SE: Despite the Loss, Pack Has a Special Day
Jan 25, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
There's only so much one basketball player can do. Nijel Pack won't want to hear that this morning. He took a hard loss. Kansas State took a hard loss. And while Pack had the single-best performance by a K-State player against Kansas since Jacob Pullen more than a decade ago, Pack was crushed after the Wildcats' 78-75 loss to the seventh-ranked Jayhawks in front of the best crowd of the season at Bramlage Coliseum. Afterward, Pack sat dressed head-to-toe in black. He tried to put it all into words. His eyes trailed off to nowhere in particular as he spoke. He envisioned everything again. It hurt.
"We have a loss," Pack said. "Nobody is ever going to talk about a loss."
But there's only so much one basketball player can do. Pack, a sophomore, scored a career-high 35 points on 12 of 18 shooting from the floor. He made 8 of 12 3-point attempts. He had 4 rebounds and 2 assists and 3 steals in 36 minutes. It was almost as if every time he shot a basketball, the ball burst into flames, like in the video games. Yes, he was that hot. He scored the most points by a sophomore since Askia Jones had 35 against Wyoming on January 2, 1992. He had the most points against KU since Pullen poured in 38 points against the Jayhawks on January 14, 2011.
Pack's efforts led him to be honored as Big 12 Co-Player of the Week.
"Nijel had one of those magical games," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said.
"Pack was a First Team All-American today," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "He was great. He may have been the best guard in America today."
Kansas preseason All-Big 12 Conference senior guard Ochai Agbaji said, "He can shoot it and just flat-out score. You saw him getting to the basket. He had eight 3s. He was terrific today."
Pack's previous career high? Twenty-six points. He surpassed that when he drove to the left past Remy Martin, made the layup, and drew the foul for an and-1 to give the Wildcats a 60-49 lead with under 14 minutes to go in his epic performance. By then, of course, it was expected that anything Pack threw up was going into the basket. Period. Pack scored 22 of his 35 points in the first half on 8 of 10 shooting, including 6 of 8 from beyond the arc. It was the most points he'd ever scored in a first half in his career.
"It was a great feeling," Pack said. "Starting off I got a couple easy ones. My teammates found me early. I just got the rhythm going early. It felt great to be able to get some shots. Everything I threw up I thought it was going in. I saw it in the air, and I'd think, 'I made that one, too.'"
He paused.
"It just sucks the way it ended," he added. "A magical day but we didn't get the W, so it doesn't really last, it doesn't really matter, and nobody is going to talk about it."
Pack's 8 3-pointers were the most made by a K-State player in a Big 12 Conference game in 22 years. Cortez Groves hit 8 3-pointers against Texas A&M on February 23, 2000. It also tied the great Steve Henson for the most 3-pointers by a K-State player in any conference game. Henson had 8 3-pointers against Iowa State on February 17, 1990, back when the Wildcats played in the Big Eight Conference.
"I mean, he was 4 of 4 to start," K-State guard Markquis Nowell said. "When he's that hot, you just have to keep feeding him and keep believing he's going to make it. He was playing at the magical level. He played like that the whole game."
Pack called the K-State crowd beautiful. He said the scene was indescribable. This was the first time Pack had played in front of so many fans at K-State. That's because only limited crowds could attend games his freshman season due to COVID protocols. The only thing Pack could equate the crowd to was when his high school played its rival high school in Indianapolis, Indiana. He said this K-State crowd was much, much bigger. Time and time again K-State players talk about associate head coach Chris Lowery telling them that K-State can be a special place. When Bramlage Coliseum is full, some national college basketball experts believe it's one of the more daunting venues in America.
Pack talked about the passion of K-State fans. He talked about all the handmade signs. He loved those. He said that when he pulled into the parking lot Saturday morning for shootaround, K-State students were already in line for Bramlage. Tipoff was still six hours away.
"We couldn't ask for anymore from our K-State fans," he said. "We appreciate everything you did for us today. We're sorry we couldn't bring home the W. We wanted it just as much as you guys did. It really hurts."
There's only so much one basketball player can do. Pack played the game of his life. Of course, after his dominant first half, Self adjusted his defense. Self switched to a triangle-and-2 defense in hopes of cooling off Pack and limiting his looks. It proved effective for the most part. After Pack shot 8 of 10 in the first half, he shot 4 of 8 in the second half. After hitting 6 of 8 3-pointers in the first half, Pack made 2 of 4 in the second half.
In the end, for all the heroics and for all the scoring and for all of the effort by Pack, there's one 3-point attempt that he'll sadly remember, because, yes, this was a loss, and it was a hard loss, and these things, fairly or unfairly, are seldom forgotten. It came with 5 seconds remaining in the game. Kansas, which trailed by as many as 17 points, took its first lead in 37 minutes and led 76-75. Pack went down the court and pulled up for a 3-pointer that hung in the air forever…but fell off the front of the rim. K-State was inches from victory. Yes, it was that close. Instead, Agbaji rebounded the missed 3-pointer. K-State fouled with 1 second left. Agbaji hit both free throws. Game over.
"We definitely had the perfect opportunity," Pack said. "We had the chances at the end. The games that we won we made those big shots at the end. This time we weren't able to make them."
But there's only so much one basketball player can do. That's what Weber reiterated after the hard loss.
"That last shot, I thought, was going in," Weber said. "It was a little bit longer. He just had one of those special days. That's what's so hard to take. You're not going to get that every day — he's good and he's one of the better players in the league — and then to have it slip away. It was fun to watch.
"It was special."
People might not talk about a loss, but Pack's valiant performance certainly has raised eyes around the rest of the league.
And there's likely more to come.
There's only so much one basketball player can do. Nijel Pack won't want to hear that this morning. He took a hard loss. Kansas State took a hard loss. And while Pack had the single-best performance by a K-State player against Kansas since Jacob Pullen more than a decade ago, Pack was crushed after the Wildcats' 78-75 loss to the seventh-ranked Jayhawks in front of the best crowd of the season at Bramlage Coliseum. Afterward, Pack sat dressed head-to-toe in black. He tried to put it all into words. His eyes trailed off to nowhere in particular as he spoke. He envisioned everything again. It hurt.
"We have a loss," Pack said. "Nobody is ever going to talk about a loss."
But there's only so much one basketball player can do. Pack, a sophomore, scored a career-high 35 points on 12 of 18 shooting from the floor. He made 8 of 12 3-point attempts. He had 4 rebounds and 2 assists and 3 steals in 36 minutes. It was almost as if every time he shot a basketball, the ball burst into flames, like in the video games. Yes, he was that hot. He scored the most points by a sophomore since Askia Jones had 35 against Wyoming on January 2, 1992. He had the most points against KU since Pullen poured in 38 points against the Jayhawks on January 14, 2011.
Pack's efforts led him to be honored as Big 12 Co-Player of the Week.
"Nijel had one of those magical games," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said.
"Pack was a First Team All-American today," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "He was great. He may have been the best guard in America today."
Kansas preseason All-Big 12 Conference senior guard Ochai Agbaji said, "He can shoot it and just flat-out score. You saw him getting to the basket. He had eight 3s. He was terrific today."
Pack's previous career high? Twenty-six points. He surpassed that when he drove to the left past Remy Martin, made the layup, and drew the foul for an and-1 to give the Wildcats a 60-49 lead with under 14 minutes to go in his epic performance. By then, of course, it was expected that anything Pack threw up was going into the basket. Period. Pack scored 22 of his 35 points in the first half on 8 of 10 shooting, including 6 of 8 from beyond the arc. It was the most points he'd ever scored in a first half in his career.
"It was a great feeling," Pack said. "Starting off I got a couple easy ones. My teammates found me early. I just got the rhythm going early. It felt great to be able to get some shots. Everything I threw up I thought it was going in. I saw it in the air, and I'd think, 'I made that one, too.'"
He paused.
"It just sucks the way it ended," he added. "A magical day but we didn't get the W, so it doesn't really last, it doesn't really matter, and nobody is going to talk about it."
Pack's 8 3-pointers were the most made by a K-State player in a Big 12 Conference game in 22 years. Cortez Groves hit 8 3-pointers against Texas A&M on February 23, 2000. It also tied the great Steve Henson for the most 3-pointers by a K-State player in any conference game. Henson had 8 3-pointers against Iowa State on February 17, 1990, back when the Wildcats played in the Big Eight Conference.
"I mean, he was 4 of 4 to start," K-State guard Markquis Nowell said. "When he's that hot, you just have to keep feeding him and keep believing he's going to make it. He was playing at the magical level. He played like that the whole game."
Pack called the K-State crowd beautiful. He said the scene was indescribable. This was the first time Pack had played in front of so many fans at K-State. That's because only limited crowds could attend games his freshman season due to COVID protocols. The only thing Pack could equate the crowd to was when his high school played its rival high school in Indianapolis, Indiana. He said this K-State crowd was much, much bigger. Time and time again K-State players talk about associate head coach Chris Lowery telling them that K-State can be a special place. When Bramlage Coliseum is full, some national college basketball experts believe it's one of the more daunting venues in America.
Pack talked about the passion of K-State fans. He talked about all the handmade signs. He loved those. He said that when he pulled into the parking lot Saturday morning for shootaround, K-State students were already in line for Bramlage. Tipoff was still six hours away.
"We couldn't ask for anymore from our K-State fans," he said. "We appreciate everything you did for us today. We're sorry we couldn't bring home the W. We wanted it just as much as you guys did. It really hurts."
There's only so much one basketball player can do. Pack played the game of his life. Of course, after his dominant first half, Self adjusted his defense. Self switched to a triangle-and-2 defense in hopes of cooling off Pack and limiting his looks. It proved effective for the most part. After Pack shot 8 of 10 in the first half, he shot 4 of 8 in the second half. After hitting 6 of 8 3-pointers in the first half, Pack made 2 of 4 in the second half.
In the end, for all the heroics and for all the scoring and for all of the effort by Pack, there's one 3-point attempt that he'll sadly remember, because, yes, this was a loss, and it was a hard loss, and these things, fairly or unfairly, are seldom forgotten. It came with 5 seconds remaining in the game. Kansas, which trailed by as many as 17 points, took its first lead in 37 minutes and led 76-75. Pack went down the court and pulled up for a 3-pointer that hung in the air forever…but fell off the front of the rim. K-State was inches from victory. Yes, it was that close. Instead, Agbaji rebounded the missed 3-pointer. K-State fouled with 1 second left. Agbaji hit both free throws. Game over.
"We definitely had the perfect opportunity," Pack said. "We had the chances at the end. The games that we won we made those big shots at the end. This time we weren't able to make them."
But there's only so much one basketball player can do. That's what Weber reiterated after the hard loss.
"That last shot, I thought, was going in," Weber said. "It was a little bit longer. He just had one of those special days. That's what's so hard to take. You're not going to get that every day — he's good and he's one of the better players in the league — and then to have it slip away. It was fun to watch.
"It was special."
People might not talk about a loss, but Pack's valiant performance certainly has raised eyes around the rest of the league.
And there's likely more to come.
Players Mentioned
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