KSU bball analysis: What we've seen, what to expect

By: Curtis Kitchen, 810whb.com Senior Writer


KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Eighty minutes does not a season make, but it was enough time for the Kansas State Wildcats to reveal some things about themselves as the men head for Puerto Rico starting Thursday. 

Head coach Frank Martin’s parting thoughts prior to heading out centered on the team needing an attitude adjustment, which may or may not be true.

I think the team’s laid-back approach was borne out of boredom more than anything else, and the team should appear much different once it takes the court in San Juan, where a championship (albeit an early-season one) is on the line.  Boston and then either Ole Miss or Indiana will provide a quick step up in competition, something Jamar Samuels and Curt Kelly said the team was ready for.

With that in mind, here are some points to consider as we determine whether the veteran forwards were correct in their assessment.

REBOUNDING – It seems like this topic has already assumed the shape of a dead horse, but for a team boasting talented depth on the frontline, the numbers that appeared from the Loyola and Western Illinois games were simply frightening. 

The scariest part?  Everyone seemed at a loss as to why K-State couldn’t corral the ball once it bounced off the rim.  There were plenty of chances as the K-State defense forced Loyola to go 5-of-34 in the first half (14.7 percent) and coaxed the Leathernecks into a 9-of-33 (27.3 percent) effort to start that game.  Combined, that’s 14-of-67 from the field!  The ‘Cats did block 18 shots (Jordan Henriquez-Roberts alone had nine) in the two contests, but that statistic is useless if guys are continually out of good rebounding position because of it.

In Puerto Rico, if K-State only blocks three or four shots per contest but drops the opponents’ offensive rebounds from the current 19 per game to 10, it will be well worth it.  That said, it’s a good goal, but I have a feeling it is going to take longer than this weekend for Martin to convince his pogo-sticks for big men to stay on the floor instead of swatting every shot. 

We’ll see…

CONTINUE BOTHERING SHOTS – I guess this point heading seems a little odd since we just spent the last 200 words discussing why the Wildcats need to tone down the shot-blocking aggressiveness.  But, the sooner Martin can make his big guys understand that they can use their athleticism to bother shots into misses without actually blocking all of them, the sooner K-State solves its rebounding issue.

The opponents’ low shooting percentages from the first two games weren’t a fluke.  K-State is an active defensive group, and I’ll bet that the team is toward the top of several defensive statistical categories well into conference play – where guys will be taller and more athletic, obviously (except maybe for Nebraska – ouch.)

This weekend, keeping the opponent under 40 percent is a good goal to have and one I think K-State can accomplish.  Purely guessing here since we won’t know the actual matchup until after Thursday, but I’m very interested in what K-State does against a team like Ole Miss, which is heavily guard-oriented.  I’m curious to see whether Martin would stay with the slightly bigger lineup (Samuels manning the three) or whether he would experiment with something like a Jacob Pullen/Denis Clemente/Nick Russell (or even Rodney McGruder) trio outside with Kelly/Henriquez or Samuels/Colon frontcourt.  K-State’s depth gives lots of options besides these, and the basketball junkie side of me is stoked to see how many formulas Martin can conjure.

LOW POST PRODUCTION – No matter the lineup, somebody has to man the blocks for K-State and when they do, they have to be productive.  To be honest, part of this assessment is completely selfish because, like most K-State onlookers, I grew weary last year of watching Darren Kent and Luis Colon hit the backboard with shots like it was worth a point to do so.  A large part of this season’s intrigue and excitement came from the prospects of having Kelly, Wally Judge and Henriquez, three legitimate big men, added with Colon and Samuels.

While Judge continues to adapt to the rigors and speed of the college game, Kelly turned in solid work, rebounding aside, averaging 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 23.5 minutes.  Rebounding stands out, in a bad way, because of a one defensive-rebound effort against Loyola, and Martin will be watching closely to see how his junior transfer reacts to better competition. 

After seeing Kelly’s game in action, I think it’s a bit much to ask him to dominate a game, but it isn’t out of the question to ask for somewhere between five and eight boards a game from him.  That number could also apply to most if not the rest of the bigs.  They are all that talented and capable – if they grab the ball.

The surprise thus far, of course, has been Henriquez, who made most people forget, at least for a time, that Luis Colon was on the bench in street clothes. 

Martin pointed out the freshman made a ton of mistakes around the rim, but when you average 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in 21.5 minutes (including a team-high 27 on Sunday), you make your coach happy.

Colon is expected back this weekend, so Henriquez’s minutes will likely take a hit (how much depends on Colon’s availability, of course), but that’s not all bad considering how long the season is.  As long as he continues to develop (and continues to show a “willingness to learn” that almost made Martin smile in Sunday’s postgame – are you listening, Dom Sutton?), K-State has no worries with the kid who very well will erase the memories of a finger-wagging Jason Bennett forever.

A DOMINIQUE SUTTON ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT – You remember when Dom Sutton first appeared on campus and looked better than anyone to don the Wildcats uniform in more than a decade?  He still fills out the uniform nicely, but as good as he appears, it looks like the junior hasn’t done much growing up to this point.  He is as moody as he’s ever been, and it still negatively affects his play.   

For Sutton, he might have been able to do that in the past and still find minutes, but Kelly’s arrival, along with guys like Henriquez, has pushed Samuels out to the three, where he has shown signs of solid play – a bad sign for Sutton.

After getting the start in the first two games, Sutton played just seven minutes, one in the second half, against Western Illinois because his energy and focus wasn’t where Martin wanted it.  His exit opened the door for Samuels, who finished the game with a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds.

Through two games, Sutton has seen 28 minutes while putting together four points, seven rebounds, two assists, a block, a steal and two turnovers.

Sutton has to realize that his role is to be a tone-setter.  If he’s going to start, which is where it appears Martin wants him if he’s up to it, Sutton has to lock a guy down from the start, maybe get a steal and fast-break dunk.  He could be as much a part of the soul of this team as some other guys, but he needs to be on the floor to do that and getting focused and filling his role is the only way it’s going to happen. 

K-State will not struggle without him, but having a focused defensive effort on the wing from Sutton given his freakish athleticism could be the key between the Wildcats being pretty good defensively to juggernaut.

BACKCOURT ENERGY – This isn’t so much a concern as it is my comparing expectation to reality.  I expected a more complete Wildcats team, with the arrival of better post players, would take attention off of Pullen and Clemente. 

I just didn’t expect it to take my attention away from the backcourt duo, which is what happened through the first two games.

Part of that happened because I was focused on the new guys.  Some of it came because, frankly, I was just as bored as the players seemed at times.  Competitively, the games weren’t that good, and K-State didn’t help my attention span by playing some pretty bad stretches of basketball. 

Lost in the mix were Pullen and Clemente, who actually averaged 25.5 and 29 minutes, respectively.  The two weren’t good shooting in the first game, combining to go 6-of-24 from the field, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range.  However, they both hit double figures and had seven assists to two turnovers. 

I lost track of them because, as I later realized, they were simply doing what veteran guards should do – manage the game and put their team in position to succeed.  Looking back, Pullen wasn’t the fast-break, pull-up 3-point chucker from his freshman or early sophomore season.  Instead, he spent his time picking and choosing spots to drive and get fouled (he is 9-of-10 from the free throw line this season). 

During the second half against Western Illinois, while watching Clemente struggle with finding the touch on his running one-handed floater, I asked where the flashy, seemingly too-confident guy from a year ago had gone.  In a Twitter exchange, Jeffrey Martin, now of the Houston Chronicle, told me to be patient; reminding me that Clemente started slowly last year also.  Upon reflection, Martin is right, but to what degree or from what angle I’m not quite sure.

If I’m being patient for the game-changing, team-carrying Clemente that took the Big 12 by storm last year, I’m not sure I’ll ever see it again.  I say that because if this year’s team pans out the way it is built, a 44-point outburst won’t be necessary.  Heck, even 25 points won’t be necessary.

But, if I’m waiting to see the return of the fearless floor leader who pumped his fist in front of the Kansas bench last year, it really isn’t that far away.  After all, he did yell “And ONE!” on a drive against Western Illinois – and hit the shot.  Despite my perceiving him struggling, Clemente finished 6-of-12 from the field with 13 points.  He also added three rebounds and five assists to one turnover, giving him a 8:2 assist to turnover total in two games.

There’s nothing wrong with Clemente. 

He’s just adapting to his role of running a better engine.  To think there’s a problem, only to find out there really isn’t, is very encouraging to me.  It means I’m nitpicking, trying too hard to find reasons why this team isn’t as good as I thought it should look two games in. 

Overall, that doesn’t mean this team doesn’t have its concerns.  There is no getting past the rebounding issue, which is alarming.  I don’t remember ever seeing a 25 offensive rebound total.  Ever. 

And, until this team goes up against top-flight teams and succeeds, there is no track record anybody can point to and say things are well with the Wildcats.  Until that happens, this is still an NIT team from a year ago that has little more than the expectation of being better.

That reality has to be taken into account, and it tempers my enthusiasm, at this point, for a team I believe is a legit 22-25 win team and a lock for an NCAA bid.  Judging from what I’ve seen with voters and national pundits, I’m guessing that reality is also the basis for their leaving KSU out of most polls and projections in November.

However, I also get the feeling that K-State isn’t that far off the radar, and if K-State takes care of business through the non-conference season, including showing well in Puerto Rico (like making the final), many will jump on the bandwagon sooner rather than later.


Send your comments to curtiskitchen@810whb.com.  Also, follow him @curtiskitchen on Twitter for real-time reports on game-day and other sports news during the week!