K-State Q&A: Avery Johnson, Big 12 basketball rivals and the return of underdogs
I don’t know about you guys, but I thought the College Football Playoff and NCAA Tournament were both really boring this past season.
First, Ohio State won a national championship on the gridiron without a single upset happening along the way. The Buckeyes won all of their playoff games by double digits and the only memorable game of the entire postseason was Texas outlasting Arizona State in overtime. Of course, the bad guys won.
Then, Florida claimed a national title in men’s basketball without any mid-major teams making a Cinderella run. The Sweet 16 was comprised entirely of teams from power conferences. Next, all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four. To be fair, that gave us some thrilling games at the bitter end. But there wasn’t as much drama as we usually see in March Madness.
The games weren’t as much fun without underdogs and giant killers.
Who do we have to bribe to make upsets happen again in the college postseason?
Well, I am happy to report that the College World Series has given the little guy renewed hope. At this time last year, all eight teams in Omaha were from power conferences. Actually, they were all from the ACC and the SEC. Talk about boring. Some feared that was a sign that Cinderella teams were becoming a thing of the past in college baseball. Fortunately, parity is king this season.
Check out this list of baseball teams that are still playing: Arizona (Big 12), Arkansas (SEC), Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt), Louisville (ACC), LSU (SEC), Murray State (Missouri Valley), Oregon State (Pac-12*) and UCLA (Big Ten).
*The Beavers were technically an independent for baseball.
That is seven different conferences. And I had to look up the league for Murray State. Way to go, MVC!
Let’s hope something similar happens in basketball and football moving forward. Upsets are what make the college postseason special.
Now, let’s move on to your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
I assumed the Big 12 was going to stick with traditional rivals for the men’s basketball schedule. Why are we playing TCU and West Virginia twice instead of Iowa State and Oklahoma State? -@KAHerrman via X.
Now that the Big 12 is going back to an 18-game conference basketball schedule, that means every team in the league will play six opponents at home, six opponents on the road and three opponents home-and-away. In other words, everyone gets two designated hoops rivals.
In a perfect world, yes, K-State would play those rivalry games against Kansas, Iowa State and either Oklahoma State or Colorado based on proximity and history.
But there are other Big 12 teams that would like to designate those opponents as rivals, too. Making all 16 teams within the conference happy when it comes to home-and-away games has to be a difficult task.
And, if we’re being honest, as long as KU and K-State remain rivals the rest doesn’t seem all that important.
I would be willing to listen to anyone who is bitter about not playing Iowa State twice. Farmageddon is a proud basketball rivalry. But most fans could care less about the third rival.
On the plus side, Hilton Coliseum is a difficult venue and the Wildcats won’t have to play there next season.
The only thing I can really say about this topic is that the Big 12 had it perfect with the double-round robin schedule we saw when the conference only had 10 teams.
What NIL deal should we expect from Avery Johnson? -@garrettb_1983 via X.
I am beyond stunned that a shampoo company hasn’t come calling for Kansas State’s starting quarterback.
No matter what any fan base thinks of him as a football player, I think we can all agree that he has outstanding hair.
I know several young athletes in the Manhattan area who have been growing their hair long ever since he arrived on campus.
What is Head & Shoulders waiting on? They would sell tons of product if they put Patrick Mahomes, Troy Polamalu and Johnson together in a commercial and aired it during football games.
When will we know the verdict on Tyreek Smith and his waiver to play next season for the Kansas State men’s basketball team? -Jeff M. via e-mail.
For those who don’t know, Tyreek Smith has requested a waiver to gain an extra year of eligibility so he can play for the Wildcats next season.
The talented big man has already spent time at Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, SMU and Memphis, but one of those seasons occurred during COVID and he never played in any games at Memphis. So even though he has already been in college for five years, he thinks he should be allowed to play for one more year.
He transferred from Memphis to K-State a few months ago because he is hopeful that the NCAA will approve his request for an eligibility waiver.
It remains to be seen when or if that will happen. But I was told nothing would be settled until after the House settlement was approved. That happened last week, so perhaps we will hear an answer in the near future.
For what it’s worth, K-State is confident that Smith will be on the roster next season.
There was once hope that Max Jones might also get another year of eligibility, but K-State has recruited like that is no longer on the table.
Is there any hope that Kansas State will produce a NBA Draft pick this year? If not, who is our best future pro prospect? - Andrew B. via e-mail.
The odds of a K-State basketball player being picked at the 2025 NBA Draft are very low.
Coleman Hawkins is considered a top 100 prospect. And David N’Guessan has participated in private workouts with NBA teams.
But that doesn’t mean they are true draft hopefuls.
Neither one of them were invited to the NBA Draft Combine or even the G League Combine.
Hawkins could be a candidate for the G League or a two-way contract. But he won’t get drafted. N’Guessan seems like a better fit for a foreign team. Given that he is originally from The Netherlands, he should have no trouble catching on with a team overseas. He should make good money, too.
Down the line, it wouldn’t shock me if Serbian newcomer Andre Kostic gets a shot in the NBA.
My Weekly Recommendations
Streaming: Love, Death and Robots on Netflix. This show isn’t for everyone. But it’s filled with great animation and Sci-Fi story lines. Most of the episodes are short. So if you find one you don’t like you can just hit skip or watch for a few minutes and never think about again. A new season just came out and it has not disappointed.
Food: Fried chicken sandwich with bacon at Colbert Hills. I ordered this last weekend and loved every bite.
Reading: Jesse Newell’s piece on the fake stories that keep appearing on Facebook about the Chiefs. I have also seen some of this about the Wildcats. FYI, Jerome Tang and Chris Klieman have not donated millions to help the homeless in Manhattan.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Avery Johnson, Big 12 basketball rivals and the return of underdogs."