SE: Cats Continue Fighting Through Difficult Circumstances
Jan 10, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Imagine being Kansas State assistant head coach Jermaine Henderson. You get a call at 9:42 a.m. prior to loading up the plane to visit West Virginia, one of the toughest places to play in the Big 12 Conference. On the other end of the phone is head coach Bruce Weber. He says, for the second straight game, that he can't be on the sideline due to COVID protocols — and, oh, by the way, two other assistant coaches, and six players won't make the trip as well.
That's the plight that faced Henderson and K-State this past Friday. K-State has been shorthanded for each of the past two games against Texas and at West Virginia.
Assistant coach Shane Southwell coached the shorthanded Wildcats in a 70-57 loss to No. 14 Texas in the Big 12 home opener last Tuesday. The Wildcats had just eight available players and yet led 35-29 at halftime and held the lead for a total of 22 minutes in a valiant effort.
Henderson, a third-year assistant coach under Weber, coached the shorthanded Wildcats in a 71-68 loss at West Virginia in front of 11,919 at WVU Coliseum on Saturday. Without Weber, associate head coach Chris Lowery, and Southwell, and without six players, the Wildcats, who had lost 6 of the last 7 in Morgantown, hit 9 3-pointers and led by as many as 17 points to take a 40-27 lead at halftime. The Wildcats eventually succumbed in the second half, but not without a vicious fight.
Lesser teams would've totally bombed.
Shorthanded K-State played with heart.
"I tell you what, I've been in an Elite Eight game when we beat Kentucky, and in 1999 I was a part of a special group at Miami (Ohio), and I was jumping around in 2007 when we had a banker to go to the NCAA Tournament," Henderson said, "but I'd be hard-pressed to find a memory more pleasant and a time I was more proud of the guys than today. I'm extremely proud of the effort.
"There are no moral victories and K-State has a proud tradition of winning, but if we stay the course we can certainly get there."
It's been frightful past week for K-State, 8-6 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12, in which coaches and players awaken wondering what hand they'll be dealt that particular day.
Everything has changed. Weber speaks to coaches and players via phone or Zoom. Practices are darned near impossible. Everyone misses the familiar faces and the comraderie among coaches and teammates.
"Even at pregame meals," Henderson said, "you miss those voices."
For example, K-State had senior starter Mike McGuirl against Texas, but he couldn't travel to West Virginia. K-State was without junior starters Markquis Nowell against Texas, but he was cleared to play against the Mountaineers.
"We're all kind of nervous and thinking, 'Are we going to play this game or not?'" said sophomore point guard Nigel Pack, who averages a team-high 16.0 points. "Coach said, 'We're given the opportunity to play. They said we can play. We get on this plane, we're going to play.' We go out there and play our heart out. Everybody is working at it as, 'Oh, now they have one coach.' We're on the edge here. Lose one more coach and we're out.
"It's just a blessing we got to come here and play another game. It's also a blessing that we can get to play everybody twice, one away and one at home."
The 6-foot, 180-pound Pack has been a blessing for K-State during this rough stretch. After scoring 21 points (6 of 12 from the floor, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers) to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists against Texas, Pack had 20 points (7 of 18 from the floor, including 6 of 15 on 3-pointers) with five rebounds at West Virginia.
Senior guard Mark Smith, who averages 10.6 points and a Big 12-leading 8.4 rebounds, has been a key cog in keeping things together as well. Smith had 6 points and 7 rebounds against Texas and 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals at West Virginia.
"Coach Henderson and Coach Shane did a really good job preparing us for what they do," Smith said. "We did a great job going out there and executing our game plan for the most part. Even though we didn't get the victory, we took steps in the right direction. They have high expectations for us, and they do a really good job coaching us and I have a lot of respect for them.
"I don't think the confidence is shaken. I think guys are upset but our confidence is still high. We wanted to get that win being up 40-27 at half. We're taking steps in the right direction. We're right there. They had a full team and we had only seven players. We're going to keep growing, getting better and keep building."
K-State players are gaining strength from their training during the summer. They were introduced to "The Program," which was led by retired military officers, who visited Manhattan to further enhance the virtues of discipline, leadership and overcoming adversity, which are preached daily by the K-State coaching staff.
Little did K-State players predict that they'd be relying upon their summer training to help them through a difficult time.
"It definitely comes into play," Smith said. "The big thing with 'The Program' was when you face adversity, it's your brothers you fall back on with your training. That's what we did. We fell back onto our training. We always have our brother's back. 'The Program' really helped us out mentally. We all hold each other accountable. Even though we're not getting the results we wanted, we can definitely see the confidence and growth."
If anything, the adversity could be making the Wildcats stronger for the remainder of the Big 12 season. The road continues when the Wildcats host TCU, 10-2 and 0-1, on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
"Everybody supports each other," Henderson said. "You feel the energy from everybody. (Weber's phone call) was short notice and we didn't know what the world was going to throw at us next. Since Monday, it's been a whirlwind. This is a big deal. It's a huge step. The guys fought.
"If we can get healthy and get some practice sessions under our belt and add the pieces we've been missing, we have a chance at a heck of a year."
Imagine being Kansas State assistant head coach Jermaine Henderson. You get a call at 9:42 a.m. prior to loading up the plane to visit West Virginia, one of the toughest places to play in the Big 12 Conference. On the other end of the phone is head coach Bruce Weber. He says, for the second straight game, that he can't be on the sideline due to COVID protocols — and, oh, by the way, two other assistant coaches, and six players won't make the trip as well.
That's the plight that faced Henderson and K-State this past Friday. K-State has been shorthanded for each of the past two games against Texas and at West Virginia.
Assistant coach Shane Southwell coached the shorthanded Wildcats in a 70-57 loss to No. 14 Texas in the Big 12 home opener last Tuesday. The Wildcats had just eight available players and yet led 35-29 at halftime and held the lead for a total of 22 minutes in a valiant effort.
Henderson, a third-year assistant coach under Weber, coached the shorthanded Wildcats in a 71-68 loss at West Virginia in front of 11,919 at WVU Coliseum on Saturday. Without Weber, associate head coach Chris Lowery, and Southwell, and without six players, the Wildcats, who had lost 6 of the last 7 in Morgantown, hit 9 3-pointers and led by as many as 17 points to take a 40-27 lead at halftime. The Wildcats eventually succumbed in the second half, but not without a vicious fight.
Lesser teams would've totally bombed.
Shorthanded K-State played with heart.
"I tell you what, I've been in an Elite Eight game when we beat Kentucky, and in 1999 I was a part of a special group at Miami (Ohio), and I was jumping around in 2007 when we had a banker to go to the NCAA Tournament," Henderson said, "but I'd be hard-pressed to find a memory more pleasant and a time I was more proud of the guys than today. I'm extremely proud of the effort.
"There are no moral victories and K-State has a proud tradition of winning, but if we stay the course we can certainly get there."
It's been frightful past week for K-State, 8-6 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12, in which coaches and players awaken wondering what hand they'll be dealt that particular day.
Everything has changed. Weber speaks to coaches and players via phone or Zoom. Practices are darned near impossible. Everyone misses the familiar faces and the comraderie among coaches and teammates.
"Even at pregame meals," Henderson said, "you miss those voices."
For example, K-State had senior starter Mike McGuirl against Texas, but he couldn't travel to West Virginia. K-State was without junior starters Markquis Nowell against Texas, but he was cleared to play against the Mountaineers.
"We're all kind of nervous and thinking, 'Are we going to play this game or not?'" said sophomore point guard Nigel Pack, who averages a team-high 16.0 points. "Coach said, 'We're given the opportunity to play. They said we can play. We get on this plane, we're going to play.' We go out there and play our heart out. Everybody is working at it as, 'Oh, now they have one coach.' We're on the edge here. Lose one more coach and we're out.
"It's just a blessing we got to come here and play another game. It's also a blessing that we can get to play everybody twice, one away and one at home."
The 6-foot, 180-pound Pack has been a blessing for K-State during this rough stretch. After scoring 21 points (6 of 12 from the floor, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers) to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists against Texas, Pack had 20 points (7 of 18 from the floor, including 6 of 15 on 3-pointers) with five rebounds at West Virginia.
Senior guard Mark Smith, who averages 10.6 points and a Big 12-leading 8.4 rebounds, has been a key cog in keeping things together as well. Smith had 6 points and 7 rebounds against Texas and 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals at West Virginia.
"Coach Henderson and Coach Shane did a really good job preparing us for what they do," Smith said. "We did a great job going out there and executing our game plan for the most part. Even though we didn't get the victory, we took steps in the right direction. They have high expectations for us, and they do a really good job coaching us and I have a lot of respect for them.
"I don't think the confidence is shaken. I think guys are upset but our confidence is still high. We wanted to get that win being up 40-27 at half. We're taking steps in the right direction. We're right there. They had a full team and we had only seven players. We're going to keep growing, getting better and keep building."
K-State players are gaining strength from their training during the summer. They were introduced to "The Program," which was led by retired military officers, who visited Manhattan to further enhance the virtues of discipline, leadership and overcoming adversity, which are preached daily by the K-State coaching staff.
Little did K-State players predict that they'd be relying upon their summer training to help them through a difficult time.
"It definitely comes into play," Smith said. "The big thing with 'The Program' was when you face adversity, it's your brothers you fall back on with your training. That's what we did. We fell back onto our training. We always have our brother's back. 'The Program' really helped us out mentally. We all hold each other accountable. Even though we're not getting the results we wanted, we can definitely see the confidence and growth."
If anything, the adversity could be making the Wildcats stronger for the remainder of the Big 12 season. The road continues when the Wildcats host TCU, 10-2 and 0-1, on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
"Everybody supports each other," Henderson said. "You feel the energy from everybody. (Weber's phone call) was short notice and we didn't know what the world was going to throw at us next. Since Monday, it's been a whirlwind. This is a big deal. It's a huge step. The guys fought.
"If we can get healthy and get some practice sessions under our belt and add the pieces we've been missing, we have a chance at a heck of a year."
Players Mentioned
Friday, June 05
Wednesday, June 03
Tuesday, June 02
Monday, June 01
