Rapid Recap: Jerrell Colbert comes up huge for Kansas State
Big Kansas State run
Kansas State played a good first half against Kansas Monday night. The Jayhawks led 32-30 at the break. But the beginning of the second half was dominated by Kansas. K-State was sloppy with the ball and allowed the Jayhawks to get out in transition. It became 41-30 Kansas lead very quickly.
After a Jerome Tang timeout Kansas State went on an 11-0 run to tie the game with 15 minutes to go. It was a massive run for K-State to get right back in the game after getting punched in the mouth. The spurt also put the game pressure right back on Kansas.
Tylor Perry went on an 8-0 run by himself during that 11-0 stretch. Tang told his players when they huddled to not turn the ball over. They were allowing way too many easy baskets. They needed to re-focus.
Rebounds played a factor
It is no secret Kansas State has struggled on the defensive glass this season.
However, against Kansas the script was flipped. K-State out-rebounded the Jayhawks 43-33 and won the battle on the offensive glass as well. David N’Guessan, Arthur Kaluma and Jerrell Colbert kept balls alive and Kansas State was winning the 50/50 balls.
K-State has struggled with turnovers all season as well. The turnover issue did not get fixed against Kansas and Tang even mentioned he is not sure how he can fix it. Turnovers have not always caused Kansas State to lose games, either.
What K-State cannot afford to do is turn the ball over while struggling to rebound and foul.
An unsung K-State hero
How about the game from Colbert in the Sunflower Showdown? Despite not scoring, the Kansas State big man was still +21 in the +/- department in only 16 minutes of action. Colbert was great on the defensive end and disrupting shots.
The sophomore has been working hard. Tang credits his graduate assistants as well as Jareem Dowling and Marco Borne for his development. Both Dowling and Borne coach the big men for K-State. Colbert has taken a more mature approach to his craft and is rapidly improving.
The next step for Colbert will be being able to play more in games and not to just be satisfied with his performance Monday. They still limited his time on the floor because of not being physically ready for more, according to his head coach.
