Kansas State Wildcats
2019-2020 Overall Rank: #67
Conference Rank: #9 Big 12
Kansas State has reached the NCAA Tournament three straight times, but reaching a fourth could be difficult. Coach Bruce Weber has done well leading the Wildcats and now has to replace three starters who have done a lot for the program during their tenure. Last year Kansas State had a disappointing conclusion to their seniors’ collegiate careers with a first round tournament upset loss at the hands of UC Irvine. The Wildcats will hope to put that loss behind them quickly heading into the 2019-2020 campaign, but that may not be particularly easy to do.
2018-19 Record: 25-9, 14-4
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Bruce Weber
Coach Record: 150-89 at Kansas State, 463-244 overall
Key Departed Players:
Barry Brown, Guard, 14.6 ppg
Dean Wade, Forward, 12.9 ppg
Kamau Stokes, Guard, 11.0 ppg
Austin Trice, Forward, 1.9 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Xavier Sneed, Senior, Forward, 10.6 ppg
Makol Mawien, Senior, Forward, 7.0 ppg
Cartier Diarra, Junior, Guard, 6.8 ppg
Mike McGuirl, Junior, Guard, 3.6 ppg
Levi Stockard III, Junior, Forward, 1.8 ppg
Shaun Williams, Sophomore, Guard, 1.4 ppg
Key New Players:
Antonio Gordon, Freshman, Forward
Dajuan Gordon, Freshman, Guard
Montavious Murphy, Freshman, Forward
Joe Petrakis, Sophomore, Forward, JC Transfer
David Sloan, Junior, Guard, JC Transfer
Projection:
Senior forwards Xavier Sneed and Makol Mawien will be the new leaders of the team. Sneed is the team’s top returning scorer, rebounder, passer and defender, averaging 10.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals. At 6-5, Sneed is a player who can do it all, while Mawien is more of a traditional forward. Mawien averaged 7.0 points and 4.9 rebounds and was also the team’s top shot blocker in 2018-2019. Cartier Diarra and Mike McGuirl are the other returning players from last year’s regular rotation. Diarra averaged 6.8 points per game and proved to be a consistent three-point shooter. McGuirl added 3.6 points per game. Junior college transfer David Sloan and incoming freshman Dajuan Gordon will have to add some options on the perimeter. Sloan was one of the best point guards in the junior college ranks last season and will need to have a very good season if Kansas State is going to make a push towards the NCAA Tournament. Kansas State does not need to rely too much on three-point shooting, but Gordon will have to join Diarra and Sneed as a perimeter shooting threat to add another dynamic to an offense that could be quite stagnant. However, Coach Weber’s defense will keep Kansas State in most games.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 65.8 (322nd in nation, 10th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 59.6 (4, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.9 (257, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.5 (57, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.1 (240, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.4 (228, 9)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.7 (311, 10)
Rebound Margin: 1.1 (143, 6)
Assists Per Game: 13.6 (151, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.3 (45, 3)
Madness 2020 NBA Draft Rankings:
#48 Xavier Sneed
Madness 2019 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#132 Dajuan Gordon
#156 Montavious Murphy
