You can still see some Brad Underwood influence in this team. They like to push the ball and while they don't run as much pinch post offense as when Brad was there, they still do run it. There are multiple variations/options they can run off the pinch post, but here are the basic concepts: 2 wings cut from the weak side to the strong side, leaving a post man alone at the elbow on the weak side of the floor. While they aren't necessarily looking to score with those first 2 cuts, if you fall asleep it will be a layup. If the ball gets reversed through the high post, it will be a hand off for the guard and the post will roll to the basket. If they can't reverse through the post, he will step out set a ball screen.
Against OU, they looked to post Carroll quite a bit, and that was probably due to OU having Trae Young on him which suprised me. My guess is Barry Brown will start on Carroll, but I would be tempted to put X on Carroll and Brown on Shine. K-State cannot let Shine get going from 3. If we let him get in a rhythm early, he can knock them down in bunches.
The Cats must keep them off the offensive glass, especially Solomon, Sima (#35), and McGriff. The growth of Solomon as player has been pretty remarkable. His first couple of years he was strictly an energy guy with minimal offensive skills. Now they will throw it to him in the post and he will even step out and shoot the 3. And he still plays with great energy and the Cats must match is or it could be a long night. A guy like him is what this K-State team could really use.
Dziagwa (#4) is their best 3 point shooter percentage wise and he isn't bashful. When he comes in off the bench, there's a good chance its going up. Averette, the back up point guard, is athletic and strong, but can get sped up. While still not a great shooter he is improved since last year.
Defensively, they are primarily a man team but I have seen some 2-3 zone and the 3-2 zone that Brad likes to play, going back to his days at K-State. The will extend the 3-2 zone to thee-quarter court. I have also seen a 1-3-1 zone out of a timeout or at the end of a half. Against ISU, they forced the ISU guards away from the ball screens. They will also run and jump some at half court.
No doubt X, Brown, and Dean will have to be good, but just as important, K-State must play with great energy. OSU will play hard and is a pesky bunch. I would like to see Wainright be a little more aggressive on the offensive end. He has shown he has some natural ability, but my guess is to this point he has viewed his role as primarily being an energy/rebound/defense guy. With Kam out, multiple guys will have to pick up the scoring slack and he is one who could possibly get 7-10 points.
Against OU, they looked to post Carroll quite a bit, and that was probably due to OU having Trae Young on him which suprised me. My guess is Barry Brown will start on Carroll, but I would be tempted to put X on Carroll and Brown on Shine. K-State cannot let Shine get going from 3. If we let him get in a rhythm early, he can knock them down in bunches.
The Cats must keep them off the offensive glass, especially Solomon, Sima (#35), and McGriff. The growth of Solomon as player has been pretty remarkable. His first couple of years he was strictly an energy guy with minimal offensive skills. Now they will throw it to him in the post and he will even step out and shoot the 3. And he still plays with great energy and the Cats must match is or it could be a long night. A guy like him is what this K-State team could really use.
Dziagwa (#4) is their best 3 point shooter percentage wise and he isn't bashful. When he comes in off the bench, there's a good chance its going up. Averette, the back up point guard, is athletic and strong, but can get sped up. While still not a great shooter he is improved since last year.
Defensively, they are primarily a man team but I have seen some 2-3 zone and the 3-2 zone that Brad likes to play, going back to his days at K-State. The will extend the 3-2 zone to thee-quarter court. I have also seen a 1-3-1 zone out of a timeout or at the end of a half. Against ISU, they forced the ISU guards away from the ball screens. They will also run and jump some at half court.
No doubt X, Brown, and Dean will have to be good, but just as important, K-State must play with great energy. OSU will play hard and is a pesky bunch. I would like to see Wainright be a little more aggressive on the offensive end. He has shown he has some natural ability, but my guess is to this point he has viewed his role as primarily being an energy/rebound/defense guy. With Kam out, multiple guys will have to pick up the scoring slack and he is one who could possibly get 7-10 points.
