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Rapid recap: Kansas State close to full strength

On3 imageby:Drew Galloway•11/04/24•

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David N'Guessan and Dug McDaniel
David N'Guessan and Dug McDaniel

Kansas State health update

Kansas State was without Max Jones in the 70-56 win over Fort Hays State in the exhibition game. According to Jerome Tang, everyone is healthy and a full go for the season opener versus New Orleans Tuesday. Jones is a bigger guard who can do a little bit of everything on the basketball court. His presence makes it so Coleman Hawkins can play the ‘4’ position for K-State.

There is one player who may not play for the Wildcats Tuesday night, though. Achor Achor had to go home for a family emergency over the weekend and it is not determined if he will play.

What Tang wants to learn

After the exhibition game, there are a few things Tang wants to see from his team versus New Orleans. He wants to find out how many minutes his team can play with the focus and intensity he wants them to. It can take a little bit to be able to play the way you want a team to due to conditioning and focus. It can also be a product of basketball now and replacing so many players and having new faces on the court. The Kansas State coach did also state he wants his team playing its best basketball later on in the season and for him, it is about getting a little bit better every day.

A preview of New Orleans

Tang knows Privateers head coach Stacy Hollowell well and the system he runs. New Orleans will look to press often and get after you defensively. They are also an aggressive team on the glass and want to speed teams up. New Orleans ranked No. 21 in possessions per game last season with 71.6 possessions per game.

Kansas State cannot settle for early threes or force shots Tuesday that New Orleans wants them to take. K-State will need to keep working the ball and their own offense because the Privateers will force teams in the half-court to take tough shots.

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