Bruce Weber praises Bob Huggins for energizing K-State program
After Saturday’s game West Virginia coach Bob Huggins was asked about his thoughts on K-State’s continued improvement since his lone season in Manhattan. He responded by saying “I’ve got my own problems.”
K-State coach Bruce Weber, though, had more to say on the topic, and praised Huggins for his help.
“He energized the program,” Weber said. “He got it going and got some life and got some players here. He brought Coach (Frank) Martin with him, which ended up being a pretty positive thing.”
• K-State big man Thomas Gipson battled foul trouble and spent most of the game on the bench earlier this week when K-State defeated Oklahoma. He vowed to make a bigger impact on Saturday. Then he followed through, scoring 20 points and grabbing six rebounds.
“Coaches really told me I had to bounce back,” Gipson said. “That is part of being a leader. I took it hard on myself last game. I wasn’t really in a rhythm. I was in foul trouble, and I couldn’t get in the motion of playing. I really wanted to play hard today.”
• Freshman point guard Jevon Thomas dished out eight assists and had zero turnovers. He played a major role on defense. He was tasked with defending West Virginia guard Juwan Staten, who is one of the top guards in the conference, and forced him into seven turnovers.
First half•
Key play:K-State took its biggest lead of the half at 15 points on a dunk by Shane Southwell with just over 1 minute left before the break.
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Key stat:K-State made five of 10 threes in the first half.
Second half•
Key play:The Wildcats went up 55-30 early in the second half on a three-pointer by Southwell.
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Key stat:Both Thomas Gipson and Marcus Foster scored 12 points in the second half.
Kellis Robinett, The StarThis story was originally published January 18, 2014 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Bruce Weber praises Bob Huggins for energizing K-State program."