Kansas State Basketball: Analyzing the Wildcats’ rotation for 2018-19

Center

Minutes Allocated (40 total): Makol Mawien (22), Dean Wade (10), and Austin Trice (8)

This is the preferred kind of depth that Kansas State wants to have, rather than being forced to play Sneed at the five-spot due to no bigs being available. That sometimes included Mawien, who at times found himself on the bench due to constant foul trouble.

Primarily known for defense, the rising sophomore did show some offensive potential, including 29 points (11 more than his next highest total) against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament. Considering that he has three years left to develop, Mawien has the ability to grow into an elite forward for the program in the future. He won’t be asked to score with the seniors around but look for more usage out of the underclassmen.

There are several different lineups that can be used involving the center position. Mawien would be used against the bigger Big 12 big men, Trice can be utilized if they’re getting beat on the boards or Mawien’s in foul trouble as well. The best lineup might involve Dean at the five, surrounded by the four guards (Brown, Diarra, Stokes, and Sneed. That would cause all kinds of problems for the opponents, while Sneed has the rebounding capabilities and size to hold his own at the four-spot.

If Trice proves to be the impact player that Wildcat fans hope he is, they’ll have depth everywhere and can survive an injury or two without falling down the Big 12 ladder. That’s important because this program wants to grab a high seed in the Big Dance so that they can make it back to the Elite Eight in 2019. Only this time with a different result.