K-State Q&A: Bye week blues, Alex Delton, Malik Knowles and Big 12 hoops predictions
The Big 12 schedule makers didn’t do Kansas State any favors this season.
Since conference football games began four weeks ago, the Wildcats have been off, played at Oklahoma State, hosted Baylor and been off again. Multiple bye weeks in that short window has made it difficult for Chris Klieman’s team to stay in rhythm and for fans to stay enthusiastic about the season.
K-State is off to a 3-2 start, but it doesn’t feel like it because the Wildcats haven’t won a game in the past month. Fans were psyched about the future when K-State beat Mississippi State on Sept. 14. That feels like ages ago.
There is so little to talk about at the moment that Chris Klieman’s weekly news conference, which is supposed to last half an hour, ended after 14 minutes on Tuesday.
The Wildcats haven’t helped matters by losing their first two Big 12 games by double digits. By no means I am trying to make excuses for anyone here. But it’s fair to say the second bye week came at a bad time.
Funny story: the Wildcats and Horned Frogs were originally scheduled to play on Thursday, which is the reason why both teams were off last week. But the Big 12’s television partners changed their minds and moved it to a Saturday for a Fox Sports Kansas City audience. ESPN+ would never.
Hopefully K-State’s bye weeks are more spread out in the future.
And with that, it’s time for another K-State Q&A. Thank you for subscribing!
K-State players most definitely exchanged words with Isaiah Zuber last month, but that was the way Zuber wanted it.
He was also caught in the awkward position of dropping the easiest pass you will ever see in front of the Wildcats’ entire defense.
Other than that, it was mostly friendly competition between former teammates. I expect the competition to be even friendlier when former quarterback Alex Delton strolls into town on Saturday with the TCU Horned Frogs.
Delton will probably be more fired up than usual to play against his former team, and some K-State defenders may enjoy the opportunity to tackle him in a live game.
But I don’t think there will be any sour feelings on either side. Delton gave everything he had to the Wildcats for four seasons. Injuries prevented him from reaching his full potential and he left in search of additional playing time when it was clear Skylar Thompson was the quarterback of the future.
You can’t ask for more from a quarterback this day and age. It’s just too bad for his sake that he’s once again the backup at TCU.
There’s no reason for K-State players or fans to hold a grudge against him.
Chris Klieman hasn’t said anything publicly about Malik Knowles’ injury other than that it’s located on the lower half of his body. So I’m not expecting him to dive into specifics anytime soon.
But I can tell you a little bit about it.
Knowles hurt his foot at some point during the Mississippi State game and the injury went undetected for the following week. He was withheld from practice while he complained of pain and then was examined more thoroughly when things failed to improve.
At that point, team doctors realized the injury was more significant than a sprain and he spent the next several days in a medical boot. Unable to play, the Wildcats didn’t even ask him to travel for the Oklahoma State game.
Sources told me not to expect him back until this week’s game against TCU, at the earliest.
So I was very surprised to see him playing two weeks ago when Baylor came to town.
Unfortunately for both him and the Wildcats, Knowles only lasted a few plays before re-aggravating the foot injury and exited the game. His status is “up in the air” for Saturday.
In hindsight, it probably would have been wiser to rest Knowles against Baylor and let him heal during the bye week. But he was also medically cleared to play by doctors who know much more about the situation than me. It could have just been back luck. He could have also injured his foot again by playing it safe.
1. Jordy Nelson: It really is wild that an elite NFL receiver began his college career as a walk-on defensive back.
2. B.J. Finney: The Wildcats struck gold when they offered Finney a preferred walk-on spot with the team. He started at center for four years on some great teams.
3. Ian Campbell: He was an All-American defensive end in 2006.
4. Ryan Mueller: You can watch him again in the XFL.
5. Rock Cartwright: Lasted 11 years in the NFL as a running back.
The serious part of me says no, playing outside won’t be much of a factor for Klieman moving forward, even though he won most of his games in a dome at North Dakota State.
The sarcastic part of me says he’s already lost two games outside with the Wildcats and Gene Taylor needs to fix that problem immediately. Forget the plans K-State has in the works to add video boards to the south end of the football stadium. Turning the place into a dome should be top priority.
As long as you your hoodie wasn’t the hideous X-Ray vest that Baylor football coach Matt Rhule wears on Saturdays, I think you’re good.
Keep on being you!
But if you were wearing a dri fit, sleeveless, gray-and-green hoodie you may truly need counseling.
.JPG "BaylorKansasStFootball (3).JPG")
It really grinds my gears that his team is undefeated in that thing.
Christmas Vacation is the best of the bunch. I watch it multiple times every single December.
I like European Vacation next, followed by the original, then Vegas and finally the remake.
But I own them all. Might have to watch one on my next road trip.
A team that shared the Big 12 championship last season was picked to finish ninth in this year’s preseason poll.
Talk about disrespect!
In fairness to the Big 12 coaches (or their sports information directors) that expect K-State to finish near the bottom of the standings, it is really difficult to handicap Big 12 basketball this season.
I’m fairly confident the best two teams will be Baylor and Kansas. I think Texas Tech will figure out a way to finish third or better. But you could convince me of just about anything after that.
Seriously, when I sat down and tried to rank the 10 teams I went back and forth on several teams for the No. 4 spot.
Texas has the talent to finish there, but can we trust Shaka Smart? Oklahoma State returns a great looking roster, but are we really ready to believe in the Cowboys? West Virginia, K-State and Iowa State all have some great players coming back.
Even Oklahoma and TCU have reasons to feel optimistic.
Somebody has to be picked last, or ninth. But all these teams feel like they would normally finish in the middle of the pack. The Big 12 should be really deep this year.
Still, I don’t think the Wildcats are finishing ninth. I have been bullish on K-State basketball throughout the offseason. I think Bruce Weber’s team makes the NCAA Tournament with ease and finishes in the top half of the league standings. If others don’t feel that way, well, I guess it’s a good thing preseason polls are just for fun.
Anyway, here’s how I’m ranking the Big 12 teams:
1. Kansas
2. Baylor
3. Texas Tech
4. Kansas State
5. Texas
6. Oklahoma State
7. West Virginia
8. Oklahoma
9. Iowa State
10. TCU
K-State senior wing Xavier Sneed can take solace in the fact that at least one media member thinks he deserves to be on the preseason all-Big 12 team.
Here is what my team looks like:
Udoka Azubuke, Kansas: He will win Big 12 Player of the Year if he stays healthy.
Tristan Clark, Baylor: The Bears could contend for a conference title if he stays healthy.
Xavier Sneed, K-State: He will shine as the Wildcats’ leading scorer.
Tyrese Haliburton, Iowa State: The only thing holding him back might be an unproven group of teammates.
Devon Dotson, Kansas: He should be one of the nation’s top point guards.
I feel bad leaving West Virginia forward Derek Culver off the team. Let’s call him my sixth man.
Cartier Diarra, DaJuan Gordon, Xavier Sneed, Makol Mawien, Levi Stockard is my best guess at a current starting lineup.
But we will Mike McGuirl could also start at the two, and newcomers Montavious Murphy/Antonio Gordon will play at the four.
David Sloan and Shaun Williams will also get minutes at point guard.
My money is on Cartier Diarra. If you drop the “er” from his first name, which Weber likes to do, it sounds a lot like Barry.
Montavious Murphy is also a solid replacement option, but Diarra will be on the floor much more.
I could definitely do a better job of making sure basketball recruits in the Kansas City area read my stories.
Sorry Bruce.
But let’s be honest here. The best recruits subscribe to The Eagle and The Star. Weber shouldn’t waste his time with anyone who doesn’t.
This story was originally published October 18, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Bye week blues, Alex Delton, Malik Knowles and Big 12 hoops predictions."