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“If you’re true to yourself, you’re going to be true to everyone else.” -
Just voted a 5* review for this thread. I love it! I check it every morning when I wake up, every night before I go to sleep and multiple times during the day. Tapatalk has squandered a lot of my production haha.Comment
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
It has been a rough stretch for sure. I don't know which Kansas State team is going to show up in Philly, but the Dragons are likely not the panacea this team needs right now.
As for Philly fans? Oh you know them.
Vote however you want. The star thing is kind of arbitrary but I do appreciate the support I get. It's a nice way to motivate myself to keep going. I just found it kind of funny to see it drop like that. And considering the number of votes I've gotten recently, the 2* dream might now be dead.
Glad you are enjoying following, even if I can't post on demand.Last edited by waytofailself; 07-03-2012, 10:31 PM.Comment
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
Two Roads
He could have owned the town. Not all by himself, but Guy West already had a foot in the pantheon of Philadelphia sports lore.
And then he walked away.
The aftermath is not very complicated. West turned himself from one of "us" to one of "them." And while the former coach will have banners hanging at Drexel for all time, Drexel will never be his home again. That door is shut.
The next steps in the journeys of both West and Drexel have taken entirely different turns.
The Dragons have rallied around new coach Nile Miller. Around the locker room West is still regarded fondly, but there is certainly an eagerness to show him just how well the team is doing. The leadership mantle left vacant by Josh Payton and Femi Ramsey has been picked up by two of the strongest personalities on the team: Woody Morandais and Shannon Legans. Both are having great seasons for the squad -- especially Legans, who has embraced his role as the team's 6th man to the tune of 13.4 points per game and 31 minutes per game. As a whole, the (89 OVR Rated) Dragons lead the nation in team blocks per game while also averaging 41.9% from beyond the arc. They are a tough team to crack.
And the leadership transition may not even be the biggest factor in tonight's game. As a result of being pushed by the two captains, and as a result of tweaks made by Coach Miller, Senior Center Duncan Sow has had a break out year for the Dragons. The team now primarily uses a 2-3 with Sow guarding the whole paint, and the team runs at a much slower tempo allowing Sow to destroy teams from the inside or work the ball out to the team's bevy of perimeter shooters. The result is Sow averaging 20/10 with nearly 2 steals and 3 blocks per game. Those numbers have All-American written all over them. As a result, the Dragons have thrived despite facing a tough early schedule to run out to a 10-1 record and back into the Top 25.
Would things have been the same with West at the helm? We will never know, because he moved to the middle of nowhere to take on a team that is going nowhere. Maybe West wanted to feel the thrill of rebuilding again, but that tingling on his seat is the fans in Manhattan, KS firing up the barbeques to put the heat on the AD to rethink his hiring decision.
Maybe West faced some unrealistic expectations starting so well so fast in other coaching stints, but he has done little to endear himself to fans in his new home. His bluntness and unwillingness to hold back punches served him well in Philadelphia, but now it feels entirely Northeastern and out of place. Fans want someone who is going to fix the program, not someone who is going to pile on the misery.
And there has been plenty of misery. While there have been a few bright spots, West could not have anticipated the level of inconsistency he would be getting from his Senior laden squad. West put it best after the team's latest loss to Alabama, "Any time we make a positive play we make two or four negative plays afterwards. What are we doing, patting ourselves on the back? Because that's not how you play basketball." His back court has been unable to hit shots, his big men are unable to finish down low, and the team has a bad tendency to crack under pressure.
And worst of all? For the first time in West's career, he is coaching a team that is defensively challenged. Despite his monumental success at Norfolk State and Drexel, West is still a young coach and it is clear that he is struggling to find what buttons to push with his squad to get them to play defense. If West, who is reported to have had complete control over setting and modifying the schedule, wanted to test his team's mettle and psyche against college basketball's elite, consider that test failed. Kansas State is probably not the team West thought it was.
Maybe West needs to get his own players on the floor in a hurry. Of course, after signing a two year contract he might not be around long enough to coach "his" team.
What Kansas State and Guy West absolutely do not need is a road date against Drexel. The DAC Pack's self proclaimed "Welcoming Committee" will surely make the venue far more hostile than normal. The spectacle of West returning to the team he left will once again rear its head. But most of all, what Kansas State does not need is to face a strong, deep, hot team like Drexel with size and shooting on the perimeter, size and power on the low block, and a chip on its shoulder.
Coach Guy West is no stranger to hostile territory, and he has shown he can thrive from the lion's den in the past. But with rumblings that his Wildcats squad might be turning on him, West cannot rest on the laurels of past. Not tonight.
Because now comes the Dragons and the DAC Pack. And they are hungry.Comment
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Great writeup and it should be very interesting to see how this game goes. Hopefully you don't get embarrassed off of your former home floor.Comment
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
Send in the Clowns
When West charged onto the court, the fury building in the crowd was thick enough to carve with a knife. Add in raised arms and inadvertent contact with the referee, and it took one pointed finger and one whistle to make the crowd roar with approval.
Coach West had just been ejected from the game with seconds remaining in the first half. Already down 57-27, the Wildcats had no drive, no fight, and suddenly no coach.
The game started close in that Kansas State scored the first five points off of jump shots. Then the shots stopped falling, and Drexel did what it does best. It stifled the Wildcats with its defense and dominated on the glass.
The Drexel Dragons displayed their significant size advantage all game.
True, the Dragons did not get stellar offensive performances from Woody Morandais or Shannon Legans, but it did not matter because the defense snuffed out whatever attack the Wildcats could muster. Roger Guzman still looked like he was struggling to cope with a twisted ankle he suffered against Alabama. Guzman was constantly out of position and could not cope with Duncan Sow's inside game -- fouling constantly.
Javon Brinkley attempts to take on Duncan Sow. It did not end well.
The entire Kansas State squad wilted under pressure. Any time one of them touched the ball, they were rained down with boos. Any time West called a time out, fans would use all kinds of objects to make loud noises next to the Wildcat bench. It was clear the entire team was distracted, and no one would step up to take charge. Darwin Peterson shrunk back against the trees in the Drexel paint. Players also lost possession early and often, especially Dumar Macura. Not only were his passes poor, but more than once he was caught standing with the ball like a deer in the headlights not knowing what to do.
Another Dumar Macura turnover leads to an easy basket by Dallas Marsh.
All of these struggles led to "the bump." The Wildcats were already down big, and then they surrendered consecutive three pointers to Kentrell Dean and Dez Braxton. Both were just after a Kansas State time out. The second included a foul call on Damon Guinn, despite Braxton apparently getting a push-off before the catch and shoot.
Replays showed that both Braxton and Guinn committed fouls on the play, but West stormed onto the court after no call was made on Braxton's push-off. West received one technical foul for leaving the bench, and just as he was making a push off gesture, the referee pointed for West to return to the bench.
The contact was incidental, but it was enough to cause an eruption in the Daskalakis Center.
West would leave the court to cheers and derision from his former admirers. No one threw any bottles until he had already cleared the tunnel, but one lucky fan earned the distinction of marring West's suit with a mustard heavy hot dog.
Some wondered if the Wildcats would take inspiration from West not being on the floor to coach. The answer was no. Kansas State was equally inept in the second half, but managed to outscore the Dragons because they slowed down the ball. Soon the boos began to rain on Coach Martin -- the fans wanted blood. "I'm not going to risk injuring a player in a non-conference blow out in the second half no matter the opponent," said Coach Martin, "What's the point?"
Truer words were never uttered. The Dragons dominated the Kansas State Wildcats 79-56. There is such a thing as an ugly loss, but this one may go a rung below that one. The Wildcats were dominated in every phase of the game by a mid-major team. There may not be a road map for recovery from this kind of loss.
Kansas State Wildcats at Drexel Dragons Dec 19, 2016 1ST 2ND SCORE Kansas State (3-5) 27 29 56 #23 Drexel (10-1) 59 20 79 Kansas State Wildcats STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS L. Reaser 23 4-9 3-6 0-1 3 7 0 0 0 11 K. Coulibaly 20 4-11 2-6 1-2 2 2 1 0 3 11 D. Guinn 22 2-7 1-2 5-6 4 1 1 0 2 10 D. Peterson 24 5-10 0-0 1-2 3 1 2 2 4 11 R. Guzman 17 1-2 0-0 2-2 3 1 0 0 0 4 BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS M. Mathis 17 2-5 0-0 2-2 3 0 0 2 0 6 D. Macura 10 0-2 0-2 0-0 2 1 1 0 4 0 J. Guzman 8 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 1 0 0 0 J. Brinkley 5 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 0 0 2 C. Geiger 4 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 0 0 0 1 TEAM TOTALS 19-49 6-16 12-17 23 16 7 4 13 56 Drexel Dragons STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS K. Dean 16 3-5 1-3 3-4 1 5 0 0 2 10 W. Morandais 20 2-4 1-2 0-0 2 1 1 0 4 5 D. Braxton 20 5-7 1-3 3-4 4 1 2 0 1 14 T. Cottrill 10 1-3 0-0 4-4 3 0 0 1 0 6 D. Sow 21 10-17 0-1 4-7 12 0 4 4 1 24 BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS S. Legans 25 0-5 0-3 0-0 2 3 1 0 2 0 J. Vassallo 13 2-6 0-2 2-2 2 0 1 0 0 6 D. Marsh 9 4-7 1-1 0-0 2 1 0 0 0 9 K. Diakhate 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 K. Walters 4 1-2 1-1 0-0 4 1 1 0 0 3 G. McLaughlin 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 1 0 1 0 J. Fellows 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 0 TEAM TOTALS 29-58 5-16 16-21 33 15 11 5 11 79
What's Next: The Big 12's Disciplinary Board will determine whether any action will be taken against Coach West for his outburst and on court actions.Last edited by waytofailself; 07-04-2012, 03:42 PM.Comment
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I would say that was quite a beat down and I definitely expected that to happen. When you leave a school, you love to see them continue to thrive after you've left, just not against you. It seems like this season cannot end fast enough for you to get some of your own recruits in there.Comment
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
Wow. Just wow.My Dynasties
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
.......Well..... At least KSU has a cooler gym..........
“If you’re true to yourself, you’re going to be true to everyone else.”Comment
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
After due consideration, the Big 12 decided to only give Kansas State Head Coach Guy West a warning for leaving the bench and making contact with a referee while in dispute of a foul call against Drexel University.
Disciplinary Action
However, Kansas State decided to impose its own sanctions on its program in light of West's behavior. As a result, the Kansas State has chosen to suspend Coach West for one game. This suspension is voluntary by the University and will cause West to miss the Wildcat's road date against Indiana. Lead Assistant Coach Brian Ayers will take on head coaching duties for the game.
Coach West released this statement through the University today, "My conduct on the court was unacceptable. It harmed the image of Kansas State and set a poor example for the team. I will use better judgment in the future and will not put myself, nor the program, in this position again."
Some have wondered if suspending West for one game is a bit of an extreme measure by the University's Athletics Department, but this could also be a move to reel in a coach who has gone off message while struggling to control the Wildcats this season.Last edited by waytofailself; 07-05-2012, 04:35 PM.Comment
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
Having "my own players" would help, but there seems to be untapped potential on this roster somewhere. A lot of our guards can shoot, and supposedly Guzman can play defense. But strangely, it's Guinn who's our best shooter by a lot despite having poor ratings. Very much a backwards team at the moment.
I'll add that this is not the first time I have been kicked around by my old team in this legacy.
Yes, Drexel was very impressive and looks poised to have another big season.
Oh wait, you're referring to the Wildcats. Yeah, pretty much.
That's another perspective. Plus KSU has the right shade of purple.
Now if only the home court were more than half full.Comment
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
I imagined that things would be rough but I didn't fathom this. I love reading this even more so because you usually don't see this - either people jump from school to school with instant success or they play mediocre in their first year there and then dominant.
It just seems Kansas State is struggling. Like you said, they have guys who are supposed to be great shooters, yet the players with weaker ratings have done more. It's only eight games in, but it feels like longer than that.
It's a great read, always await the next update.My Dynasties
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
I appreciate the comment. To be honest, I enjoy this kind of losing. I'm having more fun this season than I had with this game in awhile.
So while I haven't necessarily figured my team out, I am enjoying that this legacy isn't exactly going the "normal" trajectory.Comment
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
at Indiana (7-3) L: 78-48
What is the Problem?
Kansas State traveled to Indiana without their head coach. The whole team might as well have stayed home. The game was dominated by the Hoosiers from the start. Darwin Peterson was hit with two early fouls and lost any sense of aggression. As a whole, the Wildcats made sloppy passes and poor shots. And even when the shots were open, they were not falling.
After holding the Wildcats to 19 points in the first half, the Hoosiers decided to turn the game into a mid-season rendition of Midnight-Madness with high flying dunks and offensive muscle flexing. The Wildcats were flat, and for the whole game it looked like they only put up half of an effort. As a result, the game was incredibly lopsided. Indiana came to play. Kansas State? Wake us up when they start playing D1 basketball this season.
The Wildcat players had an opportunity to show how they could operate outside of West's shadow. Instead they decided to pack it in and go back to Manhattan with another loss.Comment
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Re: The Accidental Career of Guy West (CH2k8)
New Year? New Low
Things were changing. Guy West was back on the bench, and Kansas State looked like a new team. Darwin Peterson moved from Power Forward to Center and dominated the paint. Kudjo Coulibaly turned around his horrible season and scored a career high 33 points including 8 three pointers. The half-capacity crowd at Bramlage Coliseum was on its feet with the Wildcats carrying a 10 point lead over the Memphis Tigers with less than five minutes to go.
It was not enough. Kansas State kept finding new ways to lose, this time in the closing seconds by a final score of 97-94.
For awhile it did not look like it would be so close. Kansas State was doing its usual game of turning the ball over and watching the other team make highlight plays around the defense. But it was not Indiana or Drexel or Alabama territory. For the first time in weeks, the Wildcats looked like they had at least a little fight in them.
In the second half they would show just how much. Coach West threw out the defense playbook and instructed his team to play a straight-up 2-3 zone. Memphis was doing too much damage cutting and driving to the basket, and West dared them hold onto their lead with jump shots. Memphis still hit the occasional three, but their offense was slowed.
With the points suddenly not ratcheting up Memphis' board, the tenor of the game turned entirely. West told his players to get the ball to the hot hand, and that player was Kudjo Coulibaly. It had been a disastrous Senior season for the Houston native, but tonight he showed the shooting touch that made him a fixture in Kansas State's rotation his whole career in Manhattan -- and then some. Coulibaly torched the Tigers from all over the court, at one point hitting four straight shots from beyond the arc. It did not matter who Memphis threw at him, Coulibaly always got open and could not be stopped.
Kansas State's lead swelled up to as many as 10 points as the 2-3 continued to hold their leaky bucket defense together. Inevitably, Memphis would start to make a run -- their team is too talented to not do so.
Carlo Goral's great individual play helped lift the Tigers.
Unsurprisingly, it was the Tigers' wings who began to break down the Wildcat 2-3. Triggered by Carlo Goral's fantastic drive to the basket, Memphis began to chip away at the lead until a bad pass by Jonah Myers was intercepted in the paint by Moses Mathis. The break was on, and Reaser had a choice. He could try to drive to the basket around two defenders, he could hold up and let the rest of the team catch up, or he could pass to Coulibaly, who was sitting by himself in the corner behind the three point line.
Reaser went for putting the dagger in the Tigers with less than 3 minutes to go. It was not the conservative play, but probably the smart play. The Wildcats were only shooting around 50% from the free throw line, so letting Memphis foul their way back into the game was a greater risk than passing the ball to the wide-open hot hand. With only 3 wins on the season, West had been urging his players to be more aggressive -- no reason to hold back.
Except Coulibaly missed his first shot of the second half, and Josiah Guerrerro immediately hit a three on the other end to knock Kansas State's lead to four.
And that was when Kansas State fell apart.
Roger Guzman embarrassed himself tonight (note: this layup was not blocked)
The Wildcats played off of Roger Guzman and dared him to do anything with the basketball. Like he has almost all season, Guzman delivered by putting up weak layups, some uncontested, instead of dunking the ball home. Meanwhile, Memphis managed to wrest the lead from the Wildcats with their own lights out shooting from beyond the arc. Coulibaly was suddenly cold, and the Wildcats could only watch as the Tigers hit free throw after free throw.
Yet in the closing seconds, they were only down two after L.F. Reaser's second three of the game. Coulibaly had another open shot, but his early half fire had been extinguished. It bounced high off the rim and into Darwin Peterson's hands. The Kansas State captain held the ball as the Tigers swarmed around him. He bent his legs deep, getting ready to power through the crowd and to the rim to tie the game.
But as he went up, the ball was stripped from his hands. By the time his arms were instinctively reaching towards the rim, the Tigers were already moving the ball down the court to run out the clock. Memphis hit four more free throws to put the game out of reach.
Kudjo Coulibaly hit a consolation three as time expired, but by then it was too late. Memphis survived his onslaught with an equally potent offensive performance and stellar 95% shooting from the free throw line. As for the Wildcats, they can add "blew multiple 10 point second half leads" to their growing list of season accomplishments.
Memphis Tigers at Kansas State Wildcats Jan 4, 2017 1ST 2ND SCORE Memphis (6-6) 51 46 97 Kansas State (3-7) 43 51 94 Memphis Tigers STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS J. Myers 22 6-20 2-12 2-2 0 11 2 0 1 16 C. Goral 21 9-12 1-2 4-5 2 0 1 0 2 23 S. Mackell 22 9-13 2-2 0-0 4 2 1 0 0 20 H. Polk 22 1-4 0-0 8-8 9 2 2 3 0 10 J. Gill 18 1-5 0-0 0-0 7 1 1 1 0 2 BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS A. Dumont 12 2-4 1-1 2-2 1 2 2 0 0 7 J. Guerrero 5 2-3 2-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 6 L. Starkey 7 1-5 1-4 2-2 0 0 0 0 0 5 R. Strong 4 2-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 4 C. Weaver 4 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 G. Duggins 15 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0 1 0 0 4 B. Juan Barea -- DID NOT PLAY -- TEAM TOTALS 35-73 9-25 18-19 29 20 11 4 3 97 Kansas State Wildcats STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS L. Reaser 26 2-3 2-3 0-0 2 6 1 0 3 6 K. Coulibaly 24 11-18 8-14 3-7 3 7 0 0 2 33 D. Guinn 23 2-3 1-1 0-0 3 2 0 0 2 5 R. Guzman 19 5-8 0-0 2-4 7 3 0 0 0 12 D. Peterson 23 11-21 0-0 0-1 11 3 0 2 1 22 BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A REB AST STL BLK TO PTS M. Mathis 18 3-10 0-0 5-6 6 3 1 0 0 11 D. Macura 10 0-0 0-0 2-2 1 1 0 0 1 2 J. Guzman 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0 3 0 J. Brinkley 2 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 C. Geiger -- DID NOT PLAY -- TEAM TOTALS 35-65 11-18 13-22 34 26 2 2 12 94 Last edited by waytofailself; 07-07-2012, 10:54 AM.Comment
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