K-State v. Long Beach State - 77-60 (W) - Post-Game

Diamond Head Classic Champs!

The Wildcats took on - and overcame - the Long Beach State University 49ers in some Christmas island action, playing for the championship in fabulous Waikiki, Hawaii. The Cats played a pretty darned good game that, aside from a general let-down in intensity early in the second half, would rival one of their more complete efforts this season.

With the win, K-State went to 10-1 on the season, answered a lot of questions about offensive efficiency, and put mid-season hardware in the trophy case for the first time since 1963 2007 [dang it...1963 was way cooler].

The 49ers came in 7-5, ranked #7 RPI and #1 SOS (which is what happens when you play @Pitt, @Louisville, @Kansas, @UNC, and Xavier earlier in the tourney). A very quick and athletic team without exceptional size, they've simply outhustled their opponents regularly, averaging more rebounds, more assists, more steals, fewer TOs, and better FG% than their competition. An impressive feat, given the list of teams they've gone on the road to play.

K-State though, as it looks, is definitely starting to hit their stride, and with great timing. The Cats were clearly the better team throughout the entirety of the game, with their thoroughly stifling defense (37%/32% opp FG%/3PFG%), solid shooting (50%/39% FG%/3PFG%), and general care in ballhandling (positive AST/TO ratio).

The 49ers got punched in the mouth right out of the gate, with K-State grabbing the lead early on a couple of quick Rodney McGruder buckets and forcing two or three straight LBSU turnovers. The Cats continued the trend, pushing the lead out to double digits, including a 12-point spread at half. While KSU had some intensity lapse in the second half, letting the lead dwindle down to 9 or 10, the 49ers never really threatened, and the boys in purple stepped back on the gas late, ending the game - and the tournament championship - with a 17-point win over an above average opponent.

Good things to take away:

• Mid-Season Tourney Championship. Doesn't matter what the tournament is, where its played, or necessarily how good the competition is. If you come out of one with a 'chip, you're at least on a 3-game win streak, you've beaten decent competition on a neutral floor (think NCAA tournament evaluation), and you've got something to be proud of, to build on, a morale booster, and a recruiting tool. And having a trophy in the case doesn't suck, either.
• Offensive Execution. Offensive execution this game was arguably the best we've seen this year. Many instances of pass-pass-pass-pass-open look. Very few forced shots - mostly coming in the paint, which is OK - led to 50% FG shooting. Angel Rodriguez and Thomas Gipson had difficulty putting the ball in the bucket, accounting for 40% of the team's missed shots - but none of them were necessarily bad shots. I was wrong...I said earlier this season this would be something we would have trouble with all year. Seems like we've figured it out a little.
• Upperclassmen acting like upperclassmen. We finally had production from our juniors and seniors. Rodney McGruder had a career night, Jamar Samuels was two REB shy of his third straight double-double, Martavious Irving played pretty solid D and played intelligently on O, and Jordan Henriquez made solid contributions off the bench. There weren't any freshmen bailing the team out - but there wasn't any need for them to come up big, either.
• Bench, bench, bench. Without having any true stars on the team, we've got to rely on everyone. We're finding the team can legitimately go 11-deep (with senior Victor Ojeleye providing 4 minutes of net-neutral or even net-positive basketball) with four solid bigs, and that will be crucial to beat the best teams in our league, that might not be as deep (KU) or as big (Mizzou).

Things to improve on:

• Mid-half intensity. This team has exhibited a problem lately, letting up in the middle of especially the second half of games. Not a complete crap-the-bed effort, but a let's-just-coast-and-hope-the-clock-ticks-away effort. The Cats went through two of these stretches, the last 2-3 minutes of the first half, and a good chunk of 7-8 minutes in the second. Good teams will be able to turn those into full-fledged crap-the-bed efforts, where we can see a 15-point lead completely evaporate in 120 seconds, or stretch a 3-point deficit to 15 just as easily.
• Defensive Rebounding in Zone Defense. That's not to say we didn't do a decent job as a game, or as a whole on the year. But when HCFM changed up from our traditional man defense to the 3-2 zone, we started coughing up offensive boards...bad. In fact, we gave up more OREBs than we got ourselves, and I bet (without research) that was close to the highest number of OREBs we've given up. This team doesn't play much zone, so it's not surprising, but rebounding is VERY difficult in a 3-2 zone, as it yields only two men down around the bucket combined with the general 'stand-and-jump' rebounding attributed to a zone D, as opposed to 'block-out-and-go-get-it' rebounding with man-to-man.
• Consistency. Jamar is getting consistent, though it's not the star numbers he should be capable of. JO is playing pretty consistent, too. Will is being Will. We finally had Rod show up to a game. The freshmen need to keep working at consistency, though. Angel played two stellar games, then was a no-show. Gip is having problems on the scoring end lately. Don't get me wrong - we have always had someone step up to take care of business. But to really take the leap from where we're at to where we all want to be? Everyone has to bring it, every night.

Individual Player Analysis: Starters

• Rodney McGruder: A+. Let's just go ahead and get this one out of the way. Tourney MVP, all-tourney team. Only played 25 minutes in the CG, but logged a career-high 28 PTS on 10-11 FG, 2-3 3PFG, with 6 REB, 1 STL, 1 TO, and 1 foul. For those scoring at home, that's 45 PTS per 40 minutes scoring clip. That's production, that's efficiency. Scored in every way imaginable - shooting the 3, driving to the bucket, offensive putbacks, and from the FT line. Let's keep that up,son.
• Jamar Samuels: B+. Also made all-tourney team. Not his highest scoring or rebounding effort, but maybe his most complete game this year. 11 PTS on 4-8 FG, 3-4 FT, with 8 REB, 1 STL, 4 AST, 2 BLK, and only 1 TO in a team-high 33 minutes (which is very surprising). What was just as important was his general effort throughout the game (not really loafing very much, as he's prone to do at times), and his demeanor. Looked like he was working. Looked like he was having fun. Looked like he was...leading? Still want to see a little more power in the post offensively, he seems to get bumped off-line rather easily.
• Thomas Gipson: C+. 18 minutes of decent, but not exemplary play. 5 PTS on 2-6 FG, 1-2 FT, 7 REB, 2 AST, 4 TO. Looks kind of like he's struggling with some confidence, and/or needs to get some stronger hands. Fumbled some balls away more often than any of us would like. I expect more out of The Big Gip. I really do. But honestly, he's doing what he can, I think. His success earlier in the season has all of our opponents double-teaming him on the catch. He's got to learn another post move to go to. Everyone on the floor, in the arena, the refs, and all of us at home know if he catches the ball in the post, he's either going to pass out of the double-team and find an open shooter (good), or make a strong move to the left-handed hook (bad b/c its predictable). He's got the size to pull it off and not get blocked, but there's easier buckets to be had.
• Will Spradling: B. 17 PTS in 32 minutes (4-7 FG, 3-5 3PFG, 6-7 FT), with 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 2 TO. Drew at least one charge...again. That's one in every game this season. The kid's made a name for himself already, and he has a serious knack for getting in the right position early and taking it right on the chin. Very useful, given the overwhelming aggressive play toward the basket by guard players in the current game. Played some pretty solid D as well, contesting every shot put up by his man. He did very well on closing out to the shooter in the zone. I have higher regard for Will's AST/TO ratio capabilities, so I docked him a little for the 1:1 ratio.
• Martavious Irving: B-. Actually, played a decent game when was playing. 17 minutes yielded 6 PTS (3-4 FG), 2 AST, no TO, and 1 REB. He's always the guy taking the toughest on-ball defense assignment, so he's getting a lot of hand-check fouls called, and he just doesn't seem to get the consistency in the charge call that Will does. Sucks, because he's there just as often. He spent a good chunk of the game on the bench in foul trouble, ended up netting 4 fouls. Plays really good D with his feet, but needs to learn to keep the hands up. I do believe he gets some questionable calls on him...the fouls are technically the right call, but refs are SO inconsistent on who, where or how often they call it. If Tay keeps coming up with hand check fouls, so should every other guard on the floor.

Bench:

• Jordan Henriquez: B. 16 minutes, 7 PTS (2-5 FG, 3-4 FT), 3 REB, 1 AST, 2 BLK, 1 TO. Fumbled one missed rebound. Outside of that, we saw good shot challenging around the rim, great recognition of the defense from the high post (once spinning off the defender for a down-the-lane dunk, once pivoting for a jumper from the elbow when the defender dropped off), and above average FT shooting. Would like to see better rebounding by JO, but he spent a lot of time in that 3-2 zone, and he's just not strong enough to do the stand-and-jump rebounding. Again, if this is what we get out of JO on a consistent basis, we shouldn't be disappointed.
• Shane Southwell: B+. The Paradox stuffed the statsheet again, playing 21 minutes and carding 3 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, and 2 TO. Played really, really good defense, actually - his length is great on the front of the 3-2 zone. Offensively, I think he plays too soft. He had a couple of good drives to the bucket, but he tries to finish them off with one-handed teardrops or floaters. Dude, you're 6'-6". Go finish the damn bucket. Go get some contact and shoot some FTs. He is the prototypical "shoot-the-3, or go-to-the-rim" offensive player. Start being strong with the rock. 1:2 AST/TO ratio is actually pretty abnormal for the Paradox, but that's why he's the Paradox.
• Angel Rodriguez: C-. I hate to say it, but his past two games have completely raised the bar for Angel. Then he comes into this game and plays 16 wholly ineffective minutes, going 0-6 FG, 0-3 3PFG, didn't make it to the FT line, and only one recorded stat - 1 AST. I guess he didn't turn the ball over at all, but he just never really had an effect on the game. Didn't give him a D simply because other than poor shooting (which I never thought he took a bad shot, necessarily), he never really did anything detrimental, either. He was just a body out on the floor that was playing OK defense...sometimes you need those.
• Adrian Diaz: B-. 9 minutes, with 0 PTS (missed one shot), 0 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK, 1 TO, and 1 foul. Would like more production out of him around the hoop - kind of ridiculous for a seven-footer to get completely blanked on points and rebounds in that significant of playing time. But the kid works hard when he's out there. It's pretty clear why HCFM is giving him the playing time - he's getting better, and putting in the effort.
• Jeremy Jones: C. 8 minutes with 0 PTS (0-1 3PFG), 2 REB, 1 TO, and 1 foul. He's a speedster, doesn't have stellar D (but it is getting better), and frankly, we need more scoring production out of him and Angel when they come off the bench. His role on this team is The Microwave - instant heat. Didn't really accomplish that. Again, not a bad grade, because he wasn't net bad.
• Victor Ojeleye: B. Only played 4 minutes, with 1 REB and 1 foul...net neutral. Like I've said before, if someone that is obviously under-athleticked can come out on the floor and give you a couple of net neutral or better minutes, that's not bad.

Nino Williams came in for a minute of garbage time at the end of the game, rebounding the last shot from the 49ers. No one else saw the floor.