There is a certain conceit in these parts that if only the various Georgia basketball programs would do a better job holding onto the in-state talent, maybe they’d amount to something someday.
To judge by the attendance at this South Regional at Philips Arena, though, perhaps a different recruiting philosophy is called for: Look somewhere flatter. Somewhere the planes fly over rather than land. Somewhere more corn-beltish.
Number of players from Georgia on the roster of all four teams in this South Regional: Zero.
Number of players from Kansas just in Saturday’s regional final between Kansas State and Loyola-Chicago: Six.
Who knew?
The 2014 and ’15 Gatorade players of the year from Kansas will suit up Saturday in Atlanta – on opposing teams. That’s Loyola’s leading scorer and Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Clayton Custer. And Kansas State’s leading scorer, currently hobbled with a stress fracture in his foot, Dean Wade.
In fact, there are more impact Kansans on the big-city Illinois team than on the Kansas team that comes from a place that only sounds big-city, Manhattan. That’s the case when you factor in Custer’s starting backcourt mate Ben Richardson.
“Goes to show Kansas high school basketball might be a little underrated, and I think that it might deserve a little bit more respect,” Custer said. New Georgia coach Tom Crean might want to get one of his guys on the first tractor heading west.
And, this just in as well: They apparently play a high caliber of college basketball at more than just one Kansas school. There is life in that state beyond the shrine to James Naismith that is the University of Kansas. Beyond the three-time NCAA Tournament champion Jayhawks, who played Friday night on the other side of this year’s bracket.
Kansas State, as was proved most resoundingly Thursday night against the latest group of freshmen temp workers at Kentucky, has something big going on.
Who knew?
“I hear all this talk about how K-State is the little brother to Kansas, and I don’t pay any mind to that because what we’re accomplishing is just as great, but we’re doing it in our own way.” So said Kansas State reserve Kade Kinnamon, who comes from St. John, the same central Kansas town of 1,200 that produced Wade.
If you don’t know what Kansas State basketball is by now, the last-shot hero of Thursday night Barry Brown (not a Kansas native) will gladly enlighten you.
“First off, it’s defending,” said Brown, whose team held Kentucky to its lowest point output of the season. “We take a lot of pride on defense.” You would expect nothing else of a bedrock, Midwest program.
“Once we get that stop, it’s pushing the ball in transition, making the right pass, playing for each other. Just making open plays, staying confident no matter what the situation is,” he said.
OK, for the record, there is a gulf between Kansas State and Kansas. Like the Jayhawks’ 195-93 all-time record against KSU, 48-5 in the Big 12 era. Like the fact that the Wildcats have been to 10 fewer Final Fours than that other school in Lawrence.
But the fact that the Wildcats have made eight visits to the NCAA Tournament in the past dozen years would send any state of Georgia college fan into paroxysms of joy.
One Wildcat has no time for in-state jealousies at this point. Forward Xavier Sneed said he would even cheer for Kansas on Friday vs. Clemson.
“It’s another Big 12 team, a chance to show how good the Big 12 is this year, and it’s something we can expand on,” he said.
“Just being in the same conversation with (Kansas) and being in the Elite Eight is big for us and big for our program, to show we have elite status here as well,” Sneed said.
Being the “other” basketball program in its own state has well prepared the Wildcats for the kind of attitude it packed for this trip to Atlanta. Being overlooked regionally was great prep work for being overlooked nationally.
As difficult as it may be to play the no-respect card Saturday, as the Wildcats prepare to play an even lower-seeded opponent (No. 9 K-State vs. No. 11 Loyola), that doesn’t mean they can’t give it the old Kansas State try.
“We want to keep proving people wrong,” Sneed said. “We’ve been under-picked and under-ranked all year. That’s our goal. We have that chip on our shoulder and I feel like we’ve been playing with that chip all year. Just trying to prove people wrong and show them the way K-State really plays basketball.”
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