Kansas State Wildcats are making history
This season has been a surprise for many college basketball fans. The Kansas State Wildcats were predicted to finish last in the Big 12, but first-year head coach Jerome Tang has flipped expectations on their head. Under Tang’s leadership, the Wildcats have become one of the most competitive teams in the conference.
The Wildcats currently boast an impressive 11-4 record and have already defeated three ranked opponents this season. On top of that, they are riding a three-game winning streak against top Big 12 foes Oklahoma State, TCU, and Texas Tech. This turnaround can be attributed to Tang’s emphasis on team chemistry and defensive intensity, as well as his ability to get the most out of each player he coaches.
Tang has also done an excellent job utilizing his bench players and getting them involved in games, making it difficult for opposing teams to prepare for them.
“Never did we think we would be here (referring to the record of 16-2) right now,” Tang said. “But our approach is not as such that we say, ‘Hey, look at the whole season.’ We try not to look too far down the road. Looking back, the whole thing is surprising. But as you have seen over the past few games, we have got some dudes, and they are just making plays.” “I shake my head quite a bit and smile and clap and say, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’”
Markquis Nowell is an NBA quality point guard
Born December 25, 1999, in New York City, Nowell is putting up performances worthy of NBA players. Some even compare him to stars like Trae Young and Ja Morant, which attests to the quality of the player.
In two ranked wins over Texas and Baylor in early January 2023, Nowell scored more than 65 points and dished out more than 20 assists.
The Harlem native is the epitome of a New Yorker point guard, small, with a lot of flairs, agility, and toughness. All these skills he developed in outdoor pickup games.
“I just learned the grittiness, the flashiness,” Nowell says. “When I throw passes, I feel like I’m in Rucker or Dyckman Park. Every arena I’m in, it feels like a playground to me.”
Coach Tanga recognized that Nowell is the fundamental piece of his team, his arrow to take down enemies. “Markquis is my arrow,” Tang said. “I don’t need to look at everyone else’s arrow. He is my arrow. We had a meeting in my office, and I apologized to him, and I said, ‘You are my arrow. We are going to win this battle with you.’
Since that time, I haven’t allowed little things that really don’t matter to bother me,” Tang said, “and he hasn’t let my coaching or some of the things I say to him to bother him. We are just moving forward together. He loves K-State, he loves the game of basketball, he works so hard. I just have to take my hands off and let him be him.”
The Wildcats will be hard to catch
Fans are going crazy betting on the Wildcats by taking advantage of the FanDuel Kansas promo code as they have defeated three ranked opponents in a row for the first time in school history. The team does not break, even when it has been behind on the scoreboard against great rivals like then-No. 24 West Virginia or then-No. 6 Texas.
The team has also had its best start to a season in 64 years. Not only are they the best team in the Big 12, but they are also the best team in the country right now, and there is no doubt that they will go far.
