BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Kansas State basketball coach Bruce Weber learned his Wildcats were resilient when Kamau Stokes and St. John’s Dean Wade were sidelined with injuries at critical times last season.
“They really taught me a lot about adversity. We had a great culture and leadership,” Weber said during a K-State Catbacker gathering Thursday. “Our work ethic was unbelievable. We have guys who care and love K-State.”
The Wildcats (and Loyola, Ill.) were the surprise stories of the 2018 NCAA Tournament after Kansas State beat Creighton 69-59, Maryland-Baltimore County 50-43 and Kentucky 61-58 before losing to Loyola 78-62. The Elite Eight trip was the Wildcats’ best postseason in 30 years.
The Wildcats’ first three NCAA games yielded 53 points per game.
“We had to be the best defensive team in the NCAA Tournament. After three games, we had the best defensive numbers,” Weber said. “The guys took on the challenge. Xavier Sneed stepped up and played the 4 spot when Dean Wade was hurt. Now, he’s on draft boards. Mike McGurl played unbelievable and took advantage of his opportunity.”
Wade (16 ppg, 6 rpg) helped set the stage for a postseason run by giving the impression he’d return at any time.
“Dean did a great job in the press conference,” Weber said. “He said he’d be back. Creighton’s whole game plan was stopping Dean Wade and he didn’t get in the game.”
The 6-10 Wade earned first-team All-Big 12 honors last year and he’ll likely earn preseason All-America consideration.
“Dean’s the best passing big guy in the country – 89 assists and 47 turnovers,” Weber said. “He asks me every day to let him distribute. He’s great at that.”
Kansas State’s first turning point occurred after guard Kamau Stokes was injured Jan. 6 against Texas Tech. The next day the Wildcats conducted a players-only basketball practice.
“Barry Brown takes credit for Dean Wade’s success. He had a heart-to-heart talk with Dean,’ Weber said. “They took it upon themselves.”
Kansas State starters Dean Wade, Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes, Xavier Sneed and Makol Mawien return from the Wildcats’ 25-12 team.
“We expect to be good, but they’ve got to work at it,” Weber said. “We’ve got to play better as individuals and make improvement. There are really good teams – Virginia and Michigan State last year – that lose in the NCAA Tournament. The league will be really good as always. If you enjoy team success, the exposure will come.
The Wildcats’ chief weakness of rebounding was partially addressed when they signed 6-7 power forward Austin Trice from Wabash Valley, Ill.
“We signed Austin Trice, the leading rebounder in junior college,” Weber said. “He’s athletic and can run and jump. He’ll give us great energy.”
