Reserve forward Jerrell Colbert stepping into bigger role for K-State Wildcats
Jerrell Colbert logged more numbers than usual when he came off the bench to help Kansas State defeat Baylor in overtime earlier this week.
The 6-foot-10 sophomore had six points, one rebound and one block while seeing a season-high 17 minutes of action.
His play came as a surprise to many in attendance at Bramlage Coliseum, who are used to only seeing Colbert for a few minutes each game ... if head coach Jerome Tang decides to use him at all.
But that could be changing. It seems like he is ready for a bigger role with the Wildcats, starting with Saturday’s home game against Oklahoma State.
“He’s been great at practice,” Tang said. “You can see it in his approach, his preparation and the extra work that he’s putting in. It’s just all those things. As a coach, when you see that, and you see that he’s doing it with a certain joy ...
“It’s not like he’s doing this to try and get on the court. He’s doing it because he loves his teammates and he wants his team to be better. When you see that, you feel comfortable getting him in there. He’s earned it.”
That is good news for the Wildcats, who could use reinforcements in their frontcourt.
Good as Will McNair and David N’Guessan have been on the inside of late, they can’t both play 40 minutes per game. Tang would much prefer to keep them both under 30 minutes, so they can stay fresh and avoid foul trouble.
But Tang has to trust his reserve forwards if he is going to give his starters extra rest. It seemed like he didn’t have faith in many of his bench players at the start of Big 12 play, but that changed when Colbert held his own against the Bears.
“We knew from the last game that we couldn’t have Will play 37 minutes again,” Tang said. “So we needed somebody to step up. Jerrell did that this week for us, and he’s done it the last couple of weeks where he’s really kind of earned more trust.”
Colbert is an exciting addition to the K-State rotation.
Even though he isn’t the most gifted player on offense, averaging 2.8 points per game, he has loads of upside on defense. No one on the roster is better at blocking shots than Colbert, and he knows how to contest shots whenever the other team tries to score in the paint.
Colbert is ready to showcase his skills as his playing time grows.
This story was originally published January 19, 2024 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Reserve forward Jerrell Colbert stepping into bigger role for K-State Wildcats."