K-State's Judge 'that close' to getting it

By: Curtis Kitchen, 810whb.com senior writer

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Early in the morning the day after Christmas, Duke senior basketball player Nolan Smith relayed an airport conversation that had just transpired between him and his friends – some guys who were catching a flight back to Manhattan, Kan. from Washington, D.C.

“At the airport early! Flight back to Durham!” Smith’s tweet from 6:58 a.m. said. “I was with my K-State boys in here, they said they taken the Big 12! Not Kansas or Texas! ok ok”*

*Everything in quotes is exactly as it appeared on Twitter.

Coming from D.C., one could deduce that his “K-State boys” were potentially Jamar Samuels, Rodney McGruder and Wally Judge – all of whom made it home for Christmas in the D.C. area and could have been leaving about the same time as Smith in order to make it back for last Saturday night’s practice.

Following Tuesday’s win against Cleveland State, I had a chance to catch Judge outside the Wildcats locker room and ask him about Smith’s tweet.  Actually, first, I told him I follow Smith on Twitter.  The gigantic grin and slight laugh at just hearing the name immediately gave the freshman away.

Before he could recover, I immediately employed my journalistic version of a Mortal Kombat finishing move – referring to Smith’s tweet.  Where did it come from?  Who was talking about K-State winning the conference?  Was Judge in the group?

At that moment, Judge knew he was beat and went down swinging like a champ, acknowledging his presence but refusing to divulge names or any real specifics.

“Um, what’s funny,” the college rookie started, “is that I was with him when he wrote that. I was with him a bunch of times when I saw him tweet some things.”

Like a cagey interview veteran, Judge dodged the follow-up question as to whether he knew exactly what Smith told the Twitter world – saying he didn’t know what Smith wrote except asking for people to follow Wally’s new twitter account.

“The only thing I knew about was, one time, he said something about me having [an account],” Judge said.  “But, as far as K-State and that thing, I didn’t know anything about it.”

Color me lightly skeptical that Judge had no idea, but one would expect the teenager to cover for a guy he has long looked up to.

“He’s a real good friend of mine,” Judge said.  “Him and Mike [Beasley], coming up in the same [D.C. Assault] program, they both have been like big-brother figures, ya know?”

Seems Judge has a knack for getting himself in with some pretty good role models.  At home, it’s Smith and Beasley.  At his college home, Judge has been paired up with team-leader Jacob Pullen on every road trip. 

It might be a little strange that a guard would be matched with a big, but considering the  relationship’s dynamics, it makes sense pairing the team’s current star with someone who is expected by many to assume that role before his K-State playing days are over.*

*And, yes, that expectation exists.  It comes with being the lone McDonald’s All-American on a team that holds a No. 12 ranking and has a bright future.  Want proof it goes deeper than the fans or media? “I know Frank expects big things from me,” Judge said.

The time spent with Pullen, which has only been a semester, has already produced a basic, central lesson key to leadership: balance.

“He’s told me a lot of things,” Judge said. “I’ve had tough games, and he’s said ‘next game, let’s play.’  He keeps talking to me, trying to keep helping me progress.

“And, even if I have a good game, he tells me the things that I need to keep doing to keep getting minutes and keep playing.”

Despite averaging 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 13.8 minutes and earning five starts in 13 games so far this season, consistent, extended minutes have proven to be elusive.  Early on, it was because of an up-and-down effort level.  As that has improved, other minor flaws have surfaced – a missed block out or backing away from an opposing offensive player in the post and giving up an easy bucket. 

Such is the life of a first-year player, and like he has done with his entire team, Martin has shown no hesitation in replacing the young forward when something goes awry. Judge said he usually understands why he is shown a seat on the bench.

“Yeah, the stare pretty much tells it all,” Judge said.  “You can pretty much look him dead in his eyes and know what for.  We know what job we have to do, and what he expects of us.

“We know when we haven’t achieved that, and we expect to come out so he can teach us, let us know what we did wrong – no matter how he explains it.”

Give credit to Judge because after just a semester of live action, it is clear from his comments he is that close to understanding what the coaching staff is asking from him.  While extremely talented, he realizes he is a piece to a larger puzzle.  The current stumbling block for Judge, however, appears to be differentiating between what Martin wants philosophically from him as opposed to specifically.

“Right now, he’s just looking for me to be more aggressive, trying to fit in comfortable out there and play hard,” Judge said when pressed on his specific role.  “He understands that as players in big-time games we’re going to get rattled, especially as freshmen.  You might mess up in a set.  You might miss a screen.  But, as long as you are always on the move, and staying positive and keep contributing, then he’s not mad.”

Judge, like nearly all young players, needs to eventually understand that blindly playing hard isn’t enough. 

He has to learn that he must rotate to help force a bad shot.  Only then can he block out, aggressively, and rebound the ball, aggressively.  He must make a smart outlet pass, aggressively, and sprint down the floor with purpose.  He must beat his man to his spot within the offensive set, nail down his position and, if the situation calls for it, finish, aggressively.

Then, he has to sprint back and repeat the entire process.

Judge is doing most of those things.  But, he is doing them at different times because, again, he almost gets it.  He just needs to put it all together.  Maturity and experience will accelerate his growth, and I think he will catch on sooner rather than later considering his best attribute, raw talent aside, appears to be his willingness to stay humble and improve.

On Judge’s page in the K-State media guide, the No. 18 Rivals150 player said the best piece of advice he has ever received is “You’re never as good as they say you are.”  He reinforced that thought on Tuesday, referring to a couple of the game’s greatest players and, more importantly, someone with direct influence on him.

“If you get complacent and find a place where you’re comfortable, then you’ll never be great,” Judge said.  “That’s what pushed people like [Michael] Jordan and Kobe [Bryant]. 

“Even when Mike was here – of course he played AAU with me, I know him – he never was complacent.  That’s what made him a great college player.”


- Note: Click the link and scroll to “additional programming” to hear the raw audio of Wally Judge’s entire interview via podcast.


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