Big 12 Conference report

SportsLine.com Report
April 6, 2000

The Wildcats suffered through their worst season in 55 years, going 9-19 and winning only two conference games. In the process, K-State lost its head coach and a lot of its pride for its tradition-rich basketball program.

After going 85-88 in his six-year KSU tenure, coach Tom Asbury was fired by athletic director Max Urick on Feb. 23, though the firing was kept private until Asbury announced his "resignation" March 10.

The 20th coach in K-State basketball history, Chicago Bulls assistant Jim Wooldridge, was announced on March 13.

The 1999-2000 season didn't begin so badly, with the Wildcats winning five straight at home after a preseason NIT loss at Arizona. K-State's non-conference record was a respectable 7-4, especially considering the Cats' challenging schedule.

But the conference season was certainly ugly. K-State went 2-14 in conference play and was pounded 84-60 by Kansas in the postseason tournament.

"Tom Asbury and his coaching staffs did not come to Kansas State to fail," Urick said in a one-page release announcing Asbury's resignation. "No one worked harder over the past six seasons to make K-State a successful basketball program."

Whether or not Asbury worked hard is open for debate. The results, however, were not in his corner. In correlation with the poor conference record, Asbury went 0-17 against Kansas in his six years.

And then there was the attendance problem. In the Cats' 13,500-seat Bramlage Coliseum, only about 8,000 fans were turning out for each game.

It was evident a change had to be made. Now K-State fans will have to wait until next November to find out if the change will do them good.

A glance at 2001

Wooldridge has the reputation of being a turnaround specialist, reviving Southwest Texas and Louisiana Tech from single-digit win programs into conference championship contenders. He's going to have just as daunting a task at Kansas State.

First of all, Asbury's two best players, power forward Tony Kitt and shooting guard Cortez Groves, have used up all their eligibility. And secondly, unlike at Southwest Texas and La. Tech, Wooldridge has to revive the KSU program in the extremely tough Big 12, which just sent six teams into the NCAA Tournament.

The coach

Wooldridge, 44, comes to K-State after serving as assistant coach under Tim Floyd's Chicago Bulls since August 1998. He was considered the staff authority on the triangle offense after teaching it as a head coach at Louisiana Tech.

"Every job he has taken on has been an incredibly difficult challenge and at every stop the team has exceeded expectations and the institution has benefited," Floyd said. "Kansas State is lucky to have him. Jim Wooldridge can really coach and the players will love him."

Wooldridge said he is honored to take over the Wildcat program, mentioning KSU greats such as Rolando Blackman, Tex Winter, Jack Gardner, Steve Henson and Mitch Richmond, among others.

"You think about all those names," Wooldridge said. "I think you can see why Jim Wooldridge is honored. More than anything, you're always going to get a good day's work from me."

Wooldridge began his head-coaching career at Central Missouri State University (1986-91) where he compiled a 131-48 record, including three appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Wooldridge's next stop was at Southwest Texas for three seasons from 1991-94, where he led the Bobcats to the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history in 1993-94 with a 25-7 record.

Wooldridge returned to his alma mater Louisiana Tech as head coach in 1994, taking over a Bulldog program that was coming off a 2-25 record and was hampered by NCAA probation. Wooldridge coached the Bulldogs for four seasons, setting the stage for a Sun Belt Championship squad in 1999 and second-place finish in 2000 with many of the players he recruited. The 14-13 record posted by Louisiana Tech in Wooldridge's first season was the second-best turnaround by any school in the nation that year. Wooldridge left Louisiana Tech for his position with the Bulls after compiling a 52-59 record.

Who'll be back

Wooldridge will have two full-time starters returning and two others with part-time starting experience.

Senior Kelvin Howell will start at a forward position as will junior Travis Reynolds. Sophomore Quentin Buchanan showed promise in his freshman season and could possibly step up at the three position. If Wooldridge wants to go big, he might play senior Joe Leonard along with Howell, although Leonard has shown limited offensive and rebounding skills despite his 7-foot frame.

One possible boost to Wooldridge could be the return of guard Galen Morrison. Morrison, who was booted from the team because of personality clashes with Asbury, has expressed interest in returning for the new coach. Morrison was the Cats' third leading scorer when he was suspended.

The new coach said he expects a little bit of turnover from the current roster. Don't expect any of the names mentioned above to leave the program. But likely candidates for a transfer include guards Josh Kimm and Kenyatta Dix and forwards Donnie Wallace and Ivan Sulic.

Who's gone

Kitt and Groves are going to be sorely missed. The tandem combined for 29 points a game, and Kitt pulled down an average of nine rebounds.

Also gone is forward Josh Reid, K-State's only four-year senior. Though Reid struggled with his shooting, when he was in the lineup the offense seemed to run more smoothly.

Key newcomers

Guard play was a problem for Asbury's team. And in the early signing period he addressed that need. Now Asbury's recruits will be of some help to the new coaching staff.

• SG Jason Robinson (6-6, Jr.): Robinson, from Seward County Community College in Kansas, is a scorer who has the reputation of being able to shoot his team into games and unfortunately shooting his team out of them. Wooldridge said he had contacted Robinson and that the guard was still excited about his opportunity at KSU despite the coaching change. Robinson will have to be good because this team is going to need a scorer.
• PG E.J. Harris (6-3, Fr.): Kansas State desperately needed a point guard this season. It got so bad that Groves and Morrison were forced into the foreign role. Don't be surprised if Harris, a talented guard from Los Angeles, is Wooldridge's point man from day one. That would free up Morrison, if he returns, to play his natural shooting guard position.
• Others: K-State has at least two more scholarships with which Wooldridge can work (three if he chooses not to bring back Morrison).