Buzz: Adapting to the Kansas State pace

Adapting to the Kansas State pace

After a brilliant performance in the third Kansas State basketball game overseas, head coach Jerome Tang called guard Tylor Perry the best shooter in America. He doubled down when he returned to the states and made sure everyone knew that he wasn’t being hyperbolic with that statement.

Of course it came after the transfer guard poured in a 9 of 11 shooting performance from beyond the arc in just 18 minutes. To put it in perspective, he never made more than seven threes in an entire game in his career up to that point and only attempted 11 or more from the outside four times all of last season.

There is a chance that rises significantly in Manhattan. After all, K-State plays much faster than what Perry was used to at North Texas. Under Grant McCasland (now at Texas Tech), they were the slowest team in America last year in regards to possessions per game.

It didn’t stop Perry from being one of the more prolific scorers in the country, though. That’s why his offensive ceiling is so much higher at Kansas State. As long as he continues to be efficient, and he should be in a system that will give him open looks, his scoring output could skyrocket further.

However, he has had to adjust and get used to the new tempo. The quicker pace is not something that can be transitioned into all that easily when you’re used to the opposite kind of system. But his breakout performance against the UAE select team is a sign that it is starting to come together for him.

Those around the K-State program wouldn’t be shocked if Perry scores 20 or more points per game this season.

Coach Snyder hanging around

A lot of people enjoy hearing updates about Kansas State legend and Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder. There was some thought that there might be some discomfort between he and the athletics department after his son Sean Snyder accepted a job at Kansas.

While I’m sure there’s some restrictions and limitations to his access that didn’t exist before, the Wildcat hero can still be seen in Manhattan on a regular basis and even within the walls of the Vanier Family Football Complex.

Perhaps he doesn’t have a keen or watchful eye at practices anymore, but he is still no stranger to walking up to and hanging out with some of the student athletes and providing any wisdom that they may be needing on that particular day.

On more than one occasion in the past month, I’ve had stories/examples shared to me where Snyder has been more than willing to chat with those around the program.

Nae’Qwan Tomlin/Kansas State Athletics

Consistency from K-State star is goal

Another part of the K-State trip to the Middle East that stood out to me were sequences where the budding talent of Nae’Qwan Tomlin simply took over and was a handful for the opponent for minutes at a time.

It essentially happened in all three games.

There is multiple ways to look at that, and all are pretty accurate.

The first is that Tomlin does have the capability of being one of the best players in the Big 12 this season. When he turns it on, there are few that are better just because of his natural gifts. His speed, length, size, energy and activity level are phenomenal and make him difficult to stop.

Secondly, he just may be one of the best defensive players in the Big 12, perhaps the country, this season. That length allows him to defend the rim and alter a ton of shots, and his athleticism and movement skills enables him to guard just about anyone on the floor.

Lastly, none of it really matters much if he doesn’t become more consistent. He can’t fade away or disappear for stretches. If he is constantly active and playing with energy and increases his basketball IQ, there’s not much stopping him. He can’t be afraid to be aggressive.

A lot of it will also come down to his shot. If he’s streaky, that will take away some of his assets. Having a reliable, knock-down jumper will enhance the rest of his game and give him far more to work with and do on the offensive end.

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