SE: Cats See Potential Going Forward After Hall of Fame Classic
Nov 25, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
This is a better Kansas State men's basketball team than a year ago. And it is a better team than the year before that as well. That became apparent despite two single-digit losses against No. 13 Arkansas (72-64) and No. 14 Illinois (72-64) in the Hall of Fame Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
For the first time in K-State history, the Wildcats faced back-to-back Top 15 opponents in November. In fact, only one other time had K-State faced back-to-back nationally-ranked teams in consecutive games (2010-11) during the month of November. This Hall of Fame Classic proved to be a successful measuring tool for 10th-year head coach Bruce Weber, whose program after a two-year absence from the NCAA Tournament showed ample potential moving forward in the 2021-22 season.
Another promising sign was the distaste by the Wildcats, 2-2, while realizing that they were close against two of the nation's top teams. It could be a foundation for better days ahead.
"I'm not happy," Weber said. "We lost. I think we showed that we can do it, but now can we shore up those little things to take a step. We're not that far off. It's just disappointing. I expected better and I still expect more. Hopefully, we can rise to my level of expectation. I hope they have that desire. Now they have to do that."
K-State supplemented its roster with three Division I transfers in Ismael Massoud (Wake Forest), Markquis Nowell (Arkansas-Little Rock) and Mark Smith (Missouri). The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Nowell had the best outings of the three during his first big-time competition. After scoring 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals against Razorbacks, Nowell came off the bench for a team-high 19 points and a team-high 6 rebounds to go along with 2 assists and 2 steals against the Illini.
"It's a huge difference in intensity and in preparation and the toughness but it's been great and fun to see that jump starting from the bottom where Arkansas Little-Rock is a mid-major and the competition isn't as good as the Big 12 and the tournaments we're playing in," Nowell said. "I love basketball and I love high-end games. It's been a fun adjustment and it's been a good one."
"Our potential is very high," he added. "As long as we stick together and correct our flaws and do what coach asks of us, we're going to be good in the long run. We're not dwelling on two losses because we know adversity is going to strike and we'd rather it be at the beginning of the season than at the end of the season. As long as we keep getting better and progressing our potential can keep rising throughout the season."
After going scoreless against the Razorbacks, Massoud had 13 points, including 3-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers, and added 2 rebounds and 2 steals against the Illini. Smith had 4 points in both games and pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds against Arkansas.
"It's four games and this adversity was good for us playing two Top 25 teams back-to-back like this," Massoud said. "It's something we definitely needed, and we can go back and learn from and try to get better every game. It definitely was a good learning tool for us. Obviously, we wanted to come out and win the championship here, but at the same time, every loss is a lesson, and we just have to learn from it."
Weber understands there is a laundry list of things that the Wildcats must continue to work on such as on-court chemistry, sharing the ball, shot selection, inside production, 3-point defense, and blocking out at the free-throw line. But for all the Wildcats' faults, it becomes apparent that the Wildcats laid a foundation while dealing with their early-season faults against two Top 15 teams.
"The difference in the game is the free-throw block-outs, missing layups, making the extra pass and making the right pass, executing the play — those are things we're going to have to definitely make some progress with," Weber said. "I still think we have a chance to be good. They have to believe it, they have to want it, and they have to have the discipline and toughness to take that step to be a special team.
"It's not over. There's a long way to go. We have to take a big step here the next couple of weeks."
What we also witnessed in the Hall of Fame Classic was the continued production from sophomore Nijel Pack, who was the team's top-returning scorer from a year ago with 12.7 points per game. Pack had 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting while adding 2 assists and 2 steals against Arkansas, and 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting with 4 rebounds and 2 steals against Illinois. Weber's charge is for Pack and Nowell to improve upon their assists. The Wildcats had just 7 assists against Arkansas and 9 against Illinois. However, the Wildcats had just 4 turnovers against Illinois after suffering 15 turnovers against Arkansas.
"We've got to get to the point where we're making plays for each other," Weber said.
The Wildcats now have three games against North Dakota (November 28), Albany (December 1) and at Wichita State (December 5) before a stiff test on December 8 at Bramlage Coliseum against Marquette, which has already beaten Mississippi, Illinois and West Virginia in this early season.
"I still believe we're a good team," Weber said. "I've got to keep them believing that. We've got to take a step and get better in these next couple of games and then after the next two home games and we'll have some tough games coming up. Every game is tough. We've got to make improvement."
This is a better Kansas State men's basketball team than a year ago. And it is a better team than the year before that as well. That became apparent despite two single-digit losses against No. 13 Arkansas (72-64) and No. 14 Illinois (72-64) in the Hall of Fame Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
For the first time in K-State history, the Wildcats faced back-to-back Top 15 opponents in November. In fact, only one other time had K-State faced back-to-back nationally-ranked teams in consecutive games (2010-11) during the month of November. This Hall of Fame Classic proved to be a successful measuring tool for 10th-year head coach Bruce Weber, whose program after a two-year absence from the NCAA Tournament showed ample potential moving forward in the 2021-22 season.
Another promising sign was the distaste by the Wildcats, 2-2, while realizing that they were close against two of the nation's top teams. It could be a foundation for better days ahead.
"I'm not happy," Weber said. "We lost. I think we showed that we can do it, but now can we shore up those little things to take a step. We're not that far off. It's just disappointing. I expected better and I still expect more. Hopefully, we can rise to my level of expectation. I hope they have that desire. Now they have to do that."
K-State supplemented its roster with three Division I transfers in Ismael Massoud (Wake Forest), Markquis Nowell (Arkansas-Little Rock) and Mark Smith (Missouri). The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Nowell had the best outings of the three during his first big-time competition. After scoring 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals against Razorbacks, Nowell came off the bench for a team-high 19 points and a team-high 6 rebounds to go along with 2 assists and 2 steals against the Illini.
"It's a huge difference in intensity and in preparation and the toughness but it's been great and fun to see that jump starting from the bottom where Arkansas Little-Rock is a mid-major and the competition isn't as good as the Big 12 and the tournaments we're playing in," Nowell said. "I love basketball and I love high-end games. It's been a fun adjustment and it's been a good one."
"Our potential is very high," he added. "As long as we stick together and correct our flaws and do what coach asks of us, we're going to be good in the long run. We're not dwelling on two losses because we know adversity is going to strike and we'd rather it be at the beginning of the season than at the end of the season. As long as we keep getting better and progressing our potential can keep rising throughout the season."
After going scoreless against the Razorbacks, Massoud had 13 points, including 3-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers, and added 2 rebounds and 2 steals against the Illini. Smith had 4 points in both games and pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds against Arkansas.
"It's four games and this adversity was good for us playing two Top 25 teams back-to-back like this," Massoud said. "It's something we definitely needed, and we can go back and learn from and try to get better every game. It definitely was a good learning tool for us. Obviously, we wanted to come out and win the championship here, but at the same time, every loss is a lesson, and we just have to learn from it."
Weber understands there is a laundry list of things that the Wildcats must continue to work on such as on-court chemistry, sharing the ball, shot selection, inside production, 3-point defense, and blocking out at the free-throw line. But for all the Wildcats' faults, it becomes apparent that the Wildcats laid a foundation while dealing with their early-season faults against two Top 15 teams.
"The difference in the game is the free-throw block-outs, missing layups, making the extra pass and making the right pass, executing the play — those are things we're going to have to definitely make some progress with," Weber said. "I still think we have a chance to be good. They have to believe it, they have to want it, and they have to have the discipline and toughness to take that step to be a special team.
"It's not over. There's a long way to go. We have to take a big step here the next couple of weeks."
What we also witnessed in the Hall of Fame Classic was the continued production from sophomore Nijel Pack, who was the team's top-returning scorer from a year ago with 12.7 points per game. Pack had 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting while adding 2 assists and 2 steals against Arkansas, and 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting with 4 rebounds and 2 steals against Illinois. Weber's charge is for Pack and Nowell to improve upon their assists. The Wildcats had just 7 assists against Arkansas and 9 against Illinois. However, the Wildcats had just 4 turnovers against Illinois after suffering 15 turnovers against Arkansas.
"We've got to get to the point where we're making plays for each other," Weber said.
The Wildcats now have three games against North Dakota (November 28), Albany (December 1) and at Wichita State (December 5) before a stiff test on December 8 at Bramlage Coliseum against Marquette, which has already beaten Mississippi, Illinois and West Virginia in this early season.
"I still believe we're a good team," Weber said. "I've got to keep them believing that. We've got to take a step and get better in these next couple of games and then after the next two home games and we'll have some tough games coming up. Every game is tough. We've got to make improvement."
Players Mentioned
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