Kansas State University Athletics
Getting a Glimpse of the New Wildcats
Oct 30, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
They call Brendan Hausen the "Amarillo Assassin" back home in Amarillo, Texas, for his deft 3-point touch — one that made him one of the top high school guards in the Class of 2022 and translated into two standout seasons at Villanova.
Kansas State got a chance to see a little bit of what the 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior can add to the Wildcats this season. Hausen scored 15 points on 5-for-14 shooting from beyond the arc and Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists, as the Wildcats outlasted Fort Hays State 70-56 in an exhibition game at Bramlage Coliseum.
"My teammates did a great job finding me and I need to knock a few more down, but my job is to shoot shots, and I'm going to hit the next one," Hausen said. "That's my mentality."
Hausen, who says he once made 105 3-pointers in a row, shot 39.5% (88-of-223) on 3-point attempts at Villanova — a shooting percentage that would've ranked second in the Big 12 Conference last season.
Against Fort Hays State, he made 2-of-9 attempts in the first half and 3-of-5 in the second half, seemingly unafraid to test his stroke during his first public appearance in Manhattan.
"Exhibition game, honestly," Hausen said. "Dusting off some cobwebs. We're not going to be our best right now. We're preparing to be our best by the end of the season. We'll get it figured out."
The 6-foot-10, 230-pound Hawkins had a block, three free throws, a steal, two assists and two rebounds before he scored his first points on a layup for a 26-16 lead with 5:18 left in the first half. Hawkins finished 3-of-7 from the floor, including 2-for-4 on 3-pointers, and sank 5-of-6 free throw attempts in a team high-tying 31 minutes.
Hawkins, known for his dry humor, put the newness of the day into comedic perspective.
"I didn't know how to get to the back door (of the arena)," he said. "I had to ride with Coach (Rodney) Perry and my apartment is literally right there. That was the only struggle. It just felt like another regular game. It's an exhibition game, but I'm excited for when the game goes into the win-loss column."
Hawkins and the Wildcats won't have long to wait. They open their season against New Orleans on Tuesday.
Hawkins arrived at K-State in June after four impactful seasons at Illinois, helping them to the 2023 Elite Eight while becoming the first player in program history to record 900 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 100 blocks in a career.
"He just does everything," K-State head coach Jerome Tang said. "Swiss Army knife, right? He does a lot of things to make the game easy for other people. It's just about us learning how to play with each other together that's going to continue to help us. He was a bright spot. There were a couple other bright spots."
K-State wasn't perfect, and it wasn't expected to be with 11 newcomers on a roster that returns senior David N'Guessan, and sophomores Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich.
The Wildcats shot 41.1% (23-of-56) from the floor, including 28.6% (8-of-28) on 3-pointers, but had 18 assists to 13 turnovers, and added nine steals and five blocks. They did a good job defensively in holding Fort Hays State to 36.9% shooting (24-of-65) and 35.3% (6-of-17) on 3-pointers while forcing 12 turnovers.
While Hausen and Hawkins combined for 28 points, Rich had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 14 minutes, and N'Guessan had 10 points and nine rebounds. UIC transfer C.J. Jones served as starting point guard and had nine points and five assists to just two turnovers and finished at a plus-20.
"He's been our best point guard," Tang said. "He has an incredible assist-to-turnover ratio in practice, and you saw it today, he gets guys shots, he can defend the ball and keep it out of the paint, and he can rebound. At 6-foot-5, his length provides a lot for you and he's a willing passer. The ball comes out of his hands and he's making the right plays."
The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Rich, who saw limited action as a true freshman, made some plays during his first action at Bramlage since logging three minutes in a game against Baylor on January 16. He used his impressive athleticism and power inside the paint. Fort Hays State had no answer.
"Buddy could be really good for us," Hawkins said. "He's really athletic, he can get to the rim, finish around the rim very well. When he wants to, he can be elite for us. I'm not saying he doesn't bring it every day, but we can really use Buddy somewhere down the line and he can be really effective for us, whether that's rebounding, driving to the rim, finishing, whatever that is. Buddy could really help us out."
K-State played without Cal State Fullerton transfer guard Max Jones, who Tang said suffered a minor toe injury. Max Jones has been impressive in practice and Tang said, "He's a good player. You're going to like watching him."
"Buddy was good," Tang continued. "Buddy got more minutes because Max didn't play. Buddy showed that maybe we've got to find more minutes for him. We've got talent. It's going to take a little while to figure everything out."
Folks can figure on seeing Hausen continue putting up shots. Hausen actually played six minutes when Villanova played K-State at Bramlage on December 5. He didn't score a point.
That changed in the exhibition game Tuesday night.
"It was awesome," Hausen said. "It's just a blessing to be here, a blessing to see my family here, and putting on the purple and playing in front of all these people was awesome. It couldn't have gone better. I loved it."
They call Brendan Hausen the "Amarillo Assassin" back home in Amarillo, Texas, for his deft 3-point touch — one that made him one of the top high school guards in the Class of 2022 and translated into two standout seasons at Villanova.
Kansas State got a chance to see a little bit of what the 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior can add to the Wildcats this season. Hausen scored 15 points on 5-for-14 shooting from beyond the arc and Illinois transfer Coleman Hawkins added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists, as the Wildcats outlasted Fort Hays State 70-56 in an exhibition game at Bramlage Coliseum.
"My teammates did a great job finding me and I need to knock a few more down, but my job is to shoot shots, and I'm going to hit the next one," Hausen said. "That's my mentality."
Hausen, who says he once made 105 3-pointers in a row, shot 39.5% (88-of-223) on 3-point attempts at Villanova — a shooting percentage that would've ranked second in the Big 12 Conference last season.
Against Fort Hays State, he made 2-of-9 attempts in the first half and 3-of-5 in the second half, seemingly unafraid to test his stroke during his first public appearance in Manhattan.
"Exhibition game, honestly," Hausen said. "Dusting off some cobwebs. We're not going to be our best right now. We're preparing to be our best by the end of the season. We'll get it figured out."
The 6-foot-10, 230-pound Hawkins had a block, three free throws, a steal, two assists and two rebounds before he scored his first points on a layup for a 26-16 lead with 5:18 left in the first half. Hawkins finished 3-of-7 from the floor, including 2-for-4 on 3-pointers, and sank 5-of-6 free throw attempts in a team high-tying 31 minutes.
Hawkins, known for his dry humor, put the newness of the day into comedic perspective.
"I didn't know how to get to the back door (of the arena)," he said. "I had to ride with Coach (Rodney) Perry and my apartment is literally right there. That was the only struggle. It just felt like another regular game. It's an exhibition game, but I'm excited for when the game goes into the win-loss column."
Hawkins and the Wildcats won't have long to wait. They open their season against New Orleans on Tuesday.
Hawkins arrived at K-State in June after four impactful seasons at Illinois, helping them to the 2023 Elite Eight while becoming the first player in program history to record 900 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 100 blocks in a career.
"He just does everything," K-State head coach Jerome Tang said. "Swiss Army knife, right? He does a lot of things to make the game easy for other people. It's just about us learning how to play with each other together that's going to continue to help us. He was a bright spot. There were a couple other bright spots."
K-State wasn't perfect, and it wasn't expected to be with 11 newcomers on a roster that returns senior David N'Guessan, and sophomores Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich.
The Wildcats shot 41.1% (23-of-56) from the floor, including 28.6% (8-of-28) on 3-pointers, but had 18 assists to 13 turnovers, and added nine steals and five blocks. They did a good job defensively in holding Fort Hays State to 36.9% shooting (24-of-65) and 35.3% (6-of-17) on 3-pointers while forcing 12 turnovers.
While Hausen and Hawkins combined for 28 points, Rich had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 14 minutes, and N'Guessan had 10 points and nine rebounds. UIC transfer C.J. Jones served as starting point guard and had nine points and five assists to just two turnovers and finished at a plus-20.
"He's been our best point guard," Tang said. "He has an incredible assist-to-turnover ratio in practice, and you saw it today, he gets guys shots, he can defend the ball and keep it out of the paint, and he can rebound. At 6-foot-5, his length provides a lot for you and he's a willing passer. The ball comes out of his hands and he's making the right plays."
The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Rich, who saw limited action as a true freshman, made some plays during his first action at Bramlage since logging three minutes in a game against Baylor on January 16. He used his impressive athleticism and power inside the paint. Fort Hays State had no answer.
"Buddy could be really good for us," Hawkins said. "He's really athletic, he can get to the rim, finish around the rim very well. When he wants to, he can be elite for us. I'm not saying he doesn't bring it every day, but we can really use Buddy somewhere down the line and he can be really effective for us, whether that's rebounding, driving to the rim, finishing, whatever that is. Buddy could really help us out."
K-State played without Cal State Fullerton transfer guard Max Jones, who Tang said suffered a minor toe injury. Max Jones has been impressive in practice and Tang said, "He's a good player. You're going to like watching him."
"Buddy was good," Tang continued. "Buddy got more minutes because Max didn't play. Buddy showed that maybe we've got to find more minutes for him. We've got talent. It's going to take a little while to figure everything out."
Folks can figure on seeing Hausen continue putting up shots. Hausen actually played six minutes when Villanova played K-State at Bramlage on December 5. He didn't score a point.
That changed in the exhibition game Tuesday night.
"It was awesome," Hausen said. "It's just a blessing to be here, a blessing to see my family here, and putting on the purple and playing in front of all these people was awesome. It couldn't have gone better. I loved it."
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