SE: Brown Sets Steals Record, Tone for K-Stateโs Dominant Defense
Dec 24, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
ย
ย
Bruce Weber asked the question in a team meeting in 2015.ย
ย
"Who's going to be our lockdown defender?"ย
ย
Barry Brown, Jr., then a freshman, raised his hand. Weber shrugged off the newcomer and asked the question again.ย
ย
"I said, 'Not you. Who is going to be our lockdown defender?'" Weber recalled. "He just said, 'Me.'ย
ย
"And he has been since he got here. He's taken a lot of pride in that."
ย
Brown's pride became a permanent part of his K-State legacy in Saturday's 69-58 win against Vanderbilt at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2018 All-Big 12 Defensive Team member recorded three steals to become K-State's all-time leader with 211 in that category. Even more, he passed legendary Wildcat Jacob Pullen for the top spot.ย
ย
"I wanted to come here and leave a legacy somehow, someway, definitely with wins but also with individual accomplishments," Brown said of the feat. "I just credit my coaches and my teammates; my coaches, especially, just for putting me in the right position, making me understand principals, defensive schemes and taking stuff away. So, with all that being put in over time, I was able to accomplish it."
ย
On a historic scale, Brown has set the defensive standard for years, maybe decades, to come for K-State. This season, he has set the tone for K-State's strength. The Wildcats rank sixth nationally in scoring defense thanks in large part to Brown's leadership and effort on that end of the floor.
ย
Most recently, K-State held a Vanderbilt team averaging 83.6 points a game and coming off an 81-65 victory against No. 18 Arizona State to its season scoring total. This included only 20 points in the first half, also a season low for the Commodores.ย
ย
"We're a good defensive team. I think we've shown that, not only in years past but even this year," Brown said. "I think it's something we all pride ourselves on."
ย
Saturday marked the eighth time in 11 games this season the Wildcats have held their opponent to below 60 points this season. In the Weber era, K-State has now kept opponents under the 60-point threshold 77 times. The Wildcats have won in 69 of those instances, 37 of which Brown has been part of.
ย
"You talk about coming into a place and leaving a legacy with, hopefully, wins but individual accomplishments are something special," Weber added. "Jacob (Pullen) was a special player at K-State and Barry not only broke the record but he's probably going to shatter it. It's pretty impressive what he's done."
ย
Behind Brown's example, K-State rode its strong defense against Vanderbilt.ย
ย
The Wildcats allowed the Commodores to shoot 32 percent from the field and 28 percent from beyond the arc. At one point, Vanderbilt went from the 2:12 mark of the first half to the 9:41 point in the second half without a made field goal.ย
ย
"I think that was the best half-court defense that we've faced this year," Vanderbilt's Matt Ryan said. "It was definitely a challenge for us. They knew what they were doing defensively."
ย
"We talked about (having) a special defensive effort and frustrating them, and we were able to do that. It was great, locked-in defense from our guys," Weber added. "I thought we had a good mindset to go and battle. It wasn't the prettiest thing but we grinded it out and beat a good team. You have to feel good about what we did, but there's a lot of games to go, and you have to move forward."
ย
ย
Bruce Weber asked the question in a team meeting in 2015.ย
ย
"Who's going to be our lockdown defender?"ย
ย
Barry Brown, Jr., then a freshman, raised his hand. Weber shrugged off the newcomer and asked the question again.ย
ย
"I said, 'Not you. Who is going to be our lockdown defender?'" Weber recalled. "He just said, 'Me.'ย
ย
"And he has been since he got here. He's taken a lot of pride in that."
ย
Brown's pride became a permanent part of his K-State legacy in Saturday's 69-58 win against Vanderbilt at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2018 All-Big 12 Defensive Team member recorded three steals to become K-State's all-time leader with 211 in that category. Even more, he passed legendary Wildcat Jacob Pullen for the top spot.ย
ย
"I wanted to come here and leave a legacy somehow, someway, definitely with wins but also with individual accomplishments," Brown said of the feat. "I just credit my coaches and my teammates; my coaches, especially, just for putting me in the right position, making me understand principals, defensive schemes and taking stuff away. So, with all that being put in over time, I was able to accomplish it."
ย
On a historic scale, Brown has set the defensive standard for years, maybe decades, to come for K-State. This season, he has set the tone for K-State's strength. The Wildcats rank sixth nationally in scoring defense thanks in large part to Brown's leadership and effort on that end of the floor.
ย
Most recently, K-State held a Vanderbilt team averaging 83.6 points a game and coming off an 81-65 victory against No. 18 Arizona State to its season scoring total. This included only 20 points in the first half, also a season low for the Commodores.ย
ย
"We're a good defensive team. I think we've shown that, not only in years past but even this year," Brown said. "I think it's something we all pride ourselves on."
ย
Saturday marked the eighth time in 11 games this season the Wildcats have held their opponent to below 60 points this season. In the Weber era, K-State has now kept opponents under the 60-point threshold 77 times. The Wildcats have won in 69 of those instances, 37 of which Brown has been part of.
ย
"You talk about coming into a place and leaving a legacy with, hopefully, wins but individual accomplishments are something special," Weber added. "Jacob (Pullen) was a special player at K-State and Barry not only broke the record but he's probably going to shatter it. It's pretty impressive what he's done."
ย
Behind Brown's example, K-State rode its strong defense against Vanderbilt.ย
ย
The Wildcats allowed the Commodores to shoot 32 percent from the field and 28 percent from beyond the arc. At one point, Vanderbilt went from the 2:12 mark of the first half to the 9:41 point in the second half without a made field goal.ย
ย
"I think that was the best half-court defense that we've faced this year," Vanderbilt's Matt Ryan said. "It was definitely a challenge for us. They knew what they were doing defensively."
ย
"We talked about (having) a special defensive effort and frustrating them, and we were able to do that. It was great, locked-in defense from our guys," Weber added. "I thought we had a good mindset to go and battle. It wasn't the prettiest thing but we grinded it out and beat a good team. You have to feel good about what we did, but there's a lot of games to go, and you have to move forward."
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballThursday, August 27
Wednesday, August 26
Monday, August 03
Monday, July 27
