Kansas State men's basketball beat writer Joel Jellison of The Manhattan Mercury made his first appearance on the podcast back in November, when he warned of a possible loss to Northern Colorado and cautioned against setting expectations higher than a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 finish or NCAA tournament appearance. He also told us about a freshman named Marcus Foster who looked like he just might have the potential to be the top scorer for a offensively challenged team.
This week, Joel returned to evaluate those prescient predictions, as well as some other storylines from the season he didn't see coming. That included Jevon Thomas' struggles to become anything other than a liability on offense, and the impressive growth of D.J. Johnson as K-State generally covered up its weakness of not having enough size. Of course, we took a final look back at the careers of fiercely competitive seniors Will Spradling and Shane Southwell, plus the sometimes pleasant surprise of KU-killer Omari Lawrence.
Naturally, the future came up in our discussion as well, and Joel said the pieces seem to be there for significant improvement, even if it's not yet clear where they all fit. Stick around to the end to hear Joel's take on whether the BatCats will turn things around in time to save a frustrating season.
Be sure to follow Joel on Twitter at @Joel_Jellison and check out his full coverage, along with sports editor Josh Kinder, at The Mercury's website.
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