While excitement buds at Bramlage Coliseum for Kansas State’s basketball programs, it’s important to remember the key to success for any team is its point guard play.
Former guard Tylor Perry, a more prototypical shooting guard, led the K-State offense last year — a season filled with tumultuous turnover troubles at times.
When head coach Jerome Tang went into the portal and made a splash with Michigan transfer Dug McDaniel, many expected the junior point guard to take over immediately — but that hasn’t been the case.
Tang said McDaniel is still growing. At the time of writing, Illinois-Chicago transfer CJ Jones has been the starting point guard. Through two games, however, McDaniel averaged 26 minutes per game compared to 19 for Jones.
“Playing the point guard for us is a little different than playing the point guard elsewhere,” Tang said. “There are a whole lot more responsibilities, seeing the game the way I see it, and then learning that. Once he embraces that — which he has, he’s starting to take some ownership of some things — then I’ll get to start seeing the game the way he sees it.”
While some fans might be quick to worry about McDaniel not starting right away, Tang made it clear when he first signed on in the Little Apple — he’s not married to a starting lineup.
“It’s going to take some time, it’s a process,” he said. “I’m not disappointed with where we’re at, and I’m excited about where we’re heading.”
After all, it’s no easy task being a point guard for Tang, which he’ll be the first to admit.
“I just demand a lot of them,” he said. “They get a whole lot of freedom. People always talk about, ‘Man, he lets his guards get off well.’ Y’all are not with me every day in practice — I demand a lot of them.”
All-American guard Markquis Nowell set the bar high during Tang’s first season with his jaw-dropping performances as a ball distributor.
“Every time a play is ran incorrectly, it’s [the point guard’s] fault,” Tang said. “They have to be able to do something and it does not work, then have the confidence when I get on them about it to do it again and make it work and then smile at me and wink.”
Still, Tang continued and said he doesn’t want his point guard to be someone who does everything he tells him to do.
“There’s got to be a little bit in between because they’re players and they see something, [then] they make a play,” Tang said. “… It takes a certain level of confidence, mental toughness and emotional maturity to be able to handle what we do every day at practice. But if you can do that, then on game day you get to play 40 minutes of freedom.”
Tang announced no one will redshirt this season for the Wildcats, including true freshman guard David Castillo, the Wildcats’ lone high school signee in his class. Castillo has the opportunity to learn under McDaniel and Jones this year, allowing veterans to help him through the growing pains of collegiate basketball.
“Every player goes through it, and has to go through it, he’s playing a hard position — it’s not easy to play the point guard for me,” Tang said. “I’ve been blessed to coach at least eight all-conference point guards — there’s something to it.”
Even with the growing pains, Castillo has impressed early.
“I told our staff, ‘Every time he shoots it, I believe it’s going in,’” Tang said. “I want him to fail aggressively, if he’s going to fail, don’t fail passively. It’s really good that he has CJ and Dug, but he’s going to be just fine.”
