Rapid Recap: A dream come true for many at Kansas State
LIMITING OSCAR
Kansas State will face one of the best players in college basketball in Oscar Tshiebwe. He was the Naismith Player of the Year and the SEC Player of the Year one season ago. He is averaging 16 points and 13.5 rebounds per game season.
In the first round game versus Providence, the Kentucky senior hauled in 25 rebounds. 11 came on the offensive end.
He is a unique challenge to keep off the glass. Nae’Qwan Tomlin and Keyontae Johnson both said it would take a team effort to keep him from being so dominant in that department. All five K-State players will need to rebound on Sunday afternoon.
Jerome Tang and Baylor recruited Tshiebwe hard out of high school and played against him at West Virginia, so he did not need to watch the tape on him. In their wins and losses, Tshiebwe gets double-doubles.
Kansas State will try to make it difficult on him but guys like him find a way to perform.
HARDEST PART OF ROUND TWO
Sometimes the second round of the tournament can be tough. It is a quick turnaround because of the television schedules like K-State will have this year. They can also be a long wait to play the second round.
Instead, both teams are playing again in with only about 36 hours separating the two contests.
According to Tang, the hardest two things about the second round are coming off the high of winning and recovery. It is a balance of figuring out how much rest is too much or how much is not enough on a short turnaround.
VALUE OF KANSAS STATE STAFFER
A unique position on the Kansas State staff is the Director of Strategies. Kevin Sutton holds the title after spending last season as an assistant at Florida Gulf Coast.
Tang and Sutton have known each other for the last 25 years and worked the Five Star Camp together when Tang began coaching. Sutton is someone that Tang leaned on early in his coaching career since he started Montverde Academy.
The K-State head boss thinks Sutton is one of the best player development guys in the world.
It is staff members like Sutton, Marco Borne, Anthony Winchester and Austin Carpenter who make the difference and distinguish programs from others. They spend more time with the players than even the Kansas State coaches because of the rules.
A DREAM COME TRUE FOR K-STATE
It wasn’t long ago when K-State was projected to finish last in the Big 12 and were returning just two players. The whole year has been a dream come true for Tang and his players. They value the journey that began on their first day in Manhattan.
The Kansas State players have embraced the staff and embraced each other in a short period of time. To get to the NCAA Tournament is a dream they do not want to see end.
