Kansas State Superlatives

Nolo here with your K-State superlatives. I know I’m not quite as good as Pistols Guy, but when your blog is stricken with weddings, injuries, and foul trouble, sometimes you have to settle with what’s left. Here we go…

Over… when McGruder hit back-to-back threes to push the lead to 14 in the second half. K-State built a comfortable lead and didn’t look back.

OSU lost because… because they just don’t have enough guys. When Jurick left with what appeared to be a significant achilles injury early in the first half, the Cowboys were left with just four freshman, a sophomore, and a senior to win a tough game on the road. Not that it made a difference, but Markel also played through a rolled ankle he suffered midway through the second half that limited his quickness.

What… has gotten into Keiton lately? As soon as Pistols Guy called him out for being an average shooter, he has lit it up from behind the arc. He did so again in this one hitting 6-10 from three. The flip side of that? He finished the game with 8 of OSU’s 19 turnovers. You can’t win on the road if you don’t take care of the ball.

Why… does Bramlage Coliseum attract more students than GIA? Somebody please answer for me because I have no idea.

Where… has this Cezar been? I had my doubts all season, but he seems to be coming around. He gave us quality minutes against a loaded Kansas team then went 6-11 from the field today for 15 points in 34 minutes of play. I know K-State doesn’t have the best front court with Spradling and Rodriguez splitting time at the point, but this is a great way to end the season for a streaky freshman who seems to feed off his emotions.

Who… is Frank Martin when he’s not coaching basketball? My guess is a mix between his predecessor, Bob Huggins, and Tony Montana. Here’s how I imagine a typical Frank Martin recruiting trip going down…He walks into the homes of these recruits in Puerto Rico with a white linen Tommy Bahama shirt (complete with an embroidered purple PowerCat, of course), sunglasses, Tevas, and a briefcase full of drug money. He takes a puff of his cigar then says something to the mom in Spanish along the lines of “I’m going to give you this, and your child is going to come play basketball for me in Manhattan, Kansas for four years. There’s nothing you can do about it. Goodbye.” Then just grabbing the recruit by the arm, swooping up the family puppy with the other, and leaving the briefcase as he walks away. I heard this actually happened to Denis Clemente.

How… hard does Cobbins play? I mean the guy just doesn’t give up. He is basically left alone night in and night out to defend the best big men in the Big XII as an undersized 6’8″ freshman. I know he doesn’t light up the stat sheet, and I’m as frustrated as anyone about us not winning games, but I can’t say enough about his effort.

Stat… Five OSU players played 34+ minutes. The usual Page/Brown/Williams/Cobbins crew plus Guerrero. Playing so many games with so few players is definitely taking a toll. Keiton played the entire game today and he wasn’t the first OSU player to do so this season.

Hero – I’ll go with Cezar. Why not? He was our only other guy in double figures scoring besides Keiton. He didn’t let turnovers completely psyche him out like he typically does. He kept a level head, dropped 15, and seemed to find a groove that could be very important going into next season.

Goat – This is tough. I respect all these guys for the effort they’ve given considering all that’s gone on, but if Soucek (2 turnovers, 0 points, 5 fouls) doesn’t learn to play a little defense, he’s going to struggle to be effective at this level.

Grade – C-

Next – Big XII tournament first round from Kansas City Wednesday against Texas Tech.