Kansas State 3/5 7:00 ESPN+

[Gmann]

Lots of complaining after the loss. The complaining should have started with the first BIG 12 game, but beating X and Dayton gave hope. Sadly, the play on the floor did not. Lack of desire, toughness and a floor leader is roster building for failure. UC admin made the right decisions to get into the BIG12 and now they are playing stupid and satisfied. Again, this off season is critical and I am not referring to incoming frosh, but the staff and the players who stay. I will also include the Athletic Department making sports success minded decisions. Throw in that monster factory as their motivational techniques has not developed bearcat desire in the team. That department is to get players strong mentally as well as physically. It has not been good since the second coming. ---Such an important off season

I couldn't agree more that the entire program needs to go under the microscope from the administration, to the coaching staff, to the players. Several aspects of this program need an upgrade and I'm afraid we don't have the leadership to get it done. I'm glad the fans are voicing their displeasure. The fan and booster support has been great and this program is coming up woefully short again. This has not been a one year anomaly. The heat needs to get turned way up. We are not close to success in basketball or football.

Finally I am still glad we made the jump to the B12. It is a realistic measuring stick for just how good your program is and ours stinks. There is great tradition here and it's sad what it's become. The only thing Miller did well last night is acknowledge in his post game that the fans were justified in their booing because that effort and the whole season deserves it.

[Lobot]

I'm going to be Mr. Negative this morning. Worst.Effort.Ever.... At least in a clutch situation. We had to have that game. They came out spectacularly flat and blew it.

That was low energy on all fronts last night. Yes, the fans too. There were a couple of times late in the game where you could have heard a pin drop in 5/3 on the TV broadcast. What even is that?

From the coaches, to the players, to the fans, everyone was asleep at the wheel last night. I think NIL has led to some of the players mentally checking out early because they were going to get paid anyway. Makes me wonder how many of them actually listen to Wes in game and in practice.

Also, let's just get this out of the way. Wes is a bad in-game coach. He can recruit well and draw up inbound plays really well but his ability to adjust on the fly and coach modern offense is sorely lacking. Every once in while I have to remind myself that when he was at UNCG, it took a long long time for him to sustain success there and over his ten years with the program he averaged 18.5 wins a season despite winning the conference 4 times.

I think everything about Wes looked good coming in but we were starting from the point of the Brannen debacle at that time. I like Wes but I don't feel like he can motivate his players and in this NIL era it's harder to do that from the jump. The NIL era is not what most of these coaches signed up for to be honest so it's not all on Wes for sure. Players have to want to improve and get to the next level. With NIL, the cash incentive to do so is gone.

I want to continue to support the team and Wes but the effort level and attitude need to improve across the board from the players and I'm not not sure Wes can get that out of them. I want guys on the floor playing for the C and not just for the $.

Hopefully Wes will keep Abaev and Tillery and the three of them will prove me wrong next season.

[red_n_black_attack]

I'm going to be Mr. Negative this morning. Worst.Effort.Ever.... At least in a clutch situation. We had to have that game. They came out spectacularly flat and blew it.

That was low energy on all fronts last night. Yes, the fans too. There were a couple of times late in the game where you could have heard a pin drop in 5/3 on the TV broadcast. What even is that?

From the coaches, to the players, to the fans, everyone was asleep at the wheel last night. I think NIL has led to some of the players mentally checking out early because they were going to get paid anyway. Makes me wonder how many of them actually listen to Wes in game and in practice.

Also, let's just get this out of the way. Wes is a bad in-game coach. He can recruit well and draw up inbound plays really well but his ability to adjust on the fly and coach modern offense is sorely lacking. Every once in while I have to remind myself that when he was at UNCG, it took a long long time for him to sustain success there and over his ten years with the program he averaged 18.5 wins a season despite winning the conference 4 times.

I think everything about Wes looked good coming in but we were starting from the point of the Brannen debacle at that time. I like Wes but I don't feel like he can motivate his players and in this NIL era it's harder to do that from the jump. The NIL era is not what most of these coaches signed up for to be honest so it's not all on Wes for sure. Players have to want to improve and get to the next level. With NIL, the cash incentive to do so is gone.

I want to continue to support the team and Wes but the effort level and attitude need to improve across the board from the players and I'm not not sure Wes can get that out of them. I want guys on the floor playing for the C and not just for the $.

Hopefully Wes will keep Abaev and Tillery and the three of them will prove me wrong next season.

I think it could benefit Wes and the players if we rearrange our NIL deals to include escalators, just like the escalators in a coach's contract. X amount for player of the week, X amount for first All conferences, and second team all-conference, team bonuses for winning the regular season championship, winning conference championship, making the NCAA, sweet 16, etc... The same could apply to football or other sports, but the money has to be there.

You mention Wes is a bad in-game coach, to which I agree, but he is also a bad game planner to prepare something a little different for each team to jump out early, then make in-game adjustments as the other coach makes changes. I'd argue Huggs was a horrible in-game coach too, though he could game plan with the best of them. I can't count how many times Hugs came out with a great game plan, jumped out to a big lead (15-20 pts at half), then the opposing coach made adjustments for which Bobby didn't have an answer. Wes has been stubbornly clinging to his slow pace of play, yet the Bearcats had their best success when the pace was faster and/or they instuted a full-court press. I don't know why Wes doesn't keep the faster pace and defensive intensity. It can't be rest as we have a deep bench.

I take issue with folks who say Wes plays too many players. I've heard too often Wes needs to find a 7-8 guy rotation and stick to it. I think the faster pace and defensive intenstiy almost necessitates playing more players so they play at 100%

[London 'Cat]

Wes’ teams are similar to Cronin’s teams in terms of offensive schemes. Remember how we all complained about offense under Cronin? I hear similar complaints now. The difference is Wes doesn’t coach defense as effectively as Cronin. UC could win rock fights when they held the opponent to under 60 points. Wes’ teams can’t defend that well.

You also have to consider the opponents - AAC vs BigXII. Quite a step up in competition without really elevating your own team, at least in the first two years in the conference. As has been the case for the last several years, UC has solid players but most would be bench players in this league. I will be interested to see whether any player on UC’s roster is selected for all conference honors. I don’t think they will. I think that’s a real issue with UC basketball lately.

[D.A.H.]

How crucial was Josh Loeffler and his X's and O's? I am genuinely curious as to just how instrumental he was in our offensive strategy. This is basically the same team as last year and they look lost on the offensive end.

not to start baseless rumors, but there's one out there that wes will stay, but will need to hire a new set of assistants. my thought is, if josh loeffler was so damn important, why'd they let him go.

[D.A.H.]

I think it could benefit Wes and the players if we rearrange our NIL deals to include escalators, just like the escalators in a coach's contract. X amount for player of the week, X amount for first All conferences, and second team all-conference, team bonuses for winning the regular season championship, winning conference championship, making the NCAA, sweet 16, etc... The same could apply to football or other sports, but the money has to be there.

You mention Wes is a bad in-game coach, to which I agree, but he is also a bad game planner to prepare something a little different for each team to jump out early, then make in-game adjustments as the other coach makes changes. I'd argue Huggs was a horrible in-game coach too, though he could game plan with the best of them. I can't count how many times Hugs came out with a great game plan, jumped out to a big lead (15-20 pts at half), then the opposing coach made adjustments for which Bobby didn't have an answer. Wes has been stubbornly clinging to his slow pace of play, yet the Bearcats had their best success when the pace was faster and/or they instuted a full-court press. I don't know why Wes doesn't keep the faster pace and defensive intensity. It can't be rest as we have a deep bench.

I take issue with folks who say Wes plays too many players. I've heard too often Wes needs to find a 7-8 guy rotation and stick to it. I think the faster pace and defensive intenstiy almost necessitates playing more players so they play at 100%

play as hard as long as you can, and then next man in - you've 13/14 scholarship guys - you'd think they figure out how to go hard, and then get a blow

[leeraymond]

Last night's loss was a major set-back loss. This game was very much needed to keep any chance of an NCAA post-season alive. To make matters worse, this was a Senior Night home game against one of the bottom teams in the conference. This was also a revenge game because K-State beat UC once already. The table was set for a victory that never came. I would imagine that for some of the UC administrators, alumni, and fans, this may have been the loss that broke the camel's back. Miller may now be officially on the "hot-seat".

The team seemed to have low energy from the get-go last night. Houston had a similar beginning last Saturday against UC. Sampson called a time out and had a "talking to" with his players. Sampson put another unit in the game and the effort level then went up. The starters came back in and took control of the game.

With that said, sometimes a team comes out flat and is not really motivated to play. It is the coach's job to light a fire under his players. Miller was not able to do that last night. After half time, K-State increased its defensive intensity while Miller did the same old thing that he normally does. That increase in defensive intensity by K-State created 4 major turnovers late in the game by both Thomas and James where K-State was able to take advantage. Also, with UC not playing the matchups, K-State's two big men lineup gave UC problems like the two big men lineup has done so all season. Why not play Page and Aziz at the same time to match up to K-State? To me it is common sense.

Cunningham may have made a mistake when he extended Miller's contract after only his second year. What AD would do something like that with an unproven coach? I would imagine that if Miller was under the conditions of the original agreement, this may be his last season. Miller has got to find a way to get to the upper half of the BIG XII next season or next season may be his last at UC.

[Gypo O'Leary]

I think Reed showed improvement this year. He did not play well tonight but neither did anyone else for UC. Again, a shameful performance.

I agree. One guy that did play better as the year went on was Reed.

[loshow22]

not to start baseless rumors, but there's one out there that wes will stay, but will need to hire a new set of assistants. my thought is, if josh loeffler was so damn important, why'd they let him go.

He took a head coaching gig at Loyola

[Gypo O'Leary]

I'm going to be Mr. Negative this morning. Worst.Effort.Ever.... At least in a clutch situation. We had to have that game. They came out spectacularly flat and blew it.

That was low energy on all fronts last night. Yes, the fans too. There were a couple of times late in the game where you could have heard a pin drop in 5/3 on the TV broadcast. What even is that?

From the coaches, to the players, to the fans, everyone was asleep at the wheel last night. I think NIL has led to some of the players mentally checking out early because they were going to get paid anyway. Makes me wonder how many of them actually listen to Wes in game and in practice.

Also, let's just get this out of the way. Wes is a bad in-game coach. He can recruit well and draw up inbound plays really well but his ability to adjust on the fly and coach modern offense is sorely lacking. Every once in while I have to remind myself that when he was at UNCG, it took a long long time for him to sustain success there and over his ten years with the program he averaged 18.5 wins a season despite winning the conference 4 times.

I think everything about Wes looked good coming in but we were starting from the point of the Brannen debacle at that time. I like Wes but I don't feel like he can motivate his players and in this NIL era it's harder to do that from the jump. The NIL era is not what most of these coaches signed up for to be honest so it's not all on Wes for sure. Players have to want to improve and get to the next level. With NIL, the cash incentive to do so is gone.

I want to continue to support the team and Wes but the effort level and attitude need to improve across the board from the players and I'm not not sure Wes can get that out of them. I want guys on the floor playing for the C and not just for the $.

Hopefully Wes will keep Abaev and Tillery and the three of them will prove me wrong next season.

I see it differently. Aziz and Simon are not Big 12 level talent. So what does that say about recruiting. Same with Frederick and Hickman. When you play in the major conferences you have to have a front line. This 2 guard + an athletic siwng player (Mitchell/Skillings) works in leagues with less talent (which Wes excelled in). Aziz Bandaogo would probably be my MVP because he absolutely played at his ceiling. Unfortunately his ceiling was more the AAC than the Big 12. Last night was an obvious example that Simon Lukosius doesn't belong being a starter in the Big 12. He has a goofy almost set shot, he is too slow to play defense, and he can't get open, can't rebound for a 6'8" guy. He chucks his 36' threes and hits 1 of 3...and it is the one where he gets lost by the defense and gets wide open.

So looking forward this team has Page and Betsey. I would have wanted to see Page a lot more this year. He comes in the game and sets up in the post. He got so little floor time that he seemed to force a shot every time, I think mainly because he knew he was only going to get a minute to play. He has the size and skills to play in the post in the Big 12. An offense needs to work that way. Always trying to get the ball inside so the D has to collapse. So far, Betsey, in a similar vein, seems to settle for breaking outside and throwing a three (which was his HS game?). But he needs to work inside. Both of these guys should be bigger and stronger next year. (And they should have gotten more playing time this year.) With the wing shooters the Bearcats have, if Jizzle and Day Day can distribute the ball properly in an offense, I don't think next year is that bleak talent wise. But I can't say that Wes Miller looks at it the way I do.

The bad side is there isn't much from this year that seems like it would entice a player to want to come to an under water Big 12 program that seems to accept mediocre.

[zykarious]

I agree. One guy that did play better as the year went on was Reed.

I'd argue Day Day improved too, at least from three. He went from being one of the worst three point shooters on the team last year at 28% to being the best at 38%.

May not be coincidence that the two hardest working guys on the court showed improvement.

[longtimefan]

I watched the TV replay this morning, and it looked better on TV than it did in person, and it as horrible on TV. I went to my first UC game, with my Dad, in 1960, against Tulsa at the Armory Fieldhouse. We won that game scoring over 100, and I don’t think Oscar missed a shot. That’s how long I’ve been going to UC games. Last night was I think the low point of all the games I’ve seen, as far as being careless and stupid. I can’t remember such a lack of effort, not even in Tony Yates’ 3-25 team. Is it coaching? Yes. Is it a bad roster? Yes in the sense that there is not one guy out there who will refuse to lose. You have to have at least one guy who will fight his butt off, and will do whatever it takes to help his team. One Gary Clark would make this a different team, because that type of tenacity and leadership rubs off on others. We do not have that one guy on this roster, and we need to find one.

[leo from jersey]

I watched the TV replay this morning, and it looked better on TV than it did in person, and it as horrible on TV. I went to my first UC game, with my Dad, in 1960, against Tulsa at the Armory Fieldhouse. We won that game scoring over 100, and I don’t think Oscar missed a shot. That’s how long I’ve been going to UC games. Last night was I think the low point of all the games I’ve seen, as far as being careless and stupid. I can’t remember such a lack of effort, not even in Tony Yates’ 3-25 team. Is it coaching? Yes. Is it a bad roster? Yes in the sense that there is not one guy out there who will refuse to lose. You have to have at least one guy who will fight his butt off, and will do whatever it takes to help his team. One Gary Clark would make this a different team, because that type of tenacity and leadership rubs off on others. We do not have that one guy on this roster, and we need to find one.

were you able to hear what CWM was yelling to Jizzle on the side during a time out

[longtimefan]

Why did they start fouling on that last KState possession??? Play defense, get the ball back down 3 with about 15 seconds left. Then Day Day fouls their best FT shooter before the ball is even inbounded. Yes, I broke my own rule and booed this team off the floor.

So I just heard Wes say they were told not to foul there, and Aziz took it on himself to commit that stupid foul with 28 seconds left. If that’s the case, it’s insubordinate, and cannot be tolerated. If I am the coach, Aziz has played his last game as a Bearcat, he would not travel to OSU, or the Big XII tournament. I hate to rag on a single player, but that cost the game, and the season, and he was instructed not to do it.

[sedz]

Also, with UC not playing the matchups, K-State's two big men lineup gave UC problems like the two big men lineup has done so all season. Why not play Page and Aziz at the same time to match up to K-State? To me it is common sense.

K State does not play two bigs. Hawkins is not a big like Aziz or Page. He's a mobile perimeter player like Mitchell. And we shut him down. He scored 9 points on 10 shots with no offensive rebounds and turned it over 6 times. Are you saying you would rather have had Page chasing him around the perimeter? Our defense in this game was great. We only scored 49 points at home! You don't fix that by adding even slower players.