SE: Wade, Mawien Playing Big for K-State MBB Headed into Road Battle with Baylor
Jan 22, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
The game is moving slower than ever for Dean Wade. Makol Mawien is moving faster than ever in the game. Both Wildcats helped K-State move past No. 24 TCU with a 73-68 win on Saturday in Bramlage Coliseum.
Wade led K-State with 20 points — his third-straight game scoring 20 or more — that included knocking down 4-of-9 from 3-point range, where he's shooting 46.9 percent from this season. He also led K-State with six rebounds and dished out six assists against TCU, one less than his total against Oklahoma last Tuesday.
"He's been good all year. Now, he's just playing very determined, very confident," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said of Wade. "We put the ball in his hands so much. He's really grown up and become a very, very good player."
Wade is now averaging 19.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in Big 12 play, which continues for K-State (14-5, 4-3) with a road trip to Baylor (12-7, 2-5) on Monday at 8 p.m., on ESPNU. Wade, who ranks in the conference's top 11 for nine different individual categories for Big 12 games only, said his recent production is a culmination of the lessons learned from his first two seasons.
"I was thrown into the fire my freshman year and I learned a lot. Last year I learned some more," he said. "Now at I'm the point where the game's a little slower for me and I know where people should be open. And I've just been a lot more aggressive this year than I have in past couple years. That just allows me to find teammates open when they help on me. I think it's just being more mature, and I've been through the fire a few times."
After a 13-point first half against TCU, Wade buried a huge three about seven minutes into the second half to snap a four-plus minute scoring drought for the Wildcats. He later split a tight double team on the baseline and hit Barry Brown for a wide-open three to push K-State's lead back to six. Wade then capped his scoring with an emphatic dunk, boosting the Wildcats' advantage to four points with less than four minutes to play.
"Dean's been playing awesome. There's nothing he can't do," Brown said. "He's not getting outside of himself. He has that confidence that I've been telling him to have since his freshman year. I love the confidence, the shots he's taking. I love it all. He's playing his game and we're winning games. We need him to keep playing like that."
Meanwhile, Wade's starting partner in the frontcourt, Mawien, added in a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 from the field. He grabbed five rebounds, including two of his team's four offensive boards, and swatted two shots as well.
"I think the one thing I've gotten better at during the season is anticipating where to be at and getting in the right position," Mawien, a sophomore transfer, said. "I think just anticipating the game (better), looking forward and trying to get to places early."
In Mawien's first six Big 12 games, he scored zero, one, two, four, four and four points. Added together, they come three points shy of the point total he produced against TCU.
"He's made a lot of strides," Weber said, adding that Mawien's plus-minus total against Oklahoma led K-State. "He was plus-24 when he was in the game. His activity, all the things he did, obviously had to be important. And Dean was right behind him. Slowly but surely (Mawien's) getting more confidence. He's doing more things in practice. I think (TCU was) so worried about Dean that he was able to get some easy looks. Our guys threw it to him probably more than they have because he finished and he made some plays. He was huge."
Mawien's scoring outburst, Brown said, was as much a product of the energy the 6-foot-9 Wildcat brought to the floor in every facet of the game.
"He's coming with that energy, blocking shots, walling up things, playing good defense, making guys shoot over him," Brown said. "I was trying to find him in the pick-and-roll dives, and he was catching the ball and finishing, finishing through contact sometimes, getting rebounds. All of the scrappy plays we need and even the skill plays we need sometimes, he's been able to make them, offensively and defensively."
Most of Mawien's points came around the rim against TCU, but the native of Utah, currently shooting 69.9 percent for the season, hit a baseline jumper to open the second half, a glimpse of his capabilities away from the paint.
"He's really catching up to the game, learning where he needs to be, finding those open spots and he's taken advantage," Wade said of Mawien. "He's a great athlete. He's strong. He can shoot it. I don't think there's anything he can't do. I just think he has a little more confidence right now and is showing everyone."
The game is moving slower than ever for Dean Wade. Makol Mawien is moving faster than ever in the game. Both Wildcats helped K-State move past No. 24 TCU with a 73-68 win on Saturday in Bramlage Coliseum.
Wade led K-State with 20 points — his third-straight game scoring 20 or more — that included knocking down 4-of-9 from 3-point range, where he's shooting 46.9 percent from this season. He also led K-State with six rebounds and dished out six assists against TCU, one less than his total against Oklahoma last Tuesday.
"He's been good all year. Now, he's just playing very determined, very confident," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said of Wade. "We put the ball in his hands so much. He's really grown up and become a very, very good player."
Wade is now averaging 19.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in Big 12 play, which continues for K-State (14-5, 4-3) with a road trip to Baylor (12-7, 2-5) on Monday at 8 p.m., on ESPNU. Wade, who ranks in the conference's top 11 for nine different individual categories for Big 12 games only, said his recent production is a culmination of the lessons learned from his first two seasons.
"I was thrown into the fire my freshman year and I learned a lot. Last year I learned some more," he said. "Now at I'm the point where the game's a little slower for me and I know where people should be open. And I've just been a lot more aggressive this year than I have in past couple years. That just allows me to find teammates open when they help on me. I think it's just being more mature, and I've been through the fire a few times."
After a 13-point first half against TCU, Wade buried a huge three about seven minutes into the second half to snap a four-plus minute scoring drought for the Wildcats. He later split a tight double team on the baseline and hit Barry Brown for a wide-open three to push K-State's lead back to six. Wade then capped his scoring with an emphatic dunk, boosting the Wildcats' advantage to four points with less than four minutes to play.
"Dean's been playing awesome. There's nothing he can't do," Brown said. "He's not getting outside of himself. He has that confidence that I've been telling him to have since his freshman year. I love the confidence, the shots he's taking. I love it all. He's playing his game and we're winning games. We need him to keep playing like that."
Meanwhile, Wade's starting partner in the frontcourt, Mawien, added in a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 from the field. He grabbed five rebounds, including two of his team's four offensive boards, and swatted two shots as well.
"I think the one thing I've gotten better at during the season is anticipating where to be at and getting in the right position," Mawien, a sophomore transfer, said. "I think just anticipating the game (better), looking forward and trying to get to places early."
In Mawien's first six Big 12 games, he scored zero, one, two, four, four and four points. Added together, they come three points shy of the point total he produced against TCU.
"He's made a lot of strides," Weber said, adding that Mawien's plus-minus total against Oklahoma led K-State. "He was plus-24 when he was in the game. His activity, all the things he did, obviously had to be important. And Dean was right behind him. Slowly but surely (Mawien's) getting more confidence. He's doing more things in practice. I think (TCU was) so worried about Dean that he was able to get some easy looks. Our guys threw it to him probably more than they have because he finished and he made some plays. He was huge."
Mawien's scoring outburst, Brown said, was as much a product of the energy the 6-foot-9 Wildcat brought to the floor in every facet of the game.
"He's coming with that energy, blocking shots, walling up things, playing good defense, making guys shoot over him," Brown said. "I was trying to find him in the pick-and-roll dives, and he was catching the ball and finishing, finishing through contact sometimes, getting rebounds. All of the scrappy plays we need and even the skill plays we need sometimes, he's been able to make them, offensively and defensively."
Most of Mawien's points came around the rim against TCU, but the native of Utah, currently shooting 69.9 percent for the season, hit a baseline jumper to open the second half, a glimpse of his capabilities away from the paint.
"He's really catching up to the game, learning where he needs to be, finding those open spots and he's taken advantage," Wade said of Mawien. "He's a great athlete. He's strong. He can shoot it. I don't think there's anything he can't do. I just think he has a little more confidence right now and is showing everyone."
Players Mentioned
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