Comments on: Post-mortem, ‘07-'08

By: RockCat

RockCat — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:14:36 +0000

I have trust and faith - but I am one of those optimistic about the future types. Don’t know how to reconcile being pesimistic about the here and now and optimistic about the future, but I am. I like all the coaching staff a lot, including Greenawalt. I agree with those who have stated it is more difficult to coach the all-universe type talent, especially when it’s all done in the space of what, 8-9 months? I loved to see the ball movement we lacked under the previous coaching regimes. Confidence in shooting has always been a struggle for the Cats since ‘88. I think we will get better in that area, starting next year. I’m all in with Frank.

By: RU4KSU2

RU4KSU2 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:34:24 +0000

In Frank I TRUST!!! I am very excited about the position of K-State Basketball for the future. Think about this, if we did not have Beasley and Walker this past year we would all be going crazy over these freshman we have coming back. Sutton, Anderson, Pullen, and Brown. Over the past 10 plus years, we would have given almost anything to have just one or two of those guys coming back as freshmen. Add to it the possibilities if Samuels and Clemente are the real deal and we should be more optimistic about next year than any of the past 12 (except for the past 2).

Nice Post-Mortem Jeff… I like the perspective.

By: jthutch

jthutch — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:34:08 +0000

I like Frank a lot! He took everything in stride. How about having the best player in the nation in your first year as a head coach. Yes you have a tremendous talent but then you have to deal with the media, how to best harness the best talent in the nation and mix it with the rest of your team. If that is not putting a guy in a boiler and waiting for him to explode I don’t know what is. He had so much pressure to produce compaired to any other first year coach. And he was damned if he do and damned if he don’t. If he would have won more Beasley and Walker get the credit. If he loses any more than he did he sucks as a coach and he needs to be fired. As a Wildcat fan since I was born I like the guy and hope he can find some good kids to fit into his system.

By: Will

Will — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:41:22 +0000

Balanced scoring? Did you say balanced scoring? We’re screwed.

By: ksu_FAN

ksu_FAN — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:18:16 +0000

Overall I think Martin did an admirable job considering the youth of this team and the fact that he had to manage the number of egos he did. He got these guys to defend far better than I expected (though consistency was an issue) and he was able to build a team that relied on Beasley a lot, but also shared the load as much as possible through Walker first, then Pullen, then the rest of his players. I think Martin’s substitution patterns and use of Pullen are valid complaints, but every coach deserves to have a learning curve.

I do think the foundation is in place for a bright future, but he still needs to get a couple solid players for next year’s class and hold on to the DC connection for 09. I think he will. It will be interesting to see how this team adjusts to life without Beasley and Walker, but I do think next year’s team will be a lot of fun to watch even though there will likely be some very ugly games for K-State.

I’m expecting a very high pace team that tries to pressure the ball and score as much as possible in transition. In the half court a very perimeter oriented team that tries to use Clemente, Pullen, Evans (hopefully) and even Sutton to break teams down off the dribble. And a team that has much more balance (which is overrated, I hope someone steps up to score 15+ consistently) hopefully fighting for the middle of the league and at least some sort of postseason. Should be fun to watch.

By: sys

sys — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:30:06 +0000

i agree with russell, 3f and yosh. i like martin as a human being, and as a floor coach. in general, i feel very good about future ksu bball.

but i’d feel better if there was a top 100 2008 or two signed up. how he and the rest of the staff fill the 2008s and remaining 2009s will more or less determine his fate as the ksu head coach, judge and mcgruder are a great start.

taking gilbert last spring is a reason to worry.

By: jack

jack — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:16:14 +0000

Jeff:

I think an overwhelming majority read the bile from another writer from the KCStar and shrug it off. JW has an agenda, and that agenda is JW. He came up with this brilliant insight that Martin changed his coaching style into one that he liked. When coach shot that down, you could see it coming. In his mind, it is terribly important for everybody to witness the brilliance. Luckily, he’s going off to save Obama. How he ever got to where he is without the sage’s advice, is remarkable.

As for Frank, I give him a pretty good grade. Having talent is a great advantage, but sometimes it’s even harder to coach up all players when you rely so heavily on two. I’m really looking forward to next season (for a longtime KSU fan, that says a ton) and Frank deserves credit.

Even if Mike and Bill leave; we have some great stories for next year.

What is the reasonable level of talent for them to land on a regular basis?
Does Jacob get the opportunity to be a playmaker?
Did Greenwalt perform his magic on Jamar?
Will Dominique gain confidence on the offensive side?
How good is Ron Anderson? (I think..very)
Will Gilbert develop an understanding of the proper shot within the offense?
Colon’s footwork is improving, what’s his ceiling?
Can Darren Kent break the conference record for bogus foul calls?
If Clemente goes to point; does Frank curse him out in Spanish?

If any of the superstars return, it’s just gravy. We had a hell of a ride this year.

By: yosh

yosh — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:07:48 +0000

Assuming we got those three, I would want a PG first. Clemente will be a SR and Pullen a JR when that class comes in,so we’ll need a young guy. Mike Dixon out of KC would be really nice. He’s a top 100 guy, he’d fill a need and it’s been a long time since we landed a legit KC prospect. My next choice would be another big. If we get Evans and/or McDonald in 08 (in addition to the guys discussed for 09) we’d be fairly loaded with wings and guards.

Obviously, any top 20 guy I would welcome regardless of position.

By: KUsucks

KUsucks — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:04:27 +0000

J, after reading this again, you are a closet KSU fan. Hate to break it to you. I’ll buy you a hat if you need one.

By: KUsucks

KUsucks — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:45:14 +0000

If he can get Reid, McGruder, Judge, that’s an impressive class. But you said 4, so who would we want there? Anyone leaning toward us for that class? Do we still want Boyd? He kind of plummeted from the ranks. Feel free to respond on KSUfans if you don’t want to reply here.