Busting Brackets
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Big 12 Basketball: Breakout candidates from each team for 2020-21 season

By Brian Rauf

AMES, IA - MARCH 03: Miles McBride #4 of the West Virginia Mountaineers shoots the ball as Tre Jackson #3 of the Iowa State Cyclones blocks in the second half of the play at Hilton Coliseum on March 3, 2020 in Ames, Iowa. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 77-71 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA - MARCH 03: Miles McBride #4 of the West Virginia Mountaineers shoots the ball as Tre Jackson #3 of the Iowa State Cyclones blocks in the second half of the play at Hilton Coliseum on March 3, 2020 in Ames, Iowa. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 77-71 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /
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MANHATTAN, KS – FEBRUARY 29: Head coach Bruce Weber of the Kansas State Wildcats (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
MANHATTAN, KS – FEBRUARY 29: Head coach Bruce Weber of the Kansas State Wildcats (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /

Kansas State – Mike McGuirl

I don’t know how to say this nicely, so we’ll just be blunt about it – I don’t see Kansas State being much better than they were last season. The Wildcats have some talent, but that talent is young. And, given the departures we’ve seen from the program this offseason, it has left them without any real experience.

Except for Mike McGuirl. He is now going to be tasked with playing a huge role for Bruce Weber’s squad next year and that will almost lead to a breakout season by default.

McGuirl has shown flashes of potential throughout his career and put forward some very impressive performances. However, there’s virtually an equal amount of no-shows and games in which he fades out of. That can’t be the case in 2020-21. K-State needs him to be aggressive, particularly offensively.

When he is, he’s capable of scoring 17 points in an NCAA Tournament game – like he did as a freshman – or scoring 16 points to lead the Wildcats to an upset victory over Oklahoma, like he did this past season.

What can’t happen is the “0/1 shooting with no points” outing he had at Texas Tech, or the “1/4 with two points and no assists” outing against Texas. Kansas State will need him to shoot and shoot a lot, which should lead to a big leap in production from the rising senior.

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