Joe on K-State Sports

I listened to the Skylar Thompson interview on SportsRadio 810 this morning conducted by Jason Anderson and started doing a From The Couch column on it but it was so good I just decided to post a link to the entire interview.  Definitely check it out when you get a chance...

K-State's 2010 run to the Elite 8 ended with a loss to a Butler team led by Shelvin Mack, Gordon Heyward and Brad Stevens.  All ended up in the NBA.  Let's take a look at some of the key quotes coming out of that game. Shelvin Mack scored 16 and Ronald Nored and Willie Veasley keyed an in-your-face defensive effort on K-State guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente to help Butler become the first school from a true, mid-major conference to make the Final Four since George Mason in 2006 -- a trip that also ended in Indianapolis." ...Associated Press, March 27, 2010 JM:  K-State was a heavy favorite in this one because of Butler's mid-major status.  They had beaten Murray State 54-52 in the second round and got by number one seed Syracuse in the Sweet 16 63-59.  They beat K-State 63-56 in the Elite 8 and Michigan State 52-50 in the Final Four before losing to Duke 61-59 in the national championship game.  They would return to the national championship game i

Today is the 10th anniversary of the classic Sweet 16 game between Kansas State and Xavier.  Let's take a look at what some in the media and those involved in the game had to say back then.  And now. "Pullen's 3-pointers put Kansas State in Elite Eight," ...headline on ESPN, March 26, 2010 JM:  Pullen deservedly got a lot of the credit in this one, but there's more to the story. "Jacob Pullen -- the guard who brought the phrase "Fear the Beard" to the Little Apple -- hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second overtime to help K-State outlast Xavier 101-96 on Thursday night in the West Regional semifinals.  An instant classic." ...Associated Press, March 26, 2010 JM:  This was definitely an "instant classic."  Probably the most exciting K-State basketball game I've ever watched. "After knocking off one so called mid-major, the second-seeded Wildcats (29-7) will play another -- fifth-seeded Butler -- on Saturday t

I was out and about today and heard Jason Anderson and Cory Anderson on SportsRadio 810 WHB talking about Cartier Diarra prior to conducting a long interview with Michael Bishop.  Some of what they discussed was interesting, so I'm taking a break from the NCAA columns to talk about some current events.  Let's dive right in. "I don't think (Cartier Diarra) is an NBA player.  I don't think he's a guy that's gonna be on an NBA roster."... Jason Anderson, 810 WHB JM:  This seems to be the thought of most K-State basketball fans.  It appears there are other reasons that Diarra is testing the waters, which they dove into. "To me, Cartier Diarra putting his name in the NBA draft to test the waters I think is the first step of him being him gone. I don't think he's returning next year, right?" ...Jason Anderson, 810 WHB JM:  To that, the show producer chimed in and said "right." "Players like Cartier Diarra are goi

K-State beat seven seed BYU in the second round of the 2010 NCAA tournament.  Here are some notable quotes about the game... "Pullen scored 20 of his career-high 34 points in the first half to help rally No. 2 seed Kansas State back from an early 10-point deficit, and the Wildcats turned away Jimmer Fredette and BYU 84-72 on Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament" ...Associated Press, March 20, 2010 JM:  34 points for Jacob Pullen in this one, a career high for him at that point in his career.  People seem to forget about this because of his epic performance against Xavier in the Sweet 16. "'I just couldn't sit there and watch us play,' Pullen said. 'Unless something was broken [or] I couldn't walk, man, I would have gotten back up and tried to play.'" ...Associated Press, March 20, 2010 JM:  25 seconds into the highlight video above, you can see Pullen take a hard fall on his hip with about 6:45 left in the

K-State's 2010 Elite 8 team was a fun team to watch.  Led my Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, K-State earned the number two seed in the West region, the highest seed in program history.  I thought it would be fun to look back on that tournament run.  K-State played 15 seed North Texas in the first round. "Kansas State set a school record for wins and earned its best seeding ever, nabbing the second-highest of the Big 12's record seven NCAA berths after a season that included five wins over Top 25 teams "....Associated Press, March 18, 2010 JM:  K-State was ranked as high as 5th in the AP poll during the 2009-2010 season and finished the season ranked number 7. "Coming off a disappointing loss to top-ranked Kansas in the Big 12 title game, Kansas State went back to its nobody-believes-in-us mantra, turning practices into battles that left Kelly proudly sporting two cuts on his lip." ...Associated Press, March 18, 2010 JM:  I do remember that F

In one of the most famous K-State basketball victories ever, eight seed Kansas State beat one seed Oregon State 50-48 in the second round of the 1981 NCAA tournament.  Rolando Blackman hit a last second shot to give K-State the victory, earning a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  Here are some notable quotes about the game. "For another old-timer, Oregon State's Ralph Miller, a better team may not pass his way than the Beavers who brought a two-year 52-4 regular season record into the West sub-regional at Los Angeles.  But they also lost primarily because of too much dependence on one man, he being the big moose with the big caboose, 6'10" center Steve Johnson.  'We were too timid.  We didn't play our game.  I don't know what went wrong,' said Johnson after Kansas State eliminated Oregon State 50-48." ...Curry Kirkpatrick, Sports Illustrated, March 23, 1981 JM:  Oregon State was considered the top team in the country in 1980-81.  Th

I got a chance to see The Big 12 tournament in person Wednesday night before all tournaments were cancelled the next day.  Here's some quotes from after the TCU game Wednesday night as well as statements from James Love and Nigel Shadd. "We get to live another day. Finally found a way to win a close game.  We get to play another day." ...Bruce Weber after the TCU game. JM:  Bruce obviously didn't know that the Big 12 would cancel the remainder of the tournament the next day.  It was nice to see the team get a win, and a close win at that. "We played really hard against Oklahoma State.  If we guard and play that hard (against Baylor), I think we'll have a chance." ...Bruce Weber after the TCU game. JM:  It would have been fun to watch K-State and Baylor play to see if the last two victories were a sign the team was getting better or if the last two victories were more a result of playing two bad teams in a row.   "I'm old.  I'm in

Photo from Manhattan Mercury K-State won for the first time since January 29th, beating Iowa State 79-63 yesterday.  Xavier Sneed scored a career high 31points on senior day. Here's some quotes from the coach and players after the game. “I just reflected about everything that I’ve been through and the banners that we have put up there. I was looking up at those, and it just meant a lot to me.  It was a surreal moment.”... Xavier Sneed after scoring 31 points and kneeling at mid-court and kissing the Powercat logo after the game. JM:  It was very nice seeing Xavier Sneed have a career day on senior day.  It's been a rough season, but he went out on a high note. “I knew it was over after you hit that one. They were going up,” ...Pierson McAtee on Xavier Sneed's hot start in the game. JM:  Sneed started out so hot that Iowa State was never really in this one.  It was great to see. “First I’ve got to compliment DaJuan for his text message, just as a freshman to

Here's some quotes from the Bruce Weber radio show on Thursday, March 5th, 2020.  Short post today.... "We were looking at the NET ratings and we are still in the top hundred of the NET ratings.  I think we are 99 or something."...Bruce Weber, Bruce Weber Radio Show, 03/05/20 JM:  When one of the only positives you can put on the season is that you're ranked number 99 in the NET ratings, it shows just how bad this season has been. "We've been in most of the games, but have not found a way to win." ...Bruce Weber, Bruce Weber Radio Show, 03/05/20 JM:  Bruce has said this repeatedly lately.  Unfortunately, losing close is still losing . "Last night we won the play hard chart 49-41." ...Bruce Weber, Bruce Weber Radio Show, 03/05/20 JM:  Bruce was referencing the Oklahoma State loss when saying this.  He sounds genuinely perplexed when they win the play hard chart but lose the game.  It's so odd. "You go back to the Pittsb

Another disappointing loss for K-State basketball last night, losing 69-63 to Oklahoma State.  We'll start there... “We knew it would be a hard-fought game. Guys gave us their all. They gave us a chance, but just can’t get over the hump. It’s hard. I don’t know if I have much emotion left, I’ll be honest. And the other thing is, we’re right there (losing a lot of close games), so that even makes it even more, it takes the emotion out of you.” ...Bruce Weber after the game. JM:   Sounds like Bruce Weber is becoming numb to the losing just like the fans have this season. "I always pride myself on getting guys to play together and play hard, but I guess I haven’t done a good enough job with this group.” ...Bruce Weber after the game. JM:  It's an honest answer, but it sounds like Bruce isn't quite sure what the problem is.  What has worked for him in the past just isn't working this season. “It’s disappointing, obviously.  Just go make it, make an easy

I listened to Soren Petro's show on Sports Radio 810 today and thought he had some interesting things to say regarding K-State basketball and Brad Underwood getting a large contract extension at Illinois. "They (K-State) suck.  They cannot score.  It's painful to watch.  It's not basketball. I don't know what it is."...Soren Petro, The Program, 3/2/20 JM:  I'm glad someone else said what I've been saying this entire basketball season. "Illinois is not an easy place to win.  Ask Bruce Weber."...Soren Petro, The Program, 3/2/20 JM:  Soren was giving Brad Underwood kudos with this quote.  Maybe it SHOULD be an easy place to win, but for whatever reason that does not seem to be the case. "If you're not going back to K-State from Illinois, where do you go?  Kansas?"...Soren Petro, The Program, 3/2/20 JM:  Oh boy.  This one got my skin to crawl.  Can you imagine Brad being a candidate at KU if and when Bill Self is d