SE: K-State MBB Focused on Maintaining Championship DNA through ‘Culture of Effort’
Sep 30, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Bruce Weber's tried to get his team to understand a little bit of biology this offseason, but in a more figurative sense.
"We've talked about a championship DNA," Weber, entering his eighth season as K-State's head coach, said last Thursday in his team's first week of practice.
The inspiration for this message came from what Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said after K-State beat the Red Raiders in Bramlage Coliseum en route to, eventually, sharing the Big 12 Championship.
"This is a team that's got championship DNA in them," Beard said.
Nine months later, Weber's continued to remind his nine returners that DNA does change. It replicates. It may produce something that looks different, as K-State's roster will this season after losing a class of seniors like Barry Brown, Jr., Dean Wade and Kamau Stokes, but its core stays the same.
"DNA is supposed to be self-replacing," Weber said. "So, if that's true, we'll continue to replace it within ourselves, and it might not be the same pretty masterpiece, but we still can be successful."
This offseason, the Wildcats defined that DNA. They put their definition on a shirt as a reminder. It reads: Culture of Effort. All the recent success the program has experienced, highlighted by its second Big 12 title under Weber that followed an Elite Eight run in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, flows from that motto.
"(Strength coach) Ben (O'Donnell) likes to say it. It kind of started out with us in the weight room, of every day just bringing effort. That's one thing you can work on," senior Xavier Sneed said. "No matter what's going on, you can bring 110 percent effort, and that's what everybody does here."
"That's what our culture is, being the toughest team, the hardest working team," junior Mike McGuirl added. "We do things that aren't fun. They don't really translate directly to basketball skills, but it teaches you toughness, it teaches you how to work hard, how to push through pain and fatigue. That's what we're about. That's what we've always been about, and that's what (the younger players) are learning."
Personally, McGuirl said it was easy to see how this culture creates success in one specific area during his freshman season. As a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament without Wade, K-State topped Creighton, UMBC and Kentucky.
"We didn't get to where we were because of having more talent than other teams and being cooler, making the flashier plays. We got there because of toughness," he said. "It was defense from the get-go. That's what got us to the tournament my freshman year, and that's what made us advance in the tournament. Defense is toughness. It's discipline. It's being strong. It's being mentally tough enough to last the whole 30 seconds of the shot clock."
K-State held opponents to 59.5 points per game in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the fifth-best mark in the 68-team field. It carried over to last season, which the Wildcats ended ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense.
With proven stoppers like McGuirl, Sneed and redshirt junior Cartier Diarra, alongside an elite defensive forward in senior Makol Mawien, the expectation is to lean on defense again this season. Weber said the veterans must help the four newcomers get up to speed on that side of the floor, however.
Sneed and McGuirl both said they've taken this responsibility seriously.
"I'm trying to get them on the court as much as possible," Sneed said of K-State's newcomers, including three Top 200 high school players in DaJuan Gordon, Antonio Gordon and Montavious Murphy, along with NJCAA All-American point guard David Sloan. "I know defense is key for us. I'm just giving them an extra perspective being on court, knowing some of the things that we do and how to help them out and adjust to our defense."
"It's time for me to help everybody else on the team," McGuirl added. "It's time to show them the ropes, show them what made us successful in the past and continuing that on."
Bruce Weber's tried to get his team to understand a little bit of biology this offseason, but in a more figurative sense.
"We've talked about a championship DNA," Weber, entering his eighth season as K-State's head coach, said last Thursday in his team's first week of practice.
The inspiration for this message came from what Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said after K-State beat the Red Raiders in Bramlage Coliseum en route to, eventually, sharing the Big 12 Championship.
"This is a team that's got championship DNA in them," Beard said.
Success is the sum of small efforts, day in and day out. #KStateMBB #PursuitOfBetter pic.twitter.com/kZ5PpAIKjA
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) January 23, 2019
Nine months later, Weber's continued to remind his nine returners that DNA does change. It replicates. It may produce something that looks different, as K-State's roster will this season after losing a class of seniors like Barry Brown, Jr., Dean Wade and Kamau Stokes, but its core stays the same.
"DNA is supposed to be self-replacing," Weber said. "So, if that's true, we'll continue to replace it within ourselves, and it might not be the same pretty masterpiece, but we still can be successful."
This offseason, the Wildcats defined that DNA. They put their definition on a shirt as a reminder. It reads: Culture of Effort. All the recent success the program has experienced, highlighted by its second Big 12 title under Weber that followed an Elite Eight run in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, flows from that motto.
"(Strength coach) Ben (O'Donnell) likes to say it. It kind of started out with us in the weight room, of every day just bringing effort. That's one thing you can work on," senior Xavier Sneed said. "No matter what's going on, you can bring 110 percent effort, and that's what everybody does here."
"That's what our culture is, being the toughest team, the hardest working team," junior Mike McGuirl added. "We do things that aren't fun. They don't really translate directly to basketball skills, but it teaches you toughness, it teaches you how to work hard, how to push through pain and fatigue. That's what we're about. That's what we've always been about, and that's what (the younger players) are learning."
Personally, McGuirl said it was easy to see how this culture creates success in one specific area during his freshman season. As a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament without Wade, K-State topped Creighton, UMBC and Kentucky.
"We didn't get to where we were because of having more talent than other teams and being cooler, making the flashier plays. We got there because of toughness," he said. "It was defense from the get-go. That's what got us to the tournament my freshman year, and that's what made us advance in the tournament. Defense is toughness. It's discipline. It's being strong. It's being mentally tough enough to last the whole 30 seconds of the shot clock."
K-State held opponents to 59.5 points per game in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the fifth-best mark in the 68-team field. It carried over to last season, which the Wildcats ended ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense.
With proven stoppers like McGuirl, Sneed and redshirt junior Cartier Diarra, alongside an elite defensive forward in senior Makol Mawien, the expectation is to lean on defense again this season. Weber said the veterans must help the four newcomers get up to speed on that side of the floor, however.
30 Days. #KStateMBB #CultureOfEffort pic.twitter.com/qXn0ejY45l
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) September 26, 2019
Sneed and McGuirl both said they've taken this responsibility seriously.
"I'm trying to get them on the court as much as possible," Sneed said of K-State's newcomers, including three Top 200 high school players in DaJuan Gordon, Antonio Gordon and Montavious Murphy, along with NJCAA All-American point guard David Sloan. "I know defense is key for us. I'm just giving them an extra perspective being on court, knowing some of the things that we do and how to help them out and adjust to our defense."
"It's time for me to help everybody else on the team," McGuirl added. "It's time to show them the ropes, show them what made us successful in the past and continuing that on."
Culture Of Effort #KStateMBB #EMAW pic.twitter.com/dlk2UyPFfk
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) September 26, 2019
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