Kansas State Notebook: Coach Bruce Weber wants more out of Justin Edwards

Justin Edwards played his best game of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday.

The Maine transfer scored six points and grabbed six rebounds against Pittsburgh. That’s an improvement on the total of three points he had scored in his previous three games.

“I think he has played a little tentative,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “He was good today. He got a dunk down and he got a little bit of excitement. He started playing with a little better intensity.”

Now Weber wants even more out of Edwards. Billed by teammates as an elite scorer, he has not come close to meeting expectations.

“If we can get him to make some shots that would help, because we need some more offensive weapons,” Weber said. “If we rely totally on Marcus, people pinch on Marcus. Some other people have to make some plays.… We had hopes Justin would be a guy.… We didn’t have anybody doing that today, really, other than Thomas Gipson.”

Emptying the bench

K-State used 14 players against Pittsburgh. Most of the substitutions were meant to keep legs fresh, and reserves like Malek Harris and Nigel Johnson both played more than 10 minutes.

But some of the substitutions were meant as a white flag. Weber emptied the bench late in the game when it was obvious Pittsburgh had won.

To reach Kellis Robinett, send email to krobinett@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KellisRobinett.

This story was originally published November 26, 2014 at 10:50 PM with the headline "Kansas State Notebook: Coach Bruce Weber wants more out of Justin Edwards."