K-Stated

For the second straight week Kansas State assistant basketball coach Brad Underwood allowed me to pick his brain on a few basketball topics. And for the second straight week, he had plenty of insightful comments to share.

Hopefully we can keep that going and turn this into a weekly staple on the blog.

The main topics this week: The surprising play of 7-footer Jordan Henriquez-Roberts, who scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds against Missouri, and the way coaches look at playing time as opposed to fans.

Did you have a feeling Henriquez-Roberts was going to give you a breakout performance?

“Jordan is a talented player. He had something going for him in that game. Missouri doesn’t have a tremendous amount of size. They’re not an overly physical team, but in a game of finesse, Jordan is very capable. He’s a guy who has great length and can finish at the rim.

“He’s got great touch. He’s a guy that was very active. Jordan is a tremendous presence on the defensive end with his ability to block shots.
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Will Spradling has been impressive all season, but he took his game to a new level Friday night at Friel Court by showing his clutch side late in a 63-58 victory over Washington State.

In front of a deafening student section, the freshman guard made two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to increase a narrow two-point lead to a more comfortable four. Free throws have troubled Kansas State all year, but Spradling stepped into a difficult situation and made the necessary shots under pressure to help his team win its first true road game.

A window into how Spradling kept his cool:

Leading by two points with 23 seconds remaining, K-State inbounded the ball to its best player, Jacob Pullen. Washington State had no interest in fouling the senior guard and trapped him with a double team. Spradling was supposed to be nearby to receive an outlet pass, but was out of position and the Wildcats called timeout. In the ensuing huddle, Frank Martin challenged Spradling.

“I told him, ‘You don’t want the ball at the end of the game? What’s the problem?’” Martin said. “He said, ‘Are you kidding me? Yes I want it.’ So I said, ‘Go get the ball.’”

He did. K-State ran the same play when it returned to the court with success and got the ball to Spradling. The Cougars saw a freshman with the ball and couldn’t foul him fast enough. With 16 seconds remaining, Washington State had the man it wanted at the foul line. But so did K-State.

“I knew he was making them,” Pullen said. Read More »

When Kansas State’s 83-56 exhibition victory over Newman was complete Tuesday night, Frank Martin was asked what he’d like to see his team improve on before taking the court this Sunday against Washburn.

After using 14 players and all kinds of different lineups, the Wildcats basketball coach could have said anything. I thought he’d point to his team’s 17 turnovers.

Turns out he saw no major flaws the first night out. This week in practice he’d like to see his team get a little better at shooting free throws (K-State made 21 of 40) and making one-foot layups (K-State made 39.7 percent of its shots).

Those, indeed, are some easy problems to solve.
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After a year off, Madness in Manhattan was better than ever. Close to 7,000 fans crammed into Bramlage Coliseum on Friday and loudly celebrated the start of college basketball.

They were treated to speeches from players on both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, an extremely funny video featuring Kansas State grad Eric Stonestreet and the cast of Modern Family, dances and all sorts of high-flying plays.

K-State coach Frank Martin loved every moment of it. He says the event is here to stay.

“Let’s have a party now, kickoff the season and then let’s all go work,” Martin said. “It went really well tonight, and our fans and players both deserve it.”
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