Kansas State basketball: Looking closely at the Wildcats’ roster

This year’s roster is only marginally more productive than last season’s. Senior Wes Iwundu leads the team in scoring at 12.6 points, but a bigger jump was maybe expected after averaging 11.9 last season. What Iwundu has done better is rebound and shoot. Both those numbers are up this season, but he just isn’t getting the sort of shot volume to really demonstrate his improvement.

Kamau Stokes and Barry Brown have taken over the role of primary shot-takers. The sophomore guard duo averages just over 33 points and seven assists between them. Both have taken over 20 more shots than Iwundu through the year, but neither shoot better than 41% from the field. There is nothing wrong with inefficiency, but it doesn’t look good when your leading shooters are the two worst from the field. Freshman Xavier Sneed is the only other guard to make a consistent impact. Sneed puts up 7.6 points on 43% shooting. Those a fine starting numbers for a guy playing than 20 minutes a night.

D.J. Johnson has improved into one of the Big 12’s better post players. His scoring is up to 11.4 from 9.3. Rebounding and blocks are also both slightly up. He is also by far the most efficient Wildcat at 61% shooting, but Johnson’s usage seems limited by the perimeter players’ dominance. Sophomore Dean Wade is doing fine as the team’s third forward. He is shooting more accurately, but his scoring and rebounding have dropped slightly. Wade’s constant issue is his habit of getting stuck on the perimeter. I get that he’s a stretch forward, but he stands 6’10” and could do as much or more damage going harder for rebounds.

The extended rotation consists of Carlbe Ervin II, Isaiah Maurice, Brian Patrick, and Austin Budke. None of those guys average more than three points a night. Maurice and Patrick can return and compete for time next year, but the team does lose Ervin and Budke to graduation.