Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

As of this afternoon, Bruce Weber’s four departing seniors will leave K-State’s campus with a diploma in hand: Jordan Henriquez, Martavious Irving, Omari Lawrence, and Rodney McGruder. That’s four diplomas out of four players (including one academic All-American in McGruder) and is something the athletics department – and the school at large – should be proud.

This blog is not being condescending or sarcastic when it says that all four outgoing players are graduating this year – not towards the program and not towards college basketball at large. The Kansas State four year graduation rate is 23 percent, while the six year graduation rate is 56 percent. The NCAA’s basketball graduation doesn’t have much of a hook to hang its hat on either – less than of players in the incoming class of 2005 had a diploma by 2011. Two of this year’s final four teams – Louisville and Wichita State – graduate about a third of their seniors on an annual basis.

So yeah, it’s a big deal that K-State agreed to take on these athletes and help ensure they left Manhattan with an education. According to John Edwards of The Collegian, “K-State leads the Big 12 in student athlete graduation rates and has for the past four years” in all sports. So here’s a quick toast to the four outgoing seniors that juggled the pressures of big time college athletics, classes, practice, and travel to bring the school a share of the Big 12 title this year:

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Henriquez

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Omari Lawrence

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Rodney McGruder

Martavious Irving

Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

With three seniors exhausting their eligibility and three more students deciding to transfer this spring, Bruce Weber has been presented with several holes to fill. On Friday he landed his biggest plug yet. 6’10″ Georgetown center Brandon Bolden has announced he will transfer to Kansas State this fall. With the addition he has completed his first recruiting class.

Bolden received limited playing time the past year, seeing action in only four games for five cumulative minutes as a freshman. However, he was forced to fight for playing time on a roster with four centers and four additional forwards that stood at least 6’8″. The Sumter, SC native announced his intention to transition elsewhere on April 30, and announced his decision on May 17. He will be forced to sit out one year, and still has his redshirt eligibility.

Bolden was recruited by several big name programs coming out of high school, with offers from Baylor, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, VCU, and Virginia Tech. The three star center should be a welcome addition to the Wildcats, who remain in desperate need of big men following the graduation of starter Jordan Henriquez and transfer of Adrian Diaz. The raw report on Bolden is that he’s, well, really raw. He’s failed to demonstrate the basketball specific skills that make great offensive players but has incredible athleticism and should be able to make plays based on his pure strength and leaping ability. This is the key characteristic that K-State asks of almost all its big men, and hopefully he adds another layer of toughness to Bruce Weber’s squad.

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

With the announcement on Tuesday that Andrew Wiggins will attend KU dramatically shifting Vegas betting lines on the favorites to win the 2013-14 national championship, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi took to the internet to update his rankings released in April after the national championship. Holding down a #9 seed in his Bracketology predictions are the Kansas State Wildcats.

It’s interesting that K-State has not moved much since the April 17th standings, staying in the Midwest Region while dropping from eight to nine and garnering a matchup with New Mexico rather than Wichita State. It’s interesting due to the defections that have occurred this spring. While Adrian Diaz and Michael Orris had already announced their intentions to transfer before April 17, point guard and main cog Angel Rodriguez was still anticipated to be with the Wildcats (he has since stated he will finish his college career with the Miami Hurricane).

It’s difficult to tell whether Lunardi doesn’t believe the Rodriguez defection is that important or if he’s simply not paying attention (both are plausible). The loss of Rodriguez has been lamented several times over by both media following K-State and the rest of the league in that his departure significantly lowers the upper echelon talent in the Big 12. And, of course, a ranking in May means absolutely nothing. All the same there appears to be a belief that K-State will fall a bit with the departures of seniors like Rodney McGruder and Jordan Henriquez, but Bruce Weber’s ability to respond with another strong season remains among the experts.

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

The Big 12/SEC Challenge pairings were released on Tuesday and the Kansas State Wildcats will face the Rebels of Ole Miss in Manhattan on December 5th later this year. The inaugural event will remind many fans of the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Challenge that was discontinued after the 2010-11 season, although remains overshadowed by the ever popular Big 10/ACC Challenge.

Kansas State is coming off of a regular season Big 12 co-championship in which the Wildcats finished 27-8 with a 14-4 league record before exiting the NCAA tournament way too early against La Salle – a common thread they share with Ole Miss. The Rebels surprised #5 Wisconsin in their first game of the tournament before meeting the La Salle Explorers in their second match up. And just like their game against K-State, La Salle was able to escape with a two point win on its way to the Sweet Sixteen.

Ole Miss was one of the SEC’s best team’s last year, finishing 27-9 and 12-6 in the conference (a lot of similarities to K-State’s trajectory this past season). The team finished second in the regular season but defeated Florida to claim the SEC tournament championship. They are led by soon-to-be senior guard Marshall Henderson, whose on-court antics have gotten him in hot water during his time at Ole Miss. Some of those were forgiven as he averaged 20.1 points for the team. Senior F Murphy Holloway – the team’s second leading scorer and top rebounder – will have to be replaced.

Only ten of the SEC’s 14 teams will participate this year, with each Big 12 team playing one SEC opponent. And although Missouri will be part of the party, the leagues came to a pretty lame agreement by matching the Tigers against Big 12 newcomer West Virginia. Texas A&M will also participate, finishing off the Challenge with a neutral site game against Oklahoma in Houston, TX. Other notable match ups are Baylor against Kentucky and KU against Florida.

Full Schedule 

Thursday, November 14

Texas Tech at Alabama

Monday, December 2

Vanderbilt at Texas

Auburn at Iowa State

Thursday, December 5

TCU at Mississippi State

Ole Miss at Kansas State

West Virginia at Missouri

Friday, December 6

South Carolina at Oklahoma State

Kentucky vs. Baylor (in Arlington, Texas)

Tuesday, December 10

Kansas at Florida

Saturday, December 21

Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma (in Houston, Texas)

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier today we examined the NCAA men’s basketball rules suggestions that stuck last week, and there’s merit for each and every one of them. Granted, there’s a much heavier emphasis on instant replay that threatens to extend the length of games and acceptability depends upon how much of a traditionalist you are regarding those little replay monitors. But they’re all in the interest of creating a fair game. Fortunately, the most talked about change (and the one that had zero interest in enhancing the accuracy of officiating) did not stick: shortening the shot clock.

It’s little wonder a shortened shot clock received significant attention – it’s what for-profit sports entertainment wanted. Yet a survey of coaches in Division I, II and III failed to bring consensus to the discussion, which was good enough to prevent a change. Don’t believe the large monied interests desired a different shot clock? Here’s the editor of ESPN.com’s Men’s College Basketball Blog waxing bitterness on how a 35-second shot clock destroyed the 2012-13 basketball season:

What we had instead was brutally low-scoring games, as the sport and its coaches continued their decades-long trend of sacrificing pace for efficiency, creativity for control.

-Eamonn Brennan, ESPN

The theory is that games have been lower-scoring because teams are using up more of the shot clock before attempting to run any plays, and it is ruining the game (think Wisconsin). To which I respond: seriously? This was one of the most exciting seasons I’ve ever experienced (and not just because K-State was so successful). On the national level, it was an absolute delight to follow. And the viewing audience agrees with me, as this year’s NCAA tournament averaged 10.7 million total viewers – up 11% from last year’s 9.6 million. It was the largest viewing audience since 1994 when the nation came together to root against Grant Hill and the rest of the Duke Blue Devils.

From ESPN’s perspective, it’s not that they’re not making money, they just want more of it. And I’m not proffering some grand conspiracy wherein ESPN’s executives have decided to push the Rules Committee to adjust the rules to make more money – they don’t have to. As a fan of “exciting” college basketball, Brennan will naturally promote a 24-second shot clock because the NCAA should apparently be doing everything it can to emulate the NBA. And his advocacy will naturally pay off for ESPN if the shot clock is shortened and scoring increases.

So where’s the harm, you ask? The longer shot clock allows teams the opportunity to set up plays and engage in team basketball rather than relying on quick scores from isolation plays. That’s right, team basketball. Yet there’s a more important aspect to consider, and that’s player well-being (oh no he didn’t just suggest that should be a consideration!).

Pushing the tempo results in players running the floor more and wearing out – a perfectly legitimate style of play. Yet forcing the issue guarantees that NCAA players will be left more exhausted at the end of the game. So students (yes, these are still students) forced to travel five states away on a Tuesday night, play a game, and travel back while also getting in their classwork are that much more stressed. Is taking 5-7 seconds off the shot clock nothing more than a marginal difference? Sure. But the point is ESPN’s primary concern is that college basketball should be more exciting at the expense of players being run more ragged. From an entertainment perspective, it’s a legitimate one. From a student’s perspective, it’s an absolute load of bull. And for once the NCAA ignored the deep pockets of CBS, ABC, et. al. and did the right thing.

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Normally at the Jug we try to focus on news that’s Wildcat-centric – if not related directly to K-State athletics, then at least the Big 12 as a whole. Yet I had a particular interest in last week’s meeting of the Rule’s Committee and felt the need to commend it for a recent set of decisions to avoid alterations to the shot clock rule while implementing other reforms in the interest of fairness and more accurate officiating.

Following the conclusion of the three day meeting last week, here are the changes to be implemented during the 2013-14 college basketball season (contingent upon approval from the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in June):

• One of the most controversial issues during the NCAA tournament was the elbow rule, invoked when a stationary ballhandler hits a defender in the face with his elbow. The problem was that close games were influenced when players were called for the foul not because they hit a defender while trying to clear out space, but simply made inadvertent contact attempting to make a basketball move. Officials now have the power to review the play and keep the call as a flagrant one or two, or downgrade the call to a player control foul or no foul at all (this was previously not allowed – once the call was made, it stuck). This is a good rule because more than one player was punished for simply positioning themselves, not attempting to clear out more space by menacing the opponent with elbow checks.
• Referees can now review out of bounds plays when two minutes remain in regulation and overtime. The current rules state reviews can be conducted with one minute left. Shot clock violations will also be reviewable with two minutes left to play.
• Officials will have the ability to check whether a player’s foot was on the three point line with four minutes left in regulation and overtime. The change is that the review is able to be conducted immediately – refs previously had the ability to run to the monitor to check whether a shot was worth two or three points during a tv timeout, but could not stop play to review.
• The block/charge call was also adjusted. Iowa State fans will be particularly interested in this one, as the Cyclones were screwed twice this year by blocking calls that should have been charge/no call situations. The first was with five seconds left against KU which allowed Elijah Johnson to take (and make) two free throws to force overtime, which the Jayhawks eventually won. The second was during the Sweet Sixteen with less than two minutes left against Ohio State. In that instance OSU’s Aaron Craft drew a bunk foul and went on to win by three points. A couple points to this rule change:
  • In the two examples listed above, the defender had attempted to place himself in front of the ballhandler with two feet planted while facing the scoring player, setting himself before the offensive player left the court. The new rules state a defender cannot move in front of a ballhander once he has begun his upward motion, period. The emphasis on feet being set will be removed.
  • There is an assumption that more blocking calls and fewer charges will occur with this change, because the rules are geared towards getting defenders out of the way during a scoring motion unless you have a good chance at a steal or block.

The greater emphasis on instant replay will make games more accurate and reduce controversy, but also threaten to extend the overall length of games and slow down the pace. Where you stand on this trade off is a function of how much of a purist you are regarding that little monitor at the scorers table, and both sides of the instant replay debate have legitimate points. However we can commend the committee for attempting to bring fairness and precision to game officiating. Controversy will always exist, but these are responses to situations that impacted the outcomes of games in the NCAA tournament and threw up a barrier to the better team coming out on top.

In our second installment of this look at the rules changes we’ll examine the fact the NCAA did not shorten the clock, and the importance of this decision.

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

In late April we discussed the potential for former Washington State signee Tanner Lancona to become a Wildcat as he was planning a visit to the campus in Manhattan. The whole situation seemed a little off at the time, but like most fans I was just giddy about a three star, 6’9″ PF with decent moves coming to K-State considering the team’s lack of height following the sudden departure of Adrian Diaz. Yet since Lancona announced his intention to enroll at St. Louis University this week I’ve become increasingly turned off by the recruit. Bruce Weber may miss the talent, but not necessarily the baggage.

A brief recap: Lancona initially signed a letter of intent with Wazzu but was released from the agreement this spring. Both the University and Lancona described the move as “mutual.” However, SB Nation reported that an individual with the username Seanlancona (Sean Lancona is Tanner’s father, fyi) left a series of posts on Cougfan.com which imply the split was not at all mutual. In discussing the head coach, he stated:

“The question should be how much could he of done for your program and how soon can he start doing it. You should be proud that Tanner has not spoke out against your program and instead did what even I have trouble doing which is take the high road. He was very proud to join you even if your the last place school in the PAC 12 and lose to the WAC and WCC.”

————-

I have learned something from an 18 year old and I will never forget it, it’s called class and I wish he had been shown the same class as he is giving to you.”

————-

You have taught my son a lesson he will not soon forget………I suggest we all just let it go because somewhere the basketball gods have already made their decision on his fate.”

If this is indeed his father and he’s telling the truth – which seems very possible – then Washington State saw something in Tanner it did not like and talked him into agreeing to part ways, but it was not a mutual split. Weird.

The subsequent recruiting process for the newly released player appears that teams were recruiting to Sean Lancona – not his son, who is actually the one responsible for showing up at practice and playing in games. Tanner eventually chose SLU over K-State, BYU, and Colorado State. And although he expressed interest in the Wildcats, father Sean didn’t seem to think that way. During an interview for BillikenReport.com, father Sean waxed on about the BYU honor code as an LDS school and SLU’s similar honor code as a Jesuit University:

“They have an honor code at BYU. Whether you are LDS or not, you have to abide by it. As [Saint Louis], they had that attitude without the rulebook. The players wanted to pass their classes, were serious about things, but they also had fun in moderation and wanted to win on the court.”

Son Tanner must have some things he’s looking for in a school – playing time, coach he’s comfortable with, and hopefully an academic setting he’d be willing to experience with or without basketball in his life. And it’s difficult to fault father Sean to an extent – any good parent is desperate to come to their child’s defense (against Wazzu fans) and in securing their best opportunity to succeed (a religious honor code is apparently important to him). However, parents can also ruin a sporting experience (you know the ones that demand their kid play quarterback or be featured every minute of the game even though they can’t throw a football or knock down a ten foot shot). We’ll see over the next four years if K-State simply missed out on a great prospect or also avoided a major headache for the program.

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

6’1″, 180 lbs point guard Nigel Johnson from Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, MD is officially a Wildcat. The second PG recruit in Bruce Weber’s inaugaral recruitment class originally committed to K-State on April 20 and has now signed with the team. He chose the Wildcats after narrowing his selection to K-State and Missouri.

Johnson had a journey in school selection before finally choosing to land in Manhattan. He was a verbal commit to George Washington in 2012 but a stellar senior season opened up additional doors for playing opportunities. The week before committing to K-State he took an official visit to Seton Hall and was offered a scholarship there. He also planned to visit both K-State and Missouri before making his decision.

Johnson’s pronouncement came earlier than expected, and was likely fueled by the announced that another highly touted PG – Shane Rector – had already decided on the Tigers. Johnson’s playing opportunities at K-State received another boost when Angel Rodriguez announced his intention to transfer to Miami after leading the Wildcats to a share of the regular season conference title. The two factors were likely the determinants in his decision to pick Kansas State.

Johnson joins Jevon Thomas as part of the two-headed point guard monster Bruce Weber will have battle for the starting role in the backcourt this year. And regardless of who prevails in that competition, both players should see time while attempting to fill the shoes left behind by Rodriguez. To read The Jug’s initial reaction to the announcement that Nigel made his verbal committment to K-State, click here.

Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State lost one of its best shooting guards in school history this year with the graduation of standout Rodney McGruder. Replacing him became more difficult with the announcement that Michael Orris would transfer to Northern Illinois at the conclusion of the semester. However, the task was somewhat simplified this weekend when Justin Edwards announced he would transfer from Maine to Kansas State.

Edwards will provide a boost to a team in need of players and struggling to fill all of its scholarships. Standing at 6’3″, the shooting guard led the America East conference in scoring with 16.7 points per game. He also contributed 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists to the Maine Black Bears as a sophomore. Because he is transferring from another Division I NCAA school, he will be forced to sit out the 2013-14 season.

Edwards chose K-State after considering Creighton, Iowa State, and St. Louis. During his time at Maine the team went 23-36 and 12-20 in league play. And although Maine may have reminded him of his Canadian homeland, it was an open secret that he held ambitions of playing at a higher level. A native of Whitby, Ontario, Edwards did not receive a lot of attention from the nation’s premier programs. However, his achievements over the past two years and interest in playing for a BCS school piqued the interest of multiple schools.

As a freshman, Edwards netted 13.9 points to go along with 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. His experience and talents will be a welcome component to a Bruce Weber team seeking to replace not only its graduating seniors, but transfers Orris, Angel Rodriguez, and Adrian Diaz. Although he will not be playing this season, his leadership in practice and eventual on-court contributions starting in 2014-15 make this an excellent addition to the team.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Following a month of speculation as to where he would land, Angel Rodriguez announced he would transfer to Miami on Thursday. The point guard took a tour of the campus Wednesday before announcing, although the Hurricanes were expected to be the frontrunners to land the star the day he announced his intentions to transfer from K-State.

Miami is coming off an unexpectedly strong season, and was the regular season champion of the ACC. However, pursuing Miami’s success is not the stated reason for his departure from Manhattan. Rodriguez attended high school in Miami and had a strong desire to transfer following a freshman year in which he was constantly hounded by the media for failing to make consistently good basketball decisions.

New head coach Bruce Weber was successful in convincing Rodriguez to return for his sophomore year, where he averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists while helping K-State to a share of the regular season conference championship and a fourth round seed only to experience an expected first round upset to La Salle. Yet Rodriguez maintained his desire to move closer to his family in Puerto Rico, making a university in southern Florida a natural fit (and truly, any university would gladly take a player looking to receive All-American honors as an upperclassman).

Rodriguez has applied for a hardship waiver from the NCAA according to the Miami Herald. If granted, he would be able to immediately join the team rather than sitting out a year. From the Jug’s standpoint, it’s difficult to see such an athlete leave the team, but we still wish him the best of luck wherever life takes him.