K-State Slate: 1.12.12

Keep the good will and positive vibes flowing, man. Over ranked, under ranked, I don’t care. I’m just happy they’re ranked at all.

Everybody knows Frank is different on and off the court – well documented in many areas. Does everybody love him? Probably not, but he does right by his kids, the program, and the university. Being sensible midwestern folk that’s all we expect.

I agree with the sentiment that there will always be a tug-of-war at a school with a small fan base and limited resources. However, I’m not sure it has a lot to do with Snyder vs. Martin. I think it has more to do with the fact that we abandoned basketball for fifteen years and let Kansas lay waste to us during that entire time period, while we repaid in kind in football.

The Kansas basketball/Kansas State football dominance during that time period defined the culture of the two schools, and it’s now in our DNA and will be for the couple of decades as the generation that was in school during the 90’s/early 00’s is the one with the money and is going to the games. That, IMO, is the reason we favor football over basketball, but it’s not a significant level of favoritism. It just is what it is.

His methods get him on camera a lot more often than he’d be looked at live, at least that how it seems to this outsider.

and this is what I have come up with:

There are a couple very interesting thoughts that are stirred up by this write-up.
The biggest thing that sticks out in my mind, the idea that pervades throughout this article, is that Frank has not matured like we, in some way, expected him to. It’s very odd to say that about someone his age and with his background, but there is a lack of growth from Frank since he started at K-State. Sure, his abrasive, emotional style works (he has 3 NCAA tourney appearances and 100+ wins to prove it) and won fans back over to loving K-State basketball. And I really appreciate that he hasn’t backed down from criticism, and from expecting everything from his players every second.
But my point is, Frank needs to mature. After four full years, with the quality of coach that he is, he needs to show growth in his coaching style. He already has shown some, as he has incorporated Underwood’s offense into his own and allowed zone defense to be played, but there is still a big component missing. Maturity, especially in the heat of the moment. We see in postgame interviews how emotional the guy is, and I’m glad the coach of my team has that passion for the game, but he needs to understand how to be more mature with that emotion. Tounge-lashing the guys in practice is understandable, and happens everywhere, but on the court during a game Frank needs to understand when to pull it back. We see him time after time blowing up on TV with expletive filled rants. It was exciting at first, but there is now a better way.
I still want Frank’s passion, his drive, his energy. But he can find other ways of expressing that outside of practice and huddles. Great coaches make highlights for what their players do, not because their court-side antics are good TV.

Again, I firmly believe Frank Martin is a good basketball coach, and the man I want leading the basketball team at my Alma Mater. But I also believe, that for him to become a great coach, he needs to show a little more growth and maturity. It obviously wont, and doesn’t need to, come overnight. But by now, his fifth year in charge, we should have seen something in Frank that is different than his first year and we really haven’t. Its so small, yet so big all at the same time.

Word is that he did something that caused the staff to pull his scholarship offer.
Not a big loss, only in “rankings.” Some other good WR’s coming in, including top JUCO WR and greyshirt Gronkowski.

I never would have expected that.

Did Kirby make that hire down there? God, I hope not.

be D-Coordinator and unofficial coach-in-waiting

and I enjoyed reading.
No true thoughts to add at the moment though.

Nothing against the bat cats, but with the dramatic drop in talent in college the draw just wouldn’t be there…also, where will all the minor league games be played? Will the chiefs team up with KU due to the short drive leaving KSU to wither on the vine? I see it giving the NFL the ability to pick what universities they prefer to win…

Geez, the more I think on it I would take the current system over that one – the “purity” of the sport (notice my quotes to indicate nothing is pure anymore) and the atmosphere make college football worthy…that and a quality product on the field.

for any of the Non-Con games, or Missouri. If winning is related to how many students were there, then less is better…

4) JO is emerging as a real threat.

Yes. Let’s talk about how the season went. KSU beat Missouri by seven points at home, a margin that suggests that the result may have quite possibly flipped had the home-road slate been a little different. If said result flips, then Missouri and K-State end up with the exact same record. And even with the result, meanwhile, Missouri scored more points, allowed fewer points, gained more yards, and allowed fewer yards than Kansas State. Plus, KSU went 8-1 in one-possession games, which typically all but guarantees regression the next season.

But other than that, this ranking is totally bogus in every way.

KSU had a blessed run this year and was one of my favorite teams to talk about all season. (I did name Snyder coach of the year and place Nigel Malone on the SBN AA team, and I have long acknowledged a major man-crush on David Garrett. And for every KSU game over the last half of the season, I basically gave a “The numbers say this, but you might want to ignore the numbers when it comes to K-State this year” disclaimer.) They also pulled off said run in a way that is very, very difficult to duplicate, even for a great coach, and even with a similar cast of characters. Maybe it continues again next year — and with Collin Klein, there’s a chance (I did, after all, rank KSU … I certainly had to ignore quite a few numbers to do so) — but I’m sorry if I don’t outright assume it will.

…that alone isn’t a reason not to pursue a playoff. It’s just a reminder that there’s always danger ahead when we get our way on something.

Let’s play basketball, and start worrying about football again later.

Go sleep in you Jayhawk pajamas with your little Truman pillow. Traitor.