Does Kansas State Have A Rebounding Issue?
Kansas State coach Jerome Tang says the team's downfall against St. John's Saturday afternoon was in the communication and effort.
Assistant coach Jareem Dowling echoed Tang's sentiments. Furthermore, he emphasized the Wildcats' rebounding as one of their biggest issues early in the season.
"We gotta rebound the basketball," Dowling said on the Every Pod A Wildcat podcast. "I mean, it's clear as day. Somebody who doesn't watch basketball can see that we're not doing well in that area. That's something that we gotta correct to get to where we wanna get to. I think individual guys have shown spurts in what they can really do, but we need more consistency as a group."
Kansas State ranks top five in the conference in rebounds but opposing teams collect their own boards just as often. The Wildcats average 37.5 rebounds, while their opponents collect just below 35. Dowling says the Wildcats do well individually but must improve as a unit.
And like Tang, he says this starts with communicating. He believes developing off-court chemistry will help translate to the on-court product.
"You can never talk too much as a team," Dowling said. "We gotta continue to talk more on and off the court about the game so that it becomes easier and slows down for us."
They host Drake (8-0) in the Wildcat Classic on Dec. 17 at 8:00 p.m.
Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
Jayden is a journalism school graduate of Howard University. He was the 2024 recipient of the Terez Paylor scholarship award. He previously worked at the Orlando Sentinel.