The Best from the Manhattan Catbackers
Jun 08, 2022 | Sports Extra, Athletics
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State concluded its 15-city Catbacker Tour across the Sunflower State with a final banquet hosted by Manhattan Catbackers on Monday evening at the K-State Alumni Center.
The event featured a sellout crowd of 300 people and a live auction, and emcee Wyatt Thompson discussed a variety of topics with various K-State head coaches and student athletes.
Here are 10 things that were said at Manhattan Catbackers:
JEFF MITTIE, WOMEN'S HEAD BASKETBALL COACH
On K-State's desire to be a host site for the 2023 NCAA Tournament
When you find yourself in the eight or nine slot in the women's basketball tournament, you're going to play on somebody else's home floor. The way the women's tournament works is the top 16 get to host. You must take care of securing that a lot during the regular season. You've got to win games, and our games in November and December and on in, are very critical to that. Our goal next year is to be one of the top 16 seeds and host.
We all want to play great quality opponents. We always want to bring them to Manhattan. We want to show off our city and hospitality and yell like heck in the arena. We have Iowa coming in, which will be a great matchup. You've got Caitlin Clark, who led the nation in scoring. I think Iowa is going to start the season in the top 10. The Athletic has us ranked No. 16 in the country, you've got a couple other publications that have us in the top 25, and a couple of others have us just outside the top 25, so that'll be a good matchup.
AYOKA LEE, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
On when she learned that she broke the national scoring record
I guess in the second half of the game I knew I'd broken the school record, but I had no idea or thought about the national record really until I came out of the game, and they announced it. Emilee Ebert actually substituted in for me, so it was a special moment to share with her to come out and find out I'd broken the national record.
JEROME TANG, MEN'S HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
On the impact of Ishmael Massoud and Markquis Nowell on recruiting
When you're building something in recruiting, you may miss on someone and they may go to a school that you play against and they might beat you twice a year, but if you miss and you take the wrong guy, they beat you every day. These dudes, Ismael Massoud and Markquis Nowell, help you win every day. They represent everything that you'd want people to be. You should hear them talk about this community, this university, this program, and my heart swells when I listen to them. They're not talking about me. They're talking about you all. They're talking about the impact you guys have had on their lives and why they chose to stay here — it's because of this. That's why others are going to come. I've shared this story before, how we had a recruit who pinned that he had visited another school and he got 13 likes in eight hours. Then he pinned that he was in Manhattan, Kansas and in an hour, he received 888 likes. They want to come because of you guys, Ish and Markquis, and now the rest of the crew who is here.
ISHMAEL MASSOUD, MEN'S BASKETBALL
On his decision to stay at K-State and the new players
To the people who asked me why I stayed, to me it was an easy decision. All of you guys here, this type of environment is unmatched and just Manhattan in general. It's nothing but love around here and I've loved every second I've been around. There was no decision for me to stay. We have the right guys and we're building something, and we have people who want to be here. It's about building something that's going to be special.
MARKQUIS NOWELL, MEN'S BASKETBALL
On the No. 1 thing that he has said on the Catbacker Tour
"I'm not Deuce Vaughn."
JORDAN SMITH, WOMEN'S HEAD TENNIS COACH
On the transition between assistant women's tennis coach and head women's tennis coach
It's been fantastic. I've acclimated very well. Getting the honor from Gene Taylor to be head coach was even better. It's a dream for me to have my first head coaching job at K-State and to be supported by all of you Wildcats. It's been fantastic.
MIKE DIBBINI, WOMEN'S HEAD SOCCER COACH
On rebounding after a recent stroke
I did have a little setback. It was a scary part of my life. What happened and what they figured out, everything is back to normal and I'm back in the general population, but I had a stroke due to riding a rollercoaster. Through many, many tests they figured it out. For my age, as much as I get out and stay physically healthy, it was a big scare. They eventually figured it out and I'm just glad to be here. It puts life into perspective.
CHRIS KLIEMAN, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
I like the nucleus we have. I'm excited. We need a big summer. This summer is really important to us to integrate a bunch of new guys into the program. We're fortunate we hit a home run like Julius Brents, we hit a home run like Reggie Stubblefield, and we hit a home run with Adrian Martinez and Kade Warner. You've got to complement those guys with your core guys who've been in your program for a long time, and that's the culture and the locker room that those guys are coming into. When you get the transfers that come in and they get accepted and get the opportunity to get around our guys, they're like, "Coach, it's not like this anywhere in the country. This is special at Kansas State."
ADRIAN MARTINEZ, FOOTBALL
On his transition to K-State football and why he joined the Wildcats
It's been a pretty seamless transition. I've been very fortunate. There's a culture of hard work, discipline, and I feel like I fit right in. Guys are demanding. There's a standard and I want to make sure I meet that. There's a lot of speculation about why I came this way, but look, it was an extensive process. There are many reasons I wanted to come here. For starters, my dream has always been to get to the NFL. I want to get to that next level. To do that, I need to be surrounded by the right people and the right pieces. This team is good and there are some talented guys on this team, and I look over and see Deuce Vaughn and my buddy Kade Warner, we have some guys. Of course, Coach Chris Klieman and Coach Collin Klein, I feel like I fit in. There's also a personal element to it that also lined up great for me.
DEUCE VAUGHN, FOOTBALL
On being a Consensus All-American as a sophomore
It's been unbelievable. It's flown by first and foremost. I wouldn't change my time here for anything. It's been an amazing experience thanks to you all and thanks to these guys up here and a lot of guys at home right now and the coaching staff and everybody. They've allowed me to experience something that will last me for my lifetime.
Kansas State concluded its 15-city Catbacker Tour across the Sunflower State with a final banquet hosted by Manhattan Catbackers on Monday evening at the K-State Alumni Center.
The event featured a sellout crowd of 300 people and a live auction, and emcee Wyatt Thompson discussed a variety of topics with various K-State head coaches and student athletes.
Here are 10 things that were said at Manhattan Catbackers:
JEFF MITTIE, WOMEN'S HEAD BASKETBALL COACH
On K-State's desire to be a host site for the 2023 NCAA Tournament
When you find yourself in the eight or nine slot in the women's basketball tournament, you're going to play on somebody else's home floor. The way the women's tournament works is the top 16 get to host. You must take care of securing that a lot during the regular season. You've got to win games, and our games in November and December and on in, are very critical to that. Our goal next year is to be one of the top 16 seeds and host.
We all want to play great quality opponents. We always want to bring them to Manhattan. We want to show off our city and hospitality and yell like heck in the arena. We have Iowa coming in, which will be a great matchup. You've got Caitlin Clark, who led the nation in scoring. I think Iowa is going to start the season in the top 10. The Athletic has us ranked No. 16 in the country, you've got a couple other publications that have us in the top 25, and a couple of others have us just outside the top 25, so that'll be a good matchup.
AYOKA LEE, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
On when she learned that she broke the national scoring record
I guess in the second half of the game I knew I'd broken the school record, but I had no idea or thought about the national record really until I came out of the game, and they announced it. Emilee Ebert actually substituted in for me, so it was a special moment to share with her to come out and find out I'd broken the national record.
JEROME TANG, MEN'S HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
On the impact of Ishmael Massoud and Markquis Nowell on recruiting
When you're building something in recruiting, you may miss on someone and they may go to a school that you play against and they might beat you twice a year, but if you miss and you take the wrong guy, they beat you every day. These dudes, Ismael Massoud and Markquis Nowell, help you win every day. They represent everything that you'd want people to be. You should hear them talk about this community, this university, this program, and my heart swells when I listen to them. They're not talking about me. They're talking about you all. They're talking about the impact you guys have had on their lives and why they chose to stay here — it's because of this. That's why others are going to come. I've shared this story before, how we had a recruit who pinned that he had visited another school and he got 13 likes in eight hours. Then he pinned that he was in Manhattan, Kansas and in an hour, he received 888 likes. They want to come because of you guys, Ish and Markquis, and now the rest of the crew who is here.
ISHMAEL MASSOUD, MEN'S BASKETBALL
On his decision to stay at K-State and the new players
To the people who asked me why I stayed, to me it was an easy decision. All of you guys here, this type of environment is unmatched and just Manhattan in general. It's nothing but love around here and I've loved every second I've been around. There was no decision for me to stay. We have the right guys and we're building something, and we have people who want to be here. It's about building something that's going to be special.
MARKQUIS NOWELL, MEN'S BASKETBALL
On the No. 1 thing that he has said on the Catbacker Tour
"I'm not Deuce Vaughn."
JORDAN SMITH, WOMEN'S HEAD TENNIS COACH
On the transition between assistant women's tennis coach and head women's tennis coach
It's been fantastic. I've acclimated very well. Getting the honor from Gene Taylor to be head coach was even better. It's a dream for me to have my first head coaching job at K-State and to be supported by all of you Wildcats. It's been fantastic.
MIKE DIBBINI, WOMEN'S HEAD SOCCER COACH
On rebounding after a recent stroke
I did have a little setback. It was a scary part of my life. What happened and what they figured out, everything is back to normal and I'm back in the general population, but I had a stroke due to riding a rollercoaster. Through many, many tests they figured it out. For my age, as much as I get out and stay physically healthy, it was a big scare. They eventually figured it out and I'm just glad to be here. It puts life into perspective.
CHRIS KLIEMAN, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
I like the nucleus we have. I'm excited. We need a big summer. This summer is really important to us to integrate a bunch of new guys into the program. We're fortunate we hit a home run like Julius Brents, we hit a home run like Reggie Stubblefield, and we hit a home run with Adrian Martinez and Kade Warner. You've got to complement those guys with your core guys who've been in your program for a long time, and that's the culture and the locker room that those guys are coming into. When you get the transfers that come in and they get accepted and get the opportunity to get around our guys, they're like, "Coach, it's not like this anywhere in the country. This is special at Kansas State."
ADRIAN MARTINEZ, FOOTBALL
On his transition to K-State football and why he joined the Wildcats
It's been a pretty seamless transition. I've been very fortunate. There's a culture of hard work, discipline, and I feel like I fit right in. Guys are demanding. There's a standard and I want to make sure I meet that. There's a lot of speculation about why I came this way, but look, it was an extensive process. There are many reasons I wanted to come here. For starters, my dream has always been to get to the NFL. I want to get to that next level. To do that, I need to be surrounded by the right people and the right pieces. This team is good and there are some talented guys on this team, and I look over and see Deuce Vaughn and my buddy Kade Warner, we have some guys. Of course, Coach Chris Klieman and Coach Collin Klein, I feel like I fit in. There's also a personal element to it that also lined up great for me.
DEUCE VAUGHN, FOOTBALL
On being a Consensus All-American as a sophomore
It's been unbelievable. It's flown by first and foremost. I wouldn't change my time here for anything. It's been an amazing experience thanks to you all and thanks to these guys up here and a lot of guys at home right now and the coaching staff and everybody. They've allowed me to experience something that will last me for my lifetime.
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