Head Coach Bruce Weber, Mike McGuirl Preview Saturday’s Game with Iowa State
Mar 05, 2021 | Men's Basketball
The Wildcats conclude the regular season on Saturday at 4 p.m., against the Cyclones
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State head coach Bruce Weber and senior Mike McGuirl met with members of the media via Zoom on Friday morning, as the Wildcats conclude the regular season with a home game against Iowa State (2-20, 0-17 Big 12) at 4 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum. The game will air nationally on Big 12 Now.
K-State (7-19, 3-14 Big 12) is attempting to finish the regular season on a high note after snapping a 13-game losing streak with 62-54 win at TCU on February 20 and winning 2 of its last 3 games to end the month of February. The Wildcats are also attempting to earn a sweep of the season series from the Cyclones for the first time since 2017-18 after posting a 74-65 win at Hilton Coliseum in the Big 12 opener way back on December 15.
The Wildcats has had the week off since seeing its modest 2-game winning streak end in a 65-43 loss at No. 10/13 West Virginia on February 27. The Mountaineers used a strong second half to break open a tight contest, scoring 39 of their 65 points after halftime on 50 percent shooting, including 66.7 percent inside the arc.
K-State hopes to have freshman point guard Nijel Pack back in the lineup after he missed the 65-43 loss at No. 10/13 West Virginia on February 27. The Wildcats are 0-5 this season without him in the lineup, averaging just 52.2 points on 36.7 percent shooting, including 23.9 percent from 3-point range.
Iowa State saw its losing streak hit 16 games after an 81-54 loss at No. 18/17 Texas Tech on Thursday night.
HEAD COACH BRUCE WEBER
On the improvements facing the Big 12 schedule...
"There's no doubt that we've improved. I'm happy it finally resulted in wins here this last couple of weeks. We're way better than we were in November, December, January and even early February. Each day, they've made strides. You gotta give our guys some credit for staying the course, listening and wanting to be coached. There's no doubt that the league makes it really tough. It's not very forgiving. You've got not only great teams, great players, great coaches and lots of different styles. Every game is a new challenge. They've learned. You've gotta attack teams differently. You've always gotta be ready. They've made improvement. There's no doubt about it. I hope it continues down this last stretch of the season. All year long I've talked about hope. I've talked about staying positive. Now, you preach that stuff and you hope it has some positive results in the end."
On Mike McGuirl…
"He's a special young man. He's going to graduate in the school of business. He's very driven and wants to do well. He's been a part of an Elite 8 and a Big 12 Championship, but this is a different role. He's had to change his role. He's embraced that. It hasn't been easy for him either. He's been in the office as much as anyone maybe other than Barry Brown, who was in there everyday. I'd say with Mike, three, four or five days a week he's in the office. Sundays, he's in the office. He's been a great example. I like what you said about calmness. Even though there are times during the game where he can't play in a panic state because he's not going to go and hit a grand slam when we don't have anybody on base. I think he's learned to play as he's improved through the season. He's learned to play at a better pace and at a better calmness, which has hopefully helped him and helped the team."
On going for their fourth Big 12 win…
"I'm not sure if it's huge progress. We just want to win because we've improved during the year and gives our guys a good feeling. What do you say to the fans? The guys have stayed the course. They've continued to work hard and believe and improve, and now it's finally given them some wins. You want a good feeling going into the offseason. That's the most important thing. One, the guys' mindsets and how they feel about it. We preach the stuff, and now you have results. Now the trust factor is better. Hopefully that will have a positive impact as we move forward."
On preparations without a midweek game…
"Do we grind it out and wear them down, or do we keep fresh? We had to stay positive with them. It's hard to practice late in the year, especially for more than two days in a row. We spread it out. We were off Sunday. Monday, it was a lot of individual stuff, individual shooting, weights and video. Tuesday a good practice. Wednesday, just shooting, cold tubs and relaxing. Then we had a really spirited practice with 10 guys because Nijel was back and we could go a little bit 5-on-5 which always helps and eases the burden on our coaches. Today's prep, getting ready for them. We did some prep, spaced it out a little bit. Today, hopefully spirited, sharp and quick. Come out with great energy tomorrow. With them, they've played three games since we finished the West Virginia game. You saw Kansas last night. I thought Bill made a great decision to play the game, but while they were playing he was probably agonizing over it. You need to keep your game rhythm, because if you don't, it can go very fast."
On the TCU game last year and the past year…
"There's no doubt. More than anything, the unknown. We've all gone through it. Scary a little bit, because we didn't know. You were worried about the players. You were worried about the virus. We didn't know anything about it. We thought they were going to have fans the first day. We were going to continue with no fans. I remember after the game feeling pretty good. We ate, watched film and did a brief scouting report. I went back to the room at 2 AM, and they had the stuff on tv about the NBA guys testing positive. I called a couple of our coaches and said, 'I doubt if we play tomorrow'. We had breakfast. We had scouting report. I got text messages from Casey Scott and Gene Taylor that said they had to meet. I knew right there that we were probably going to be in trouble. I just remember going home and trying to comfort the guys. We'll get you home. It's just been eerie. It seems like just yesterday, but it's been a year. A lot of emotion and a lot of different thoughts. I never thought we'd make it through a whole season, to be honest. If we get through tomorrow, obviously we've played all our games until you get to the tournament which was one of the goals to get through the season and get to the NCAA Tournament. It was an important goal, and athletic departments staying financially stable. We've been able to do that."
On being positive with the team…
"I was happy the Big 12 scheduled the game. If you play Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, it didn't matter. We had a whole week, I hope it helps us. Just making the guys feel like they've accomplished something. I talked to DaJuan last night and said, 'We've made it through it. You've gotta smile'. He said, 'Losing is hard'. We've made improvements. We've all gotten experience. Make the most of the opportunities. That's what we've been preaching. I hope we come out and play our butts off tomorrow, play good basketball and feel good about going into the TCU game in Kansas City."
On being back in Kansas City playing TCU…
"It's weird, to be honest. It was weird going through it last year. As I said, the unknowns. We know more now, but I don't think we're out of it. We have our head above water, but we've gotta get out of the water. It's still going to be a little ways. We'll hopefully get through the NCAA Tournament, which is important for the NCAA. It's important for college basketball. It's important for a lot of reasons, so I hope that happens."
On the 2021 scholarships…
"It's going to be interesting. Even though they haven't changed the rule, 90-some percent of the kids got wavers and were eligible. It's not going to be like it used to be where you have kids for four years and they stay the course and work their way into it. It's a little sad, because I think so many people forget why they're going to college. One, to get a degree. Two, if you have the opportunity to play basketball and maybe make some money. The lifetime experiences, the relationships, getting a college degree and a chance to be successful in life. I think we forget about that. It breaks my heart. I deal with these guys everyday, and I deal with the former guys. I deal with them not having purpose or direction and trying to help them. I have guys from Purdue, SIU, Illinois and K-State that I'm trying to help. The more we see these kids transfer, who's going to help them? That makes me sad, because that's why I got into the business, to help young men grow and learn and get college degrees. My degree gave me a chance to do things I never dreamed of. I came from a family of five. We didn't have much. If we went on vacation, it was all seven of us and a dog in a car and we all stayed in one room. Because of my degree and basketball and my parents' drive and their dreams, I've been able to do some unbelievable things. I've been in 35 or 36 different countries. I've been in every state except one. I've hopefully helped people. It's a bad direction, but it is what it is. Now we gotta deal with what comes in front of us and do our best to help those guys grow and learn and hopefully they'll figure it out."
On the transfer portal…
"I don't think there's any doubt if we need something to move forward. We have a good core nucleus. If the opportunity is out there to get another experienced, older guy to help us, but it's gotta be the right person. It would help us, no doubt. You've gotta give Lon credit. I always talk about Scott (Drew) and Chris (Beard), Gibson and Harkless have been very valuable members for them and helped give them a chance. Huggins has been able to keep their nucleus. Ironically, one of their better players leaves and they almost seemed to get better. It's something you definitely have to consider. Coach Keady, my old boss who lasted a long time in the business, you want to stay in our business, you better be flexible. If you think of Coach Keady, you would not think of the word flexible, but he really was. He adjusted to the kids, the times. Basketball changes, and he adjusted to that. I learned a lot from him. It doesn't mean that you give in on your principles or beliefs, but life changes. The world changes and basketball changes. Flexible is something you definitely have to be."
On learning from the past year…
"The thing I've learned is about patience. That's not always easy as a coach or person. We all need each other. That's the other thing. We all need to help each other. We have some turmoil, and we need to be there for each other. We need to help each other. That's what I've always said my job is, to help the players. I hope I've helped them. I hope I've helped them grow and learn. Tough times, but it's going to help them in the long haul of life. It's been tough on our fans, but we've provided some entertainment. They have to go through the ups and downs of that. Patience and hope and the need for love for everybody are the things I've learned. I've always believed in them, and it's always been part of my life. Right now, it's headlines and it should be that we've gotta be there for each other and gotta help. Hopefully we can get through these tough times and sometimes in the near future we can go back to a little bit of normal. I hope it doesn't totally go back to normal and we become fat and sassy again. Sometimes we all need to take a deep breath, be humbled a little bit, love life, enjoy life and enjoy everyday. I've lost friends. I've long acquaintances. I keep telling the players, you get to play college basketball. High school kids didn't get to play. Some colleges didn't get to play. You're getting to do all this stuff, so appreciate it, enjoy it and make the most of the opportunity."
On not overlooking Iowa State…
"They got beat pretty badly last night, but they were kind of right there. I kept updating Wyatt with the score on my phone. All of a sudden, it went from 10 to 30. Kind of like us, the season takes a toll. They are a better team. A week ago, they were beating Baylor at Baylor deep into the second half. They played TCU without Bolton the whole second half down to the wire. They got down big against Texas, came back and made it a game. They've been in every game. We showed the guys the scores. We told them if they don't come to play, it could be a sad day. Again, I hope our guys feel good about themselves. I hope they're ready to go. We gotta defend, and that's going to be really important."
SENIOR GUARD MIKE MCGUIRL
On thinking back to last year in the Big 12 Tournament...
"The win stands out. It was a lot of fun last year to get that win. We were feeling good about ourselves after a long, rough season similar to this one. A lot happened very fast after that game and ever since then, everything has been different. Now we're going to play them again in the same tournament, even though things have changed since then."
On when the team learned the season was over last year…
"The following morning, we had our scout meeting. I remember during the game, somebody came up to me at halftime and said that Rudy Gobert has COVID and the NBA is shut down. We finished our game, but you just figured it wasn't going to last much longer."
On finishing the season strong…
"It's very important to me. All our work has led up to this point. All the trials and tribulations, the learning and losses we took. We've been through a lot this year as a team and went through a lot of rough patches. It's all led up to this point, so now all we can do is try to finish the right way."
On his approach to leading a young team…
"It's been just trying to enjoy them and help them as many ways as I can on and off the court. This isn't a usual freshman and sophomore experience with the way this year has gone. This hasn't been normal. They've done such a great job of staying positive and focusing on basketball and really improving and getting better everyday. I'm very happy for them and happy for what they've been able to endure."
On what he enjoys about being a veteran on the team…
"It doesn't come down to me being older, just me being a part of it. We've got a lot of special, young players on this team. They're growing into the great basketball players they can be. Honestly, it's just fun to watch and be a part of. I really love this group, because they work very hard and want to get better."
On the importance of Nijel Pack…
"There's no doubt that he's a special young talent with a bunch of ability. He's probably the best shot maker that I've ever played with, just pure skill and shooting. No offense to anybody else, but he's growing. He doesn't get tired. He doesn't run out of energy. He comes everyday to get better and work hard. Being around him, you would think he would get tired. He comes everyday to get better, always has a smile on his face, ready to play and ready to work."
On what Nijel Pack is like off the court…
"He seems quiet at times, but he's a little goofball. He likes to play around. He's got a bunch of nice shoes and a nice car that he likes to drive. He's all into cars. He's a really nice kid. There's a lot you can say about him."
On the OU win and finishing at home with a win…
"It was great. It was special getting that win. It felt really good for everybody. It brought joy to a bunch of us and to the fans, people that hadn't felt that way in a while. Now it's just trying to continue that, even though we're coming off a loss. We're trying to get back in the right direction, so it's very important to get this win tomorrow."
On staying focused against Iowa State…
"Help them in the ways I know. I've seen it before. You're not going to be the same team in December that you are in March. That's just college basketball. It's going to start with a great practice today, a great practice with a lot of focus. This is Coach Henderson's scout. He's been doing a great job with these scouts. Just lock in on the game plan, have a good practice with energy. Go out tomorrow and see what we can do."
On the opportunity in the Big 12 Tournament…
"It's going to be similar to last year in the run that it would take. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's always fun going down to Kansas City, even though this year will be different with the atmosphere. It's going to be a lot of fun regardless. Can't wait, but first we have to finish this business tomorrow."
On whether he'll come back next season…
"To be honest, I don't even know yet. I can't explain it, because I just don't know. That's how I truly feel. It's been a long four years that I've enjoyed. It's been a journey, and I love it here. With the way the world is, you have to look at it in a bunch of different perspectives. Right now, I'm just going to finish this season and end it the right way. Then I'll talk to my loved ones, talk to my family and see what their opinions are. Move forward from there."
K-State (7-19, 3-14 Big 12) is attempting to finish the regular season on a high note after snapping a 13-game losing streak with 62-54 win at TCU on February 20 and winning 2 of its last 3 games to end the month of February. The Wildcats are also attempting to earn a sweep of the season series from the Cyclones for the first time since 2017-18 after posting a 74-65 win at Hilton Coliseum in the Big 12 opener way back on December 15.
The Wildcats has had the week off since seeing its modest 2-game winning streak end in a 65-43 loss at No. 10/13 West Virginia on February 27. The Mountaineers used a strong second half to break open a tight contest, scoring 39 of their 65 points after halftime on 50 percent shooting, including 66.7 percent inside the arc.
K-State hopes to have freshman point guard Nijel Pack back in the lineup after he missed the 65-43 loss at No. 10/13 West Virginia on February 27. The Wildcats are 0-5 this season without him in the lineup, averaging just 52.2 points on 36.7 percent shooting, including 23.9 percent from 3-point range.
Iowa State saw its losing streak hit 16 games after an 81-54 loss at No. 18/17 Texas Tech on Thursday night.
HEAD COACH BRUCE WEBER
On the improvements facing the Big 12 schedule...
"There's no doubt that we've improved. I'm happy it finally resulted in wins here this last couple of weeks. We're way better than we were in November, December, January and even early February. Each day, they've made strides. You gotta give our guys some credit for staying the course, listening and wanting to be coached. There's no doubt that the league makes it really tough. It's not very forgiving. You've got not only great teams, great players, great coaches and lots of different styles. Every game is a new challenge. They've learned. You've gotta attack teams differently. You've always gotta be ready. They've made improvement. There's no doubt about it. I hope it continues down this last stretch of the season. All year long I've talked about hope. I've talked about staying positive. Now, you preach that stuff and you hope it has some positive results in the end."
On Mike McGuirl…
"He's a special young man. He's going to graduate in the school of business. He's very driven and wants to do well. He's been a part of an Elite 8 and a Big 12 Championship, but this is a different role. He's had to change his role. He's embraced that. It hasn't been easy for him either. He's been in the office as much as anyone maybe other than Barry Brown, who was in there everyday. I'd say with Mike, three, four or five days a week he's in the office. Sundays, he's in the office. He's been a great example. I like what you said about calmness. Even though there are times during the game where he can't play in a panic state because he's not going to go and hit a grand slam when we don't have anybody on base. I think he's learned to play as he's improved through the season. He's learned to play at a better pace and at a better calmness, which has hopefully helped him and helped the team."
On going for their fourth Big 12 win…
"I'm not sure if it's huge progress. We just want to win because we've improved during the year and gives our guys a good feeling. What do you say to the fans? The guys have stayed the course. They've continued to work hard and believe and improve, and now it's finally given them some wins. You want a good feeling going into the offseason. That's the most important thing. One, the guys' mindsets and how they feel about it. We preach the stuff, and now you have results. Now the trust factor is better. Hopefully that will have a positive impact as we move forward."
On preparations without a midweek game…
"Do we grind it out and wear them down, or do we keep fresh? We had to stay positive with them. It's hard to practice late in the year, especially for more than two days in a row. We spread it out. We were off Sunday. Monday, it was a lot of individual stuff, individual shooting, weights and video. Tuesday a good practice. Wednesday, just shooting, cold tubs and relaxing. Then we had a really spirited practice with 10 guys because Nijel was back and we could go a little bit 5-on-5 which always helps and eases the burden on our coaches. Today's prep, getting ready for them. We did some prep, spaced it out a little bit. Today, hopefully spirited, sharp and quick. Come out with great energy tomorrow. With them, they've played three games since we finished the West Virginia game. You saw Kansas last night. I thought Bill made a great decision to play the game, but while they were playing he was probably agonizing over it. You need to keep your game rhythm, because if you don't, it can go very fast."
On the TCU game last year and the past year…
"There's no doubt. More than anything, the unknown. We've all gone through it. Scary a little bit, because we didn't know. You were worried about the players. You were worried about the virus. We didn't know anything about it. We thought they were going to have fans the first day. We were going to continue with no fans. I remember after the game feeling pretty good. We ate, watched film and did a brief scouting report. I went back to the room at 2 AM, and they had the stuff on tv about the NBA guys testing positive. I called a couple of our coaches and said, 'I doubt if we play tomorrow'. We had breakfast. We had scouting report. I got text messages from Casey Scott and Gene Taylor that said they had to meet. I knew right there that we were probably going to be in trouble. I just remember going home and trying to comfort the guys. We'll get you home. It's just been eerie. It seems like just yesterday, but it's been a year. A lot of emotion and a lot of different thoughts. I never thought we'd make it through a whole season, to be honest. If we get through tomorrow, obviously we've played all our games until you get to the tournament which was one of the goals to get through the season and get to the NCAA Tournament. It was an important goal, and athletic departments staying financially stable. We've been able to do that."
On being positive with the team…
"I was happy the Big 12 scheduled the game. If you play Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday, it didn't matter. We had a whole week, I hope it helps us. Just making the guys feel like they've accomplished something. I talked to DaJuan last night and said, 'We've made it through it. You've gotta smile'. He said, 'Losing is hard'. We've made improvements. We've all gotten experience. Make the most of the opportunities. That's what we've been preaching. I hope we come out and play our butts off tomorrow, play good basketball and feel good about going into the TCU game in Kansas City."
On being back in Kansas City playing TCU…
"It's weird, to be honest. It was weird going through it last year. As I said, the unknowns. We know more now, but I don't think we're out of it. We have our head above water, but we've gotta get out of the water. It's still going to be a little ways. We'll hopefully get through the NCAA Tournament, which is important for the NCAA. It's important for college basketball. It's important for a lot of reasons, so I hope that happens."
On the 2021 scholarships…
"It's going to be interesting. Even though they haven't changed the rule, 90-some percent of the kids got wavers and were eligible. It's not going to be like it used to be where you have kids for four years and they stay the course and work their way into it. It's a little sad, because I think so many people forget why they're going to college. One, to get a degree. Two, if you have the opportunity to play basketball and maybe make some money. The lifetime experiences, the relationships, getting a college degree and a chance to be successful in life. I think we forget about that. It breaks my heart. I deal with these guys everyday, and I deal with the former guys. I deal with them not having purpose or direction and trying to help them. I have guys from Purdue, SIU, Illinois and K-State that I'm trying to help. The more we see these kids transfer, who's going to help them? That makes me sad, because that's why I got into the business, to help young men grow and learn and get college degrees. My degree gave me a chance to do things I never dreamed of. I came from a family of five. We didn't have much. If we went on vacation, it was all seven of us and a dog in a car and we all stayed in one room. Because of my degree and basketball and my parents' drive and their dreams, I've been able to do some unbelievable things. I've been in 35 or 36 different countries. I've been in every state except one. I've hopefully helped people. It's a bad direction, but it is what it is. Now we gotta deal with what comes in front of us and do our best to help those guys grow and learn and hopefully they'll figure it out."
On the transfer portal…
"I don't think there's any doubt if we need something to move forward. We have a good core nucleus. If the opportunity is out there to get another experienced, older guy to help us, but it's gotta be the right person. It would help us, no doubt. You've gotta give Lon credit. I always talk about Scott (Drew) and Chris (Beard), Gibson and Harkless have been very valuable members for them and helped give them a chance. Huggins has been able to keep their nucleus. Ironically, one of their better players leaves and they almost seemed to get better. It's something you definitely have to consider. Coach Keady, my old boss who lasted a long time in the business, you want to stay in our business, you better be flexible. If you think of Coach Keady, you would not think of the word flexible, but he really was. He adjusted to the kids, the times. Basketball changes, and he adjusted to that. I learned a lot from him. It doesn't mean that you give in on your principles or beliefs, but life changes. The world changes and basketball changes. Flexible is something you definitely have to be."
On learning from the past year…
"The thing I've learned is about patience. That's not always easy as a coach or person. We all need each other. That's the other thing. We all need to help each other. We have some turmoil, and we need to be there for each other. We need to help each other. That's what I've always said my job is, to help the players. I hope I've helped them. I hope I've helped them grow and learn. Tough times, but it's going to help them in the long haul of life. It's been tough on our fans, but we've provided some entertainment. They have to go through the ups and downs of that. Patience and hope and the need for love for everybody are the things I've learned. I've always believed in them, and it's always been part of my life. Right now, it's headlines and it should be that we've gotta be there for each other and gotta help. Hopefully we can get through these tough times and sometimes in the near future we can go back to a little bit of normal. I hope it doesn't totally go back to normal and we become fat and sassy again. Sometimes we all need to take a deep breath, be humbled a little bit, love life, enjoy life and enjoy everyday. I've lost friends. I've long acquaintances. I keep telling the players, you get to play college basketball. High school kids didn't get to play. Some colleges didn't get to play. You're getting to do all this stuff, so appreciate it, enjoy it and make the most of the opportunity."
On not overlooking Iowa State…
"They got beat pretty badly last night, but they were kind of right there. I kept updating Wyatt with the score on my phone. All of a sudden, it went from 10 to 30. Kind of like us, the season takes a toll. They are a better team. A week ago, they were beating Baylor at Baylor deep into the second half. They played TCU without Bolton the whole second half down to the wire. They got down big against Texas, came back and made it a game. They've been in every game. We showed the guys the scores. We told them if they don't come to play, it could be a sad day. Again, I hope our guys feel good about themselves. I hope they're ready to go. We gotta defend, and that's going to be really important."
SENIOR GUARD MIKE MCGUIRL
On thinking back to last year in the Big 12 Tournament...
"The win stands out. It was a lot of fun last year to get that win. We were feeling good about ourselves after a long, rough season similar to this one. A lot happened very fast after that game and ever since then, everything has been different. Now we're going to play them again in the same tournament, even though things have changed since then."
On when the team learned the season was over last year…
"The following morning, we had our scout meeting. I remember during the game, somebody came up to me at halftime and said that Rudy Gobert has COVID and the NBA is shut down. We finished our game, but you just figured it wasn't going to last much longer."
On finishing the season strong…
"It's very important to me. All our work has led up to this point. All the trials and tribulations, the learning and losses we took. We've been through a lot this year as a team and went through a lot of rough patches. It's all led up to this point, so now all we can do is try to finish the right way."
On his approach to leading a young team…
"It's been just trying to enjoy them and help them as many ways as I can on and off the court. This isn't a usual freshman and sophomore experience with the way this year has gone. This hasn't been normal. They've done such a great job of staying positive and focusing on basketball and really improving and getting better everyday. I'm very happy for them and happy for what they've been able to endure."
On what he enjoys about being a veteran on the team…
"It doesn't come down to me being older, just me being a part of it. We've got a lot of special, young players on this team. They're growing into the great basketball players they can be. Honestly, it's just fun to watch and be a part of. I really love this group, because they work very hard and want to get better."
On the importance of Nijel Pack…
"There's no doubt that he's a special young talent with a bunch of ability. He's probably the best shot maker that I've ever played with, just pure skill and shooting. No offense to anybody else, but he's growing. He doesn't get tired. He doesn't run out of energy. He comes everyday to get better and work hard. Being around him, you would think he would get tired. He comes everyday to get better, always has a smile on his face, ready to play and ready to work."
On what Nijel Pack is like off the court…
"He seems quiet at times, but he's a little goofball. He likes to play around. He's got a bunch of nice shoes and a nice car that he likes to drive. He's all into cars. He's a really nice kid. There's a lot you can say about him."
On the OU win and finishing at home with a win…
"It was great. It was special getting that win. It felt really good for everybody. It brought joy to a bunch of us and to the fans, people that hadn't felt that way in a while. Now it's just trying to continue that, even though we're coming off a loss. We're trying to get back in the right direction, so it's very important to get this win tomorrow."
On staying focused against Iowa State…
"Help them in the ways I know. I've seen it before. You're not going to be the same team in December that you are in March. That's just college basketball. It's going to start with a great practice today, a great practice with a lot of focus. This is Coach Henderson's scout. He's been doing a great job with these scouts. Just lock in on the game plan, have a good practice with energy. Go out tomorrow and see what we can do."
On the opportunity in the Big 12 Tournament…
"It's going to be similar to last year in the run that it would take. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's always fun going down to Kansas City, even though this year will be different with the atmosphere. It's going to be a lot of fun regardless. Can't wait, but first we have to finish this business tomorrow."
On whether he'll come back next season…
"To be honest, I don't even know yet. I can't explain it, because I just don't know. That's how I truly feel. It's been a long four years that I've enjoyed. It's been a journey, and I love it here. With the way the world is, you have to look at it in a bunch of different perspectives. Right now, I'm just going to finish this season and end it the right way. Then I'll talk to my loved ones, talk to my family and see what their opinions are. Move forward from there."
Players Mentioned
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K-State Men's Basketball | Game Highlights vs Cincinnati
Thursday, February 12
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at TCU
Saturday, February 07
