For flawed 6-1 KSU, is working more the answer?

By: Curtis Kitchen, 810whb.com senior writer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Call it a public airing of grievances. 

The Kansas State Wildcats aired every piece of dirty laundry it could Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum as the team stumbled out of the gate and skidded across the finish line on its face, knocking off Division II Fort Hays State, 83-76.

It might be the first time K-State has done anything together as a group this season, so let’s call it progress – this perfect game in terms of guys in sync with showing everything wrong with a team that had, before Tuesday, only allowed peeks at its defects.

Afterward, K-State head coach Frank Martin expressed his desire to either force individual players to buy in or ship them out, going as far as saying some players may not make it out of Wednesday’s practice before quitting.

Privately, some powerful words must have also been spoken as three freshmen – Martavious Irving, Rodney McGruder (who didn’t dress for the game) and Wally Judge – all emerged wearing practice gear and hit the court until sometime after media members called it a night.

Before the media left, there was no sign of the trio being joined by Curtis Kelly, who appears to be in the largest of head coach Frank Martin’s doghouses.  What that does or doesn’t signify remains to be seen, but if three first-year guys felt moved enough to get back on the floor, why didn’t one of the upperclassmen?

Interesting.

So, what did the Fort Hays outing shine a brighter light on?  Several things. 

Individually:

Kelly, trumpeted as a tremendous worker by the coaching staff prior to the season and someone Martin believed would shore up a frontline devoid of legitimate talent, played six minutes because he continues to be selfish in getting his. 

Forget the facts that point out a guy who has led the team in rebounding four out of seven games, in scoring twice and has a couple of double-doubles to his credit.  Help defense is a foreign language to him (and others), and Martin apparently is ready to run him down if Kelly (and others) isn’t willing to “buy in” as the coach reiterated Tuesday following the game.

The curious case of Dominique Sutton continued with its latest chapter as the junior forward saw just 12 minutes in his first game since Martin said the past three or four games prior had been the best stretch of his K-State career.  Sutton’s game has proven to be dominant at times – when his attitude is good.  However, when he goes south, like he did against Fort Hays, he disappears (sometimes for minutes, sometimes games at a time) and there’s no telling when good Dom will resurface.

Despite the veterans’ absence, Judge found only five minutes on Tuesday because he again appeared more freshman than game ready.  Maybe a coach could deal with that challenge seven games into a kid’s first year, but the nonchalant demeanor and inability to maintain pace for more than a one or two-minute stretch is a different story and a deal-breaker for a guy like Martin, who expects maximum effort at all times.

Denis Clemente plays hard, and Martin rewards him with playing time.  However, let’s be honest, this isn’t swagger Clemente of a season ago.  This is stagger Clemente.  He is averaging 13.9 points, 3 assists and 2.7 rebounds, but he’s shooting just 35.9 percent from the field and 61.3 percent from the free throw line.  His shot selection often hinders any offensive rhythm, which is a dagger for a team struggling to find some consistency. 

Right now, a frustrated Clemente is feeling his way through and surviving games, not changing them.

Tuesday was a perfect example.  Clemente finished 6-of-12 from the field and 2-of-6 from 3-point range for 17 points.  He added five rebounds and six assists, but after watching the game I didn’t walk away feeling like it was a solid performance.  Instead, I was surprised at the stat sheet.

That, however, may just be unfair expectation based on the absolutely sick Big 12 run the guard put together last year.

I feel as though the old Clemente could come back at any time.  He just needs to hit a few shots.  On the flipside, the absolute worst-case scenario, of course, is last year was the best of Clemente, and what he’s doing now is more indicative of what he brings to the table.  It may take the rest of the season to discern which of those thoughts is right.

As a team:

Rebounding has gone from quirky concern with this team to a legitimate problem.  I’ve referenced it more than once already this season, but Loyola went +10 on the Wildcats.  Fort Hays State was +2.  IUPUI wound up even.  That’s three of the season’s seven games.

Very simply, it is mind-boggling, and I don’t blame the coaching staff for not yet being able to figure it out.

When K-State has its regular frontline in the game, something along the lines of a Kelly, Samuels, Henriquez (who was out ill against FHSU), the blame has been traced to selfishness, to too many guys wanting to block shots, which naturally makes blocking out impossible.*

*As an exercise, jump in the air as high as you can and see if you can move in front of someone before coming down…yeah, didn’t think so.

The dreaded “bubble drill” in practice apparently has had no effect in curbing the defensive behavior. 

Maybe Martin should threaten to go Lou Brown on his players like the crusty manager did with Willie Mays Hayes.  I mean, what would it hurt at this point for Samuels, Kelly, Sutton, Judge or Henriquez to drop and do 20 in-game pushups after an opposing player’s successful pump fake led to a basket.

In reality, nothing other than the bigs developing discipline is going to change the issue.  This team believes it is full of shot-blockers, even though nobody is averaging more than 1.8 (Henriquez).  Samuels and Sutton, two of the worst offenders in terms of leaving their feet, are averaging just 1 and .1* blocks, respectively.

*Yes, .1.  Sutton has one block…on the season.

It’s so contagious that even Chris Merriewether leaped three feet in the air in an attempt to block a Fort Hays shot that was actually a pass fake to the side, not a shot toward the rim.  Merriewether has yet to block a shot this season.

If you told me prior to the season opener that fans would be clamoring for departed senior Darren Kent’s return, I would call you a liar.

But, that’s where this team is.  It needs a guy who isn’t interested in blocking shots (because he can’t or otherwise won't).  It needs guys who believe a hand in the face and backside to the legs is as sexy as sending a ball to the second row.

The ball used to hit the floor several times a game because the Wildcats focused so much on blocking out that nobody grabbed the ball until it bounced.  As far as I can recall, it happened for the first time this season on Tuesday night – after a block out by Jacob Pullen. 

That kind of effort needs to come from someone taller than 6’.

Moving on…

Team-wide, if your jersey doesn’t say Pullen on the back, you need to spend time practicing free throws. 

K-State is shooting 61.9 percent as a team.  Eight players have at least 13 attempts; only one is shooting above 70 percent (Pullen, 80.4 percent).  Clemente, McGruder and Kelly are in the 60-percentile range. Samuels and Judge are in the 50s.  Sutton is hitting at a 47.4 percent clip.  Henriquez is at 35.7 percent.

Yikes.

Obviously, Clemente’s 61.3, Samuels’ 58.5 and Kelly’s 63.3 are the most troublesome as those three will more than likely see the most attempts.  One would think improvement is imminent, at least for the first two players.  History suggests so, but history also suggested a Martin-led team would be a defensive-minded, rebounding machine, so how about we talk about chemistry.

For some reason, some guys aren’t buying into what Martin and his player-leaders, Pullen and Clemente especially, are selling, which is as puzzling as it is concerning.

Chemistry was the last issue with which this team appeared to have any potential issue.  Stories flew from the program over the summer and fall about guys doing everything together – from working out to hitting up movies.

One would think that activity would lead to a cohesive unit on the floor, but for some reason it has been a bunch of individuals on the floor instead of guys falling into rank/roles behind their leaders.

Could part of that be on Martin’s penchant for a revolving-door of a lineup?  After all, 11 players have seen action in six of the team’s seven games, and all of them have averaged 10 minutes or more in those games.  Irving has played in four contests and averaged 10 minutes as well.

That might make it tough for roles (and, subsequently, an identity) to develop, but it shouldn’t be as impossible as this team has made it look so far, considering the amount of time in practice the team has spent together.  The players know what others are capable of doing and what they aren’t. 

Then again, adversity will always expose hidden weaknesses, and maybe that’s what K-State is facing above all else.  It is certain some guys were not expecting to deal with what is in front of them, both on the court (Kelly) and off (Luis Colon), and it has affected the team.

This season has already presented challenges for Martin and the players not seen in the previous two seasons.  So far, the response has been a “work harder” mantra, and it will be interesting to see whether the issues facing this team are able to be resolved in that manner.

If belief in working more has anything to do with it, consider it a good sign that three freshmen believe getting back on the floor immediately after a shaky game is the start to a long-term answer. 

It very well could be, and the team first finds out Saturday night in Manhattan against Washington State.


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