SE: K-State MBB Ready to Heat Up, Bring Home Hardware from Paradise Jam Trip to Virgin Islands
Nov 15, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Dean Wade said it best. Everyone's ready to warm up.
"I'm excited to be in 80-degree weather," Wade forward said after No. 12/11 K-State's 64-56 win against Denver on Monday
Sure, the 6-foot-10 senior was talking about the outdoor temperatures. But, as K-State escaped the frigid Midwest on Wednesday to go to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, Wade said he's confident K-State's offense will heat up there as well.
"We have great shooters on the team," the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year said. "They're going to start falling."
The Wildcats (2-0) start the Paradise Jam against Eastern Kentucky on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CT), which will stream on FloHoops.com, looking to find their offensive rhythm after two games of shooting 17.5 percent from beyond the arc and 45 percent from the free throw line.
To be fair, this is essentially the same team that shot 34 percent and 71 percent from 3-point range and the free throw line last season, respectively. Wade shot 44 percent from deep as a junior, but he has yet to connect on one in just three attempts this season. Cartier Diarra, who converted 41 percent from beyond the arc last year, is 0-for-4 so far.
So, statistics back Wade's confidence that better shooting performances are on the horizon.
"I'm not concerned about it," he said. "We've gone through a little rough stretch here but we're going to get back in the gym, get our confidence back up. Everyone misses shots. It'll come back. I'm not worried about it."
What K-State, especially its three seniors, is more focused on is bringing a trophy back to Manhattan. The past three seasons, the Wildcats have gotten painstakingly close to winning a non-conference tournament.
"I think it would mean something for all of us," said senior guard Barry Brown, Jr. "Me, Dean and Kam (made) a list of things that we've never done as seniors with the program, and one was just win any kind of championship, any kind of tournament. This will give us that opportunity to come out, play three games in four days and hopefully come out with a
championship."
K-State lost a 92-90 shootout to Arizona State in the semifinals of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational last season. The Sun Devils went on to route Xavier by 102-86 in the championship game.
The season before, K-State dropped a one-point heartbreaker to Maryland in the championship game of the Barclays Center Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y.
When K-State's senior trio were freshmen, they helped bring the Wildcats to the title game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. In it, the Wildcats led No. 9 North Carolina by eight with just over four minutes to go but could not hold on.
This time, they look to change that trend.
"It's something we've talked about," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said. "It would be a nice little step, but you can't win a championship unless you win on Friday. You have to win the first one."
Eastern Kentucky, Weber added, likes to get "up and down." The Colonels (2-1) scored 136 in their exhibition and are averaging 88 points a game in three regular season battles. If the Wildcats get by them, they will meet either Northern Iowa or Penn, the latter of which is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and off to a 3-0 start this season. The other side of the bracket includes Missouri, Kennesaw State, Old Dominion and Oregon State.
"We play three games in four days," Wade added, "so it's a basketball player's dream."
K-State WBB Looks to Grow from Youthful Stretches Early in Season
K-State's women hold the program's youngest roster since the 1977-78 team. With a combined 10 true freshmen and sophomores out of a roster of 14 this season, the Wildcats will inevitably have youthful moments that occasionally turn into multiple-minute stretches.
Head coach Jeff Mittie, after his team's 61-46 season-opening win against Omaha on Monday, said the key is growing through those times of struggle. He felt like his team did that in its first test of the season.
K-State, which shot 37 percent from the field and 17 percent from beyond the arc, trailed by eight at halftime and by as many as 13 in the third quarter. The Wildcats then turned the game around and outscored the Mavericks 39-11 the rest of the way, including a 22-5 fourth quarter.
"It is probably beneficial that we did not shoot good because it forced us to move the ball and play together. They could feel great if the ball goes in better, and that's an individual thing — 'I shot it great tonight. I feel good about myself' — but we wouldn't necessarily get better together," Mittie said, as K-State hosts North Texas on Friday at 7 p.m., and UMKC on Sunday at 1 p.m. "Tonight we really had to fight and get better together and find a way. In a strange way it is probably a good struggle for us.
"We need to grow together as a team and this game will help us if we can come in at practice and get better."
Dean Wade said it best. Everyone's ready to warm up.
"I'm excited to be in 80-degree weather," Wade forward said after No. 12/11 K-State's 64-56 win against Denver on Monday
Sure, the 6-foot-10 senior was talking about the outdoor temperatures. But, as K-State escaped the frigid Midwest on Wednesday to go to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, Wade said he's confident K-State's offense will heat up there as well.
"We have great shooters on the team," the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year said. "They're going to start falling."
The Wildcats (2-0) start the Paradise Jam against Eastern Kentucky on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CT), which will stream on FloHoops.com, looking to find their offensive rhythm after two games of shooting 17.5 percent from beyond the arc and 45 percent from the free throw line.
To be fair, this is essentially the same team that shot 34 percent and 71 percent from 3-point range and the free throw line last season, respectively. Wade shot 44 percent from deep as a junior, but he has yet to connect on one in just three attempts this season. Cartier Diarra, who converted 41 percent from beyond the arc last year, is 0-for-4 so far.
So, statistics back Wade's confidence that better shooting performances are on the horizon.
"I'm not concerned about it," he said. "We've gone through a little rough stretch here but we're going to get back in the gym, get our confidence back up. Everyone misses shots. It'll come back. I'm not worried about it."
What K-State, especially its three seniors, is more focused on is bringing a trophy back to Manhattan. The past three seasons, the Wildcats have gotten painstakingly close to winning a non-conference tournament.
"I think it would mean something for all of us," said senior guard Barry Brown, Jr. "Me, Dean and Kam (made) a list of things that we've never done as seniors with the program, and one was just win any kind of championship, any kind of tournament. This will give us that opportunity to come out, play three games in four days and hopefully come out with a
championship."
K-State lost a 92-90 shootout to Arizona State in the semifinals of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational last season. The Sun Devils went on to route Xavier by 102-86 in the championship game.
The season before, K-State dropped a one-point heartbreaker to Maryland in the championship game of the Barclays Center Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y.
When K-State's senior trio were freshmen, they helped bring the Wildcats to the title game of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. In it, the Wildcats led No. 9 North Carolina by eight with just over four minutes to go but could not hold on.
This time, they look to change that trend.
"It's something we've talked about," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said. "It would be a nice little step, but you can't win a championship unless you win on Friday. You have to win the first one."
Eastern Kentucky, Weber added, likes to get "up and down." The Colonels (2-1) scored 136 in their exhibition and are averaging 88 points a game in three regular season battles. If the Wildcats get by them, they will meet either Northern Iowa or Penn, the latter of which is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and off to a 3-0 start this season. The other side of the bracket includes Missouri, Kennesaw State, Old Dominion and Oregon State.
"We play three games in four days," Wade added, "so it's a basketball player's dream."
K-State WBB Looks to Grow from Youthful Stretches Early in Season
K-State's women hold the program's youngest roster since the 1977-78 team. With a combined 10 true freshmen and sophomores out of a roster of 14 this season, the Wildcats will inevitably have youthful moments that occasionally turn into multiple-minute stretches.
Head coach Jeff Mittie, after his team's 61-46 season-opening win against Omaha on Monday, said the key is growing through those times of struggle. He felt like his team did that in its first test of the season.
K-State, which shot 37 percent from the field and 17 percent from beyond the arc, trailed by eight at halftime and by as many as 13 in the third quarter. The Wildcats then turned the game around and outscored the Mavericks 39-11 the rest of the way, including a 22-5 fourth quarter.
"It is probably beneficial that we did not shoot good because it forced us to move the ball and play together. They could feel great if the ball goes in better, and that's an individual thing — 'I shot it great tonight. I feel good about myself' — but we wouldn't necessarily get better together," Mittie said, as K-State hosts North Texas on Friday at 7 p.m., and UMKC on Sunday at 1 p.m. "Tonight we really had to fight and get better together and find a way. In a strange way it is probably a good struggle for us.
"We need to grow together as a team and this game will help us if we can come in at practice and get better."
Players Mentioned
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