Season Overview
In his first year at the helm, head coach Jeff Mittie and the Wildcats are off to a fast start with a record of 11-3. Mittie’s program won 10 of their first 11 games, which equaled a school best. From a coaching standpoint, Mittie is on record as saying that he has focused upon the defensive end this season. He has interior size to anchor the paint with sophomore center Breanna Lewis, who stands at 6-foot-5. That philosophy is working out well as Lewis is averaging 3.7 blocks per game for her team.
On the recruiting front, Mittie went out of region to secure two prospects in the class of 2015 who project to give meaningful minutes early in their careers in Manhattan. Cheyenne Hooper of Knoxville, Tenn., is a 6-5 post who should bring the same type of defensive presence as Lewis does. While 5-9 guard Anna Hammaker of Knoxville, Tenn., will bring aggressiveness and skill to the back court. These high school teammates are both 4-star prospects as rated by ProspectsNation.com
Game Feature
The state of Kansas is heralded as the birthplace of basketball. Therefore an in-state match-up between the Wildcats and Kansas University will always bring an added element of excitement. On January 11, Mittie’s team hosted the Jayhawks in an early season Big 12 game. Although Kansas State would trail 14-2 after 5 minutes of play, the Wildcats would use a series of runs to eventually get back into the game.
Read Brandon Clay’s JumpOffPlus.com College Tour Game Blog Here
The Wildcats anchored their comeback on the defensive end. Lewis would finish the game with 8 block shots which set a school record in the process. Mittie’s defensive philosophy should be noted here. He used an aggressive 2-3 zone that relied upon Lewis and her shot blocking ability. Although his guards would not pressure much past the 3-point arc, it did allow them to hinder the passing lanes and prevent clean looks from the Jayhawk shooters.
On the offensive end, the Wildcats relied heavily upon the triangle offense to get their shots. It is apparent that the Wildcat staff plays to the strengths of their team as they use low block presence of Lewis to open up the rest of the court. Lewis averages 11 points on the year, but on this night it would be the work of Ashia Woods that would be the difference in the game. Woods is a 5-10 wing who worked effectively in the pinch post area in this triangle offense and finished with 15 points in the victory. We will break down some of those scoring opportunities below for Coach Hemi Members.
Play Breakdown
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TRIANGLE OPTIONS
1. The first thing that is evident with their offense is spacing. They do a great job of perimeter spacing, which really opens up interior passing lanes.
2. K-State is one of the few teams left in college basketball that does not rely upon the ball screen to get their offense moving. Their offense is predicated upon spacing and movement.
3. The strong side entry here is looking to clear out the helpside to create an opportunity for a lob. As you can see in frame 2, 3 flashes to the elbow area which clears the help outside of the lane.
4. Another option not drawn in this PDF would be to throw the ball to 3 to look for the hi-lo. K-State was able to execute that several times in this game.
5. The first bucket of the game came off of a ball reversal to 4 at the top of the key and then an entry to Woods at the elbow.
6. What frees Woods up is 4 pinning down the defender at the free throw line. Woods takes a space dribble to get a clear look at the bucket and knocks down the jumper.
7. The final frame shows another action off of a direct post feed into the post. 2 in the corner makes a baseline cut. 1 screens for 3 who becomes open for a jumper.
You can see how Mittie has done a good job of tailoring his offense to his personnel strengths. The fact that they are winning games is further proof that Mittie has K-State headed in the right direction.
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Jonathan Hemingway is the owner of Coach Hemingway Basketball, Inc. Hemingway is on the Board of Selectors for the Naismith Trophy. He has worked within the basketball community since 1995 as a coach, camp director and journalist. He works as the assistant director of scouting for the JumpOffPlus.com and the OTRHoopsReport.com, which are scouting reports that service over 200 college and universities nationwide. Reach him via email at JonathanHemingway@PeachStateBasketball.com.
