K-State Wildcats Q&A: Basketball thoughts, football predictions, NIL + recruiting
Mo Money Mo Problems.
That is no longer just a hit throwback song from The Notorious B.I.G. It is also the main complaint I have noticed from Kansas State basketball fans following a 76-65 loss to LSU Thursday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Nearly all of my X mentions have some kind of reference to K-State basketball players (namely Coleman Hawkins) getting paid way too much money to lose a home game to a Tigers team that was picked to finish 14th in the SEC this season.
Welcome to the NIL era of college basketball.
Jerome Tang and his players are both under more scrutiny this season because money is now involved. Hawkins will reportedly earn $2 million while he plays for the Wildcats. He had eight points in 32 minutes against LSU.
But it’s not fair to single him out. Dug McDaniel and David N’Guessan (16 points each) were the only two K-State players who did much of anything in that game.
Meanwhile, Cam Carter transferred away from K-State and scored 20 points in his return to the Octagon of Doom.
This was not an encouraging game for the Wildcats.
The good news is it doesn’t wreck their season. Tang has assembled a talented roster. But this group is not playing like a team, especially when it comes to rebounding. LSU beat K-State 43-25 on the glass. I suppose that was to be expected after Cleveland State also won the rebounding battle against the Wildcats 31-25.
No one should give up on this team after three games. College basketball season is just getting underway and the Wildcats may look very different come March.
K-State lost by a similar score to Butler (76-64) in Tang’s first season. That was a bad Butler team that went on to win 14 games. And the Wildcats ended up in the Elite Eight that season. At least LSU is a borderline top 50 team.
Tang’s team should improve as it gains experience and plays more games together. But the Wildcats aren’t playing well, or earning their money, at the moment.
Now, let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Give it me straight, Kellis. Will the K-State football team be playing in the Big 12 championship game on December 7 or will I be watching the basketball team play at St. John’s that day? - Steven H. via e-mail.
My prediction is that Colorado will beat BYU in the Big 12 championship game.
So I would not recommend booking a flight to DFW right now.
But I don’t think it’s a good idea to rush into a trip to New York, either.
Anything can happen in college football, especially when it comes to the Big 12. Did you know that Kansas still has a path to the Big 12 title game? It would involve winning a 10-way tie for second place. But it’s not impossible!
K-State remains very much alive in the Big 12 championship mix. If it wins its final three games and Colorado stumbles once then the Wildcats are in. There are other paths available for K-State, but that is by far the simplest one.
Problem is, Colorado finishes the season against three straight opponents that currently boast losing records — Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State.
EMAW nation may need a favor from the Jayhawks.
After nine games this season, the Cats rank ninth out of the 16 Big 12 teams in average points per game. Is our offense really just an average team in the Big 12? Is our offense underachieving? -@bfullingt1 via X.
Scoring isn’t necessarily the best indicator of a strong offense.
Neither is total yards or yards per game.
Those stats can be skewed in a number of different ways. A team that uses an up-tempo offense is naturally going to put up more yards and points than a team that huddles between every single play. If stats meant everything, Houston (15.2 points per game) would be the worst team in the Big 12 and Texas Tech (35.5 points per game) would be undefeated.
I prefer to look at yards per play.
K-State ranks second in the conference at 6.5 yards per play. The Wildcats are averaging 5.8 yards per rush (second in the Big 12) and 7.4 yards per pass (11th in the Big 12).
I think the Wildcats have an above average offense, but they are only at their best when they can run the ball. That opens everything else up for Avery Johnson and his receiving corps. K-State has been able to rush for big yardage in most of its games, but Houston limited the Wildcats to just 2.6 yards per carry.
K-State isn’t going to win many games with that little production on the ground.
If offensive coordinator Conor Riley can fix that moving forward then the Wildcats will look like a much better offense in their final three games. If not, K-State will look average at best.
Why did K-State have two bye weeks with football this season? There are so many more teams to play now. Is it just about money? - Sarah D. via e-mail.
It’s a scheduling quirk that happens every few years in college football.
Kansas State, and other teams across the country, all get multiple bye weeks every few years when Labor Day is early on the calendar. Teams aren’t allowed to play Week 1 games until the Thursday before Labor Day. That fell on Aug. 29 this year, which allowed teams to get a head start on the season.
Most years, teams wait until September to play their first game and that limits bye weeks.
K-State should get multiple off weeks again next season when it plays its first game in Ireland against Iowa State.
How’s the recruiting looking to this point? How is it different again from years past with the NIL now in place. -@ChadFullington via X.
Kansas State’s football recruiting class for 2025 currently ranks 44th nationally and eighth in the Big 12, according to On3.
The Wildcats were able to land a big fish in five-star tight end Linkon Cure and that will boost their rating, assuming they can hold off the Oregon Ducks for his services.
But most of K-State’s recruits are three-star players that Chris Klieman thinks will work hard and develop into quality college players. The Wildcats are winning battles for in-state players and just about all of their commitments picked K-State over other power teams.
Those are all good signs.
I don’t think NIL will ever impact K-State football recruiting all that much. Klieman has said that he wants to devote NIL money to the players who are already on the roster so they are happy and aren’t tempted to enter the transfer portal.
Bidding top dollar for recruits is more of a Jerome Tang thing. And it’s worked well enough for the Wildcats to remain heavily involved with the nation’s No. 1 recruit AJ Dynabtsa.
By the way, Tang recently explained what his recruiting pitch would “hypothetically” be for a recruit of Dynbasta’s magnitude.
“We’ve got a rabid fan base and you get to play in the best league in the country,” Tang said. “If you want to be a star in the NBA, come be a star in college. It worked out for Trae Young going to Oklahoma. He’s a star in the NBA.
“You get guys who go to some places and they’re a role player and they go in the NBA and they’re role players. Finally, in the last 40 years there’s only been two No. 1 players in the country that played for a black head coach. They were Patrick Ewing at Georgetown and James Wiseman in Memphis. So why not come play with a black head coach and be the No. 1 player in the country?”
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 10:28 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats Q&A: Basketball thoughts, football predictions, NIL + recruiting."