
"Coach Mittie lowered (the time) and said, 'If you can finish them in this time, she can be done running, but if you don't make them the whole team has 11 lines.' So we were all, like, 'You got this,' and amping them up," Carr said. "We had girls down the sideline cheering them on and they made them, and that was just a good experience because it just shows that it's more than just basketball and it's more than just you. That was just a moment to show that we have each other's back. Even though we had to run a lot, it was a good part (of mini camp), a good feeling and shows that we're going in the right direction."
Jones agreed.
"We all were there for each other," she said, "and that was the turning moment because we came together as a team."
The intensive four days also helped introduce K-State's group of six newcomers, including four freshmen, to the team's offensive and defensive systems, along with its general expectations.
"We've come a long way," said Carr, part of a top-25 ranked recruiting class in the country, according to multiple outlets. "We worked on just little stuff, like playing hard, going after the balls hard, making sure we're playing through the whistle. It was an opportunity to be able to fix all the little stuff before the season starts."
It also, freshman Laura Macke said, was an opportunity to build some chemistry between the newcomers and returners. The latter group includes K-State's top-three scorers (Goth, Peyton Williams and Ranke) from last season, which saw the Wildcats finish with a 18-16 record and in the Sweet 16 of the 2018 WNIT.
"It was a great experience for me," Macke, a 6-foot-2 forward, said of the mini camp. "We were grinding it out, getting better each day as a team and learning to work together. It was a good experience, a good start."
Madness in Manhattan
The K-State men's and women's teams will officially tip off their respective seasons on Friday by hosting"Madness in Manhattan" at Bramlage Coliseum.Doors will open at 7 p.m., with the free event starting at 8 p.m.
The entire seating area is open to the general public and fans are encouraged to secure one of the available floor seats for an up-close view of the action.
The first 4,000 fans will receive a full-color 2017-18 NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite Eight Rally Towel with the signatures of last season's men's basketball team. It will also be the first chance for fans to pick-up limited edition 2018-19 schedule posters for each team.
Fans can enjoy entertainment on the newly-redesigned Bramlage Coliseum concourse before the event starts, including face painters and interactive photo booths. The concourse was redesigned in the offseason to update some of the recent accomplishments of the two programs.
There are a number of activities planned for the event, the first look at the men's and women's teams, a skill competition and a dunk contest. The event will also feature several special video presentations and performances by the K-State pep band, Willie Wildcat and the Classy Cats. In addition, there will be comments from coaches Bruce Weber and Jeff Mittie and student-athletes from each team.
There will be many opportunities for fans to win prizes throughout the evening with one lucky K-State student pass holder having the chance to win $50,000 cash in an on-court contest.
Boasted by numerous Top 15 preseason rankings, the men's team returns 10 lettermen, including all 185 starts, from a squad that won 25 games and advanced to the Elite Eight. The women's team returns eight letterwinners from last season's WNIT run to go with a highly-regarded recruiting class.
The K-State Athletic Ticket Office will be open throughout the event for fans wishing to purchase men's and women's basketball season and single-game tickets. There are variety of ticket packages, including the men's Big Game, Pick 5 and Holiday mini-plans as well as Wildcat 4 Packs and Bramlage Bundles. Fans can purchase two general admission women's basketball season tickets for just $50.
The teams will open their respective season in early November with the women's squad hosting Fort Hays State in the first of two exhibitions on Thursday, November 1 at 7 p.m., and the men's squad following in their lone exhibition against Pittsburg State on Friday, November 2, also at 7 p.m.
K-State women's basketball head coach Jeff Mittie called it a mini camp. His players described it in different terms.
"It was a grind," senior forward Kali Jones said.
"Definitely a grind," echoed freshman guard Christianna Carr.
"Very intense," sophomore guard Rachel Ranke added.
What they all were referring to was the start of the 2018-19 season, which consisted of four days, from September 28 to October 1, of four-hour long practices. So, not exactly the typical first week of practice. In fact, Mittie said it's the first time he's ever done anything like it.
Setting it up this way, he added, served two main purposes. One, it allowed his players to go home last weekend before the much-longer grind of their season's practice routine begins on Monday. Two, and most importantly, it challenged them.
"It was unique," he said. "But they handled the grind pretty well. They handled the intensive information that they were getting, especially for a young group. They had their ups and downs, but all in all it was a pretty successful weekend."
"It definitely challenged us, and we overcame it with flying colors," Jones added. "We grinded. We struggled. We failed (at times) but, at the end, it was good for us."
In terms of notable moments from the four-day mini camp, Jones referred to one in particular. Carr brought up the same experience as well. It was from Sunday, the third day of the mini camp, near the end of conditioning. When one Wildcat struggled from exhaustion to finish a drill in the allotted time, Carr said two of her teammates, Ashley Ray and Maary Lakes, stepped in to run the make-up sprints for their teammate.
"Coach Mittie lowered (the time) and said, 'If you can finish them in this time, she can be done running, but if you don't make them the whole team has 11 lines.' So we were all, like, 'You got this,' and amping them up," Carr said. "We had girls down the sideline cheering them on and they made them, and that was just a good experience because it just shows that it's more than just basketball and it's more than just you. That was just a moment to show that we have each other's back. Even though we had to run a lot, it was a good part (of mini camp), a good feeling and shows that we're going in the right direction."
Jones agreed.
"We all were there for each other," she said, "and that was the turning moment because we came together as a team."
The intensive four days also helped introduce K-State's group of six newcomers, including four freshmen, to the team's offensive and defensive systems, along with its general expectations.
"We've come a long way," said Carr, part of a top-25 ranked recruiting class in the country, according to multiple outlets. "We worked on just little stuff, like playing hard, going after the balls hard, making sure we're playing through the whistle. It was an opportunity to be able to fix all the little stuff before the season starts."
It also, freshman Laura Macke said, was an opportunity to build some chemistry between the newcomers and returners. The latter group includes K-State's top-three scorers (Goth, Peyton Williams and Ranke) from last season, which saw the Wildcats finish with a 18-16 record and in the Sweet 16 of the 2018 WNIT.
"It was a great experience for me," Macke, a 6-foot-2 forward, said of the mini camp. "We were grinding it out, getting better each day as a team and learning to work together. It was a good experience, a good start."
Madness in Manhattan
The K-State men's and women's teams will officially tip off their respective seasons on Friday by hosting"Madness in Manhattan" at Bramlage Coliseum.Doors will open at 7 p.m., with the free event starting at 8 p.m.
The entire seating area is open to the general public and fans are encouraged to secure one of the available floor seats for an up-close view of the action.
The first 4,000 fans will receive a full-color 2017-18 NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite Eight Rally Towel with the signatures of last season's men's basketball team. It will also be the first chance for fans to pick-up limited edition 2018-19 schedule posters for each team.
Fans can enjoy entertainment on the newly-redesigned Bramlage Coliseum concourse before the event starts, including face painters and interactive photo booths. The concourse was redesigned in the offseason to update some of the recent accomplishments of the two programs.
There are a number of activities planned for the event, the first look at the men's and women's teams, a skill competition and a dunk contest. The event will also feature several special video presentations and performances by the K-State pep band, Willie Wildcat and the Classy Cats. In addition, there will be comments from coaches Bruce Weber and Jeff Mittie and student-athletes from each team.
There will be many opportunities for fans to win prizes throughout the evening with one lucky K-State student pass holder having the chance to win $50,000 cash in an on-court contest.
Boasted by numerous Top 15 preseason rankings, the men's team returns 10 lettermen, including all 185 starts, from a squad that won 25 games and advanced to the Elite Eight. The women's team returns eight letterwinners from last season's WNIT run to go with a highly-regarded recruiting class.
The K-State Athletic Ticket Office will be open throughout the event for fans wishing to purchase men's and women's basketball season and single-game tickets. There are variety of ticket packages, including the men's Big Game, Pick 5 and Holiday mini-plans as well as Wildcat 4 Packs and Bramlage Bundles. Fans can purchase two general admission women's basketball season tickets for just $50.
The teams will open their respective season in early November with the women's squad hosting Fort Hays State in the first of two exhibitions on Thursday, November 1 at 7 p.m., and the men's squad following in their lone exhibition against Pittsburg State on Friday, November 2, also at 7 p.m.
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