MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Bruce Weber was in a bind a few years ago when his best player led a mass exodus of transfers that left the Kansas State coach essentially starting from scratch.
Things have certainly changed in Manhattan.
Weber is no longer embattled after leading the Wildcats to the Elite Eight last season. And the program that was left in shambles after Marcus Foster and Co. left town? It returns just about everyone from a squad that knocked off Kentucky on its romp through the NCAA Tournament earlier this year.
"As a coach, as a staff, you've got veteran players back. You've got lots of minutes, lots of points, lots of experience," Weber said. "So it makes it easier on us as far as teaching and now we've approached it a little different than how we have in the past. Their leadership and their experience and toughness makes it different as a staff to coach."
Different but better in almost every respect.
There are plenty of teams that return the bulk of their scoring and rebounding, but very few of them won 25 games the previous year. What's more, the 12the-ranked Wildcats return healthy after making their big run through March without Dean Wade, their best all-around player.
The preseason Big 12 player of the year, Wade hurt his foot headed into the NCAA Tournament and played just a handful of minutes. Barry Brown Jr. and Xavier Sneed picked up the slack without him, but nobody will ever know whether the Wildcats might have beaten Loyola-Chicago for a spot in the Final Four if they had their versatile power forward on the floor.
"I'm feeling normal right now," he said. "There's days sometimes I feel like my conditioning went down a little bit, but we took a little break after the season and I think everyone's getting back."
That makes for a pretty full gym.
Brown tested the NBA draft for deciding to return for his senior season, and Sneed raised enough eyebrows during March to get some pro interest before coming back for his junior year.
Throw in backcourt sophomores Mike McGuirl and Cartier Diarra, sophomore forwards Levi Stockard III and James Love III, junior big man Makol Mawien and junior college transfer Austin Trice, and there is arguably more talent and experience than Weber has ever had during his tenure in Manhattan.
"We could be real good. We've got the team to do it," Brown said. "We had a great run last year, but we didn't really play as well as we wanted to in the Big 12. So I think that one of our main goals is to come out and compete every day in the Big 12, and the non-conference."
STOKED STOKES
A foot injury held back Stokes much of last season, and the senior guard said he was a bit hesitant even when he returned. That's no longer the case.
"The hardest thing was trusting my foot," he said, "trusting that I can do things without hurting it or thinking that it was going to get hurt. I feel like that was my biggest thing and now I am getting back into the rhythm."
CLOSE CHEMISTRY
Wade, Brown and Stokes formed the foundation of the Wildcats' resurgence when they arrive in 2015, and Sneed and Diarra arrive a year later.
"We just love each other and that family experience that we have," Sneed said. "Just having that on the court goes a long way."
THE WORM
Trice arrived from junior college as one of the nation's top rebounders, and he plans to make a difference for the Wildcats on the board.
"I go out on the court every day with a Dennis Rodman mentality," he said. "I feel like rebounding is my niche."
BIGGEST CHALLENGE
When asked for the Wildcats' biggest challenge this season, Sneed didn't talk about anyone on the schedule.
"Making sure we don't get complacent," he said. "We've got a lot of big tags over our heads right now but just staying on course is important."
SCHEDULE SYNOPSIS
Kansas State opens with Kennesaw State on Nov. 11, the first of four straight at home. The Wildcats also have Marquette, Vanderbilt and a trip to Texas A&M as part of the Big 12-SEC Challenge on their nonconference slate this season.
