SE: McGuirl ‘Ready’ for Opportunity to Help K-State MBB Beat Creighton in First Round of NCAA Tournament
Mar 17, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was always in the back of Mike McGuirl's mind, the dream of helping his team win an NCAA Tournament game. When reporters swarmed around his locker on Friday night, shining camera lights at him and shoving recorders into his face, the reality of the situation sank in for K-State's freshman guard.
"It's sort of like a dream come true," said McGuirl, after he provided a career-high 17 points off the bench to help ninth-seeded K-State (23-11) top No. 8 Creighton, 69-59, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Spectrum Center. "Honestly, it was something that, as a player, I always hoped would happen. It was always in my mind that this could happen, but it wasn't something that I really thought was going to happen for sure."
An extremely confident player, McGuirl's rare sliver of doubt stemmed from an unusual season filled with ups and downs. After he finished 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and took his career point total from 13 to 30 in 22 minutes against Creighton, he reflected on his first season with an appreciation for the journey.
"It's been real up and down for me, but a great coaching staff, great teammates, they've really kept me in it," he said. "They've kept me focused and ready for moments like this."
Injuries slowed McGuirl down before the season started. Add that on top of an already deep K-State backcourt and everyone agreed the best plan would be to redshirt McGuirl. So, he did not play the first 13 games of the season and there were zero plans to bring him off the bench this season.
Still, McGuirl never throttled back his effort or focus. Even if this season was over, he could still get better for next.
"He's motivated. Every time I'm in the gym, Mike's in the gym as well," sophomore forward Xavier Sneed said. "He's a motivated player and he just loves the game."
McGuirl's love for the game was put to the test when junior point guard Kamau Stokes injured his foot against Texas Tech on Jan. 6. K-State needed guard depth, but McGuirl had already spent nearly half a season on the bench.
"Originally when Kam got hurt, it was sort of like a shock and I wasn't really thinking about (playing). Coach (Weber) called me and asked me if I was ready, and I told him I was ready," McGuirl said. "I knew I wanted to play because it's something I've been doing all my life."
McGuirl would help K-State, just not right away.
After Stokes' injury, McGuirl played just three minutes in four-straight games. Outside of a highlight-worthy block against TCU, he showed off little of what his teammates and coaches had seen all summer: A fearless sharpshooter with impressive athleticism.
"It was real up and down," McGuirl said, "but I have a great supporting staff around here, great friends and a great coaching staff, so I was ready for whatever."
The overwhelming theme from everyone around McGuirl: Stay ready.
"We've been having a lot of talks and I always told him to stay ready for when his chance comes," said freshman forward Levi Stockard III, McGuirl's roommate. "He was ready for it."
Even as he played in only three of K-State's final 12 games of the regular season, he only listened to those two words.
"Stay ready," McGuirl said of his mindset throughout the ups and downs. "Stay in everything, practices, games and just really pay attention and listen to the coaches."
McGuirl came in ready after redshirt freshman point guard Cartier Diarra picked up a second foul late in the first half against Creighton.
After the Bluejays cut K-State's lead to six, McGuirl scored his first points on a strong take. He also answered a trey from Creighton's Mitch Ballock with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the Wildcats into halftime with a six-point lead.
"I knew what Mike was capable of, but he showed up tonight," Stokes said. "He showed up on a real big stage and I'm very proud of him."
"Mike didn't hesitate," Weber added. "It looked like he's been a starter or played many minutes all year."
As Diarra sat most of the second half with more foul trouble, McGuirl picked up where he left off. The Connecticut native scored 12 points in the final 20 minutes, none more important than a six-point, 47-second spurt.
At the 8:00 mark, McGuirl helped salvage what appeared to be a lost possession by knocking down a midrange jumper to push K-State's lead back to nine. On K-State's next possession, he sank a corner trey while absorbing a foul. He would make the free throw to extend K-State's advantage to 57-46 with 7:13 to play. Creighton would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.
"It feels like a dream come true. It's something I've been thinking about all my life and it's happening now," McGuirl said of his impact to help K-State advance to play 16th-seeded UMBC on Sunday at 6:45 p.m. CT on truTV. "That was sort of the hope when I was recruited here and I committed to come here. That's something I'm happy to be able to do and hopefully this isn't the end of it."
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was always in the back of Mike McGuirl's mind, the dream of helping his team win an NCAA Tournament game. When reporters swarmed around his locker on Friday night, shining camera lights at him and shoving recorders into his face, the reality of the situation sank in for K-State's freshman guard.
"It's sort of like a dream come true," said McGuirl, after he provided a career-high 17 points off the bench to help ninth-seeded K-State (23-11) top No. 8 Creighton, 69-59, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Spectrum Center. "Honestly, it was something that, as a player, I always hoped would happen. It was always in my mind that this could happen, but it wasn't something that I really thought was going to happen for sure."
"We knew somebody needed to step up... it's something I've looked forward to my whole life." - Mike McGuirl (17 PTS) after Kansas State's (9) 69-59 win over Creighton (8)#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/sBTv4TPG3C
— March Madness TV (@MarchMadnessTV) March 17, 2018
An extremely confident player, McGuirl's rare sliver of doubt stemmed from an unusual season filled with ups and downs. After he finished 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and took his career point total from 13 to 30 in 22 minutes against Creighton, he reflected on his first season with an appreciation for the journey.
"It's been real up and down for me, but a great coaching staff, great teammates, they've really kept me in it," he said. "They've kept me focused and ready for moments like this."
How about the K-State freshman, Mike McGuirl?
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 17, 2018
Regular season: 13pts
Tonight: 17pts#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UKfSsp2sbX
Injuries slowed McGuirl down before the season started. Add that on top of an already deep K-State backcourt and everyone agreed the best plan would be to redshirt McGuirl. So, he did not play the first 13 games of the season and there were zero plans to bring him off the bench this season.
Still, McGuirl never throttled back his effort or focus. Even if this season was over, he could still get better for next.
"He's motivated. Every time I'm in the gym, Mike's in the gym as well," sophomore forward Xavier Sneed said. "He's a motivated player and he just loves the game."
McGuirl's love for the game was put to the test when junior point guard Kamau Stokes injured his foot against Texas Tech on Jan. 6. K-State needed guard depth, but McGuirl had already spent nearly half a season on the bench.
"Originally when Kam got hurt, it was sort of like a shock and I wasn't really thinking about (playing). Coach (Weber) called me and asked me if I was ready, and I told him I was ready," McGuirl said. "I knew I wanted to play because it's something I've been doing all my life."
McGuirl would help K-State, just not right away.
After Stokes' injury, McGuirl played just three minutes in four-straight games. Outside of a highlight-worthy block against TCU, he showed off little of what his teammates and coaches had seen all summer: A fearless sharpshooter with impressive athleticism.
"It was real up and down," McGuirl said, "but I have a great supporting staff around here, great friends and a great coaching staff, so I was ready for whatever."
The overwhelming theme from everyone around McGuirl: Stay ready.
"We've been having a lot of talks and I always told him to stay ready for when his chance comes," said freshman forward Levi Stockard III, McGuirl's roommate. "He was ready for it."
Even as he played in only three of K-State's final 12 games of the regular season, he only listened to those two words.
"Stay ready," McGuirl said of his mindset throughout the ups and downs. "Stay in everything, practices, games and just really pay attention and listen to the coaches."
McGuirl came in ready after redshirt freshman point guard Cartier Diarra picked up a second foul late in the first half against Creighton.
After the Bluejays cut K-State's lead to six, McGuirl scored his first points on a strong take. He also answered a trey from Creighton's Mitch Ballock with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the Wildcats into halftime with a six-point lead.
Mike McGuirl sinks it at the buzzer from RANGE! ??#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UNAntjcz2K
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 16, 2018
"I knew what Mike was capable of, but he showed up tonight," Stokes said. "He showed up on a real big stage and I'm very proud of him."
"Mike didn't hesitate," Weber added. "It looked like he's been a starter or played many minutes all year."
As Diarra sat most of the second half with more foul trouble, McGuirl picked up where he left off. The Connecticut native scored 12 points in the final 20 minutes, none more important than a six-point, 47-second spurt.
At the 8:00 mark, McGuirl helped salvage what appeared to be a lost possession by knocking down a midrange jumper to push K-State's lead back to nine. On K-State's next possession, he sank a corner trey while absorbing a foul. He would make the free throw to extend K-State's advantage to 57-46 with 7:13 to play. Creighton would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.
McGuirl is at it AGAIN! ????#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/LPAILe6U7G
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 17, 2018
"It feels like a dream come true. It's something I've been thinking about all my life and it's happening now," McGuirl said of his impact to help K-State advance to play 16th-seeded UMBC on Sunday at 6:45 p.m. CT on truTV. "That was sort of the hope when I was recruited here and I committed to come here. That's something I'm happy to be able to do and hopefully this isn't the end of it."
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