SE: From Fire to Forever — K-State MBB Seniors Look to Add Big 12 Championship to Legacy
Mar 09, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
There's a Chinese proverb that goes, "Out of the hottest fire comes the strongest steel."
Another similar, much longer quote out of a Sherrilyn Kenyon book, reads: "Strength through adversity. The strongest steel is forged by the fires of hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it's plunged back into the molten fire. The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength. Those two things make the metal pliable and able to withstand every battle it's called upon to fight."
What do these have to do with K-State men's basketball's three seniors?
Nothing directly.
But Dean Wade, Barry Brown, Jr., and Kamau Stokes have long described their freshman season as that metaphorical fire. They were thrown into it. They were burned, beaten, sometimes embarrassed. But never broken. Through it, they forged a bond — "a brotherhood," they call it — to leave this program better than they found it.
On Saturday, when K-State tips off against Oklahoma at 5 p.m., the trio that weirdly plays Monopoly together in their spare time will be playing for a Big 12 Championship in their Bramlage Coliseum finale.
The journey here started on Day One together, too.
"We just gelled right away, fed off each other's energy right away," Brown said. "I think that allowed us to grow a bond off the court, which allowed us to be stronger on the court."
"The bond we developed when we first got here, I knew we had a good chance at rebuilding this program," Stokes added. "We got better every year. Fighting for a championship is what we worked hard for these past couple of years. Now, we're here. It's a good feeling."
As freshmen, the three started but were not fully prepared for it. They had their shining moments, like Wade's game-winner at Georgia, and K-State's upset of No. 1-ranked Oklahoma in Bramlage Coliseum. But the falls came frequently. Stokes tore his ACL and missed the last 12 game of the season. That team lost six of eight to end the regular season.
"They thought they were ready," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said of his now-seniors. "I think they found out they weren't ready."
"Being thrown in the fire right away, playing against teams that had seniors that had been playing for a while, it was tough," Stokes added. "Not making the tournament was tough. But we made a progression every year."
As sophomores, they took a step forward and made the NCAA Tournament. K-State was the last at-large team selected and won a First Four game against Wake Forest.
Their junior year became a paradox. The worse things got, the better the Wildcats seemed to play. K-State lost Stokes and Wade both to severe foot injuries for portions of the season. Neither were anywhere close to fully healthy when the team reached the NCAA Tournament. Still, the Wildcats finished in the Elite Eight, knocking off Kentucky for the first time in school history to get there.
Progress, for these three, was never an option. It was their mission. Together, they felt it was inevitable.
"A lot of it has to do with our experiences through the whole thing. We've been together, literally, since Day One. We stayed together. We've been through a lot of rough times and a lot of great times, but we've always stuck together, not gotten away from the plan, always just worked hard," Wade said of the senior class. "I think a lot of it has to do with the hard work and the desire to get better every day and not let each other down. I think that's really what differentiates us from other people. We don't want to let each other down. We have a love for each other. We've grown really close to each other.
"It's more of a brotherhood than anything. I think us playing for each other instead of ourselves helps us become better people and basketball players."
As seniors, their Elite Eight run earned them more outside respect. The Wildcats were tabbed to finish second in the Big 12 and ranked in the top 15 to start the season.
Then, they lost Wade, the conference's preseason player of the year, to another foot injury. Then, Stokes became limited by an injury. Eventually, K-State lost its Top 25 ranking. The Wildcats lost their first two Big 12 games. A third straight conference loss seemed inevitable when K-State stared down a 21-point second half deficit against West Virginia.
Then, Brown and Co. led a school-record comeback. Then, K-State won nine conference games in a row. Then, another four of five. Now, they stand one win away from history.
"It means a lot, especially with what we did as freshmen, where we were and how we finished as freshmen," Wade said. "We continued to get better every year. To finally be at the top of the Big 12 and fighting for a championship at the last game of the season, it means a lot. We've worked really hard for this."
Their stats are a byproduct of this hard work.
Collectively, the three seniors have scored 4,419 points. It ranks fourth in Big 12 history among senior trios and is the top mark among active trios in Power Conferences.
Individually, their names litter the program's record book.
Brown broke the Jacob Pullen's school record for steals and Steve Henson's mark for consecutive games played. On Saturday, he will become the sole leader for games played to break a tie with Rodney McGruder and Pullen. He's also fifth in career scoring.
Stokes ranks third in career 3-point field goals made and career assists, joining Henson and Pullen as the only other Wildcats to rank in the top five of both. His 127 steals are the seventh-most in K-State history.
Wade, second in all-time starts (122), ranks 10th in career points and eighth in career rebounds. Only Bob Boozer and McGruder sit in the top 10 of both categories with Wade.
Weber said his seniors possess intangible traits he wants his program to carry on. Namely, they care, they're coachable, they're driven, and carry themselves well wherever they are.
"Act the right way, treat people the right way and play the game the right way, and K-State fans will really appreciate it and you'll probably leave some kind of legacy here. It's simple and short but it's life, too," he said. "There's no doubt they have been the leaders that have done that, that have showed the example for everybody else."
From the beginning, Weber said all three shared a fire to do more than some people thought they could. They were going to burn their own path, regardless of what stood in their way.
"Barry had a chip on his shoulder. He wasn't recruited as highly as a lot of the kids in that Florida area, and he thought he should have been. He had something to prove. There's a saying we've used to last few years, each day you have to come with a chip on your shoulder, something to prove, or you'll never improve. He's done that," Weber said. "Kam was a little guy. He was recruited by mid-majors and he thought he should have a chance to play at a higher level, so he had that same determination. And even Dean, he had a little more height, but he was still the small-town Kansas kid.
"All of them had that same drive and determination to prove people wrong."
Last summer, the three seniors made a list of feats they have never accomplished. This season, they have crossed off just about every one of them. They won a tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They beat Kansas. They won at Oklahoma. They won at West Virginia.
On Saturday, they can cross off another item: Win a Big 12 Championship.
"It's a special group," Weber said. "I hope people really embrace them and appreciate what they've done and what they're about."
There's a Chinese proverb that goes, "Out of the hottest fire comes the strongest steel."
Another similar, much longer quote out of a Sherrilyn Kenyon book, reads: "Strength through adversity. The strongest steel is forged by the fires of hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it's plunged back into the molten fire. The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength. Those two things make the metal pliable and able to withstand every battle it's called upon to fight."
What do these have to do with K-State men's basketball's three seniors?
Nothing directly.
But Dean Wade, Barry Brown, Jr., and Kamau Stokes have long described their freshman season as that metaphorical fire. They were thrown into it. They were burned, beaten, sometimes embarrassed. But never broken. Through it, they forged a bond — "a brotherhood," they call it — to leave this program better than they found it.
On Saturday, when K-State tips off against Oklahoma at 5 p.m., the trio that weirdly plays Monopoly together in their spare time will be playing for a Big 12 Championship in their Bramlage Coliseum finale.
The journey here started on Day One together, too.
"We just gelled right away, fed off each other's energy right away," Brown said. "I think that allowed us to grow a bond off the court, which allowed us to be stronger on the court."
"The bond we developed when we first got here, I knew we had a good chance at rebuilding this program," Stokes added. "We got better every year. Fighting for a championship is what we worked hard for these past couple of years. Now, we're here. It's a good feeling."
As freshmen, the three started but were not fully prepared for it. They had their shining moments, like Wade's game-winner at Georgia, and K-State's upset of No. 1-ranked Oklahoma in Bramlage Coliseum. But the falls came frequently. Stokes tore his ACL and missed the last 12 game of the season. That team lost six of eight to end the regular season.
"They thought they were ready," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said of his now-seniors. "I think they found out they weren't ready."
"Being thrown in the fire right away, playing against teams that had seniors that had been playing for a while, it was tough," Stokes added. "Not making the tournament was tough. But we made a progression every year."
As sophomores, they took a step forward and made the NCAA Tournament. K-State was the last at-large team selected and won a First Four game against Wake Forest.
Their junior year became a paradox. The worse things got, the better the Wildcats seemed to play. K-State lost Stokes and Wade both to severe foot injuries for portions of the season. Neither were anywhere close to fully healthy when the team reached the NCAA Tournament. Still, the Wildcats finished in the Elite Eight, knocking off Kentucky for the first time in school history to get there.
Progress, for these three, was never an option. It was their mission. Together, they felt it was inevitable.
"A lot of it has to do with our experiences through the whole thing. We've been together, literally, since Day One. We stayed together. We've been through a lot of rough times and a lot of great times, but we've always stuck together, not gotten away from the plan, always just worked hard," Wade said of the senior class. "I think a lot of it has to do with the hard work and the desire to get better every day and not let each other down. I think that's really what differentiates us from other people. We don't want to let each other down. We have a love for each other. We've grown really close to each other.
"It's more of a brotherhood than anything. I think us playing for each other instead of ourselves helps us become better people and basketball players."
As seniors, their Elite Eight run earned them more outside respect. The Wildcats were tabbed to finish second in the Big 12 and ranked in the top 15 to start the season.
Then, they lost Wade, the conference's preseason player of the year, to another foot injury. Then, Stokes became limited by an injury. Eventually, K-State lost its Top 25 ranking. The Wildcats lost their first two Big 12 games. A third straight conference loss seemed inevitable when K-State stared down a 21-point second half deficit against West Virginia.
Then, Brown and Co. led a school-record comeback. Then, K-State won nine conference games in a row. Then, another four of five. Now, they stand one win away from history.
"It means a lot, especially with what we did as freshmen, where we were and how we finished as freshmen," Wade said. "We continued to get better every year. To finally be at the top of the Big 12 and fighting for a championship at the last game of the season, it means a lot. We've worked really hard for this."
Their stats are a byproduct of this hard work.
Collectively, the three seniors have scored 4,419 points. It ranks fourth in Big 12 history among senior trios and is the top mark among active trios in Power Conferences.
Individually, their names litter the program's record book.
Brown broke the Jacob Pullen's school record for steals and Steve Henson's mark for consecutive games played. On Saturday, he will become the sole leader for games played to break a tie with Rodney McGruder and Pullen. He's also fifth in career scoring.
Stokes ranks third in career 3-point field goals made and career assists, joining Henson and Pullen as the only other Wildcats to rank in the top five of both. His 127 steals are the seventh-most in K-State history.
Wade, second in all-time starts (122), ranks 10th in career points and eighth in career rebounds. Only Bob Boozer and McGruder sit in the top 10 of both categories with Wade.
Weber said his seniors possess intangible traits he wants his program to carry on. Namely, they care, they're coachable, they're driven, and carry themselves well wherever they are.
"Act the right way, treat people the right way and play the game the right way, and K-State fans will really appreciate it and you'll probably leave some kind of legacy here. It's simple and short but it's life, too," he said. "There's no doubt they have been the leaders that have done that, that have showed the example for everybody else."
From the beginning, Weber said all three shared a fire to do more than some people thought they could. They were going to burn their own path, regardless of what stood in their way.
"Barry had a chip on his shoulder. He wasn't recruited as highly as a lot of the kids in that Florida area, and he thought he should have been. He had something to prove. There's a saying we've used to last few years, each day you have to come with a chip on your shoulder, something to prove, or you'll never improve. He's done that," Weber said. "Kam was a little guy. He was recruited by mid-majors and he thought he should have a chance to play at a higher level, so he had that same determination. And even Dean, he had a little more height, but he was still the small-town Kansas kid.
"All of them had that same drive and determination to prove people wrong."
Last summer, the three seniors made a list of feats they have never accomplished. This season, they have crossed off just about every one of them. They won a tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They beat Kansas. They won at Oklahoma. They won at West Virginia.
On Saturday, they can cross off another item: Win a Big 12 Championship.
"It's a special group," Weber said. "I hope people really embrace them and appreciate what they've done and what they're about."
Players Mentioned
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