K-State is in much better place than last season heading into conference opener

It’s a simple thing, really, but Kansas State coach Bruce Weber didn’t want to downplay its significance.

Recently, his team went bowling together. It was fun. Lots of laughs, lots of bad rolls.

“Last year, we weren’t in this place,” Weber said. “It’s a good place. We enjoy being around each other, the team is more fun to coach. We’ve got some mojo.”

Mojo to go with a 10-2 record headed into K-State’s Big 12 opener on Saturday against West Virginia, 11-1, at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.

It’s a far cry from last season, when K-State limped out of nonconference play with a 7-6 record and into Stillwater, Okla., where the Wildcats were served up a 61-47 loss to Oklahoma State that served as a sign of what was to come.

It was against Oklahoma State where Weber first pulled star guard Marcus Foster from the starting lineup. Foster spent most of the game at the end of the bench, disinterested and surly, the Wildcats finished 15-17 and Foster led a mass exodus of players from K-State after the season.

“I guess, you know, the biggest difference is we’re going into Big 12 play with a clear mind,” said K-State junior guard Wesley Iwundu, who leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points. “There’s not so much stuff going on off the court, away from basketball. Nothing to take away our focus level, nothing to distract us from moving forward.”

Weber said Iwundu has taken him to task for mentioning last year’s struggles too much.

“Wes kind of reprimanded me a couple of times for making comparisons to last year or whatever,” Weber said. “Last year, (the start of Big 12 play) was a turning point in the wrong direction for us. We lost at Oklahoma State, recovered a little bit and then things went south.”

Weber and Iwundu both kept going back to Big 12 play being “another level” and making sure it was understood by all exactly what that meant.

“We obviously need great focus, great intensity,” Weber said. “Obviously our league was good two years ago, then it got better last year ... and I think it might be even better now. We’re going to find out a lot about ourselves on Saturday. How will you deal with a press-breaker against West Virginia when you get tired? That’s a huge test.”

Consistency has been key for K-State, which has fielded the same starting lineup for all 12 games.

“We stay in the gym, we stay focused and stay together,” K-State guard Kamau Stokes said. “I don’t feel like (West Virginia) is a test, I feel like it’s another game we have to win, and to do that it starts with what we do in practice and making plays and making shots.”

This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 8:18 PM with the headline "K-State is in much better place than last season heading into conference opener."