When Kamau Stokes broke his left foot midway through Kansas State’s basketball season, the Wildcats were understandably bummed. They lacked proven depth at guard, and the challenge of replacing a three-year starter with freshmen seemed impossible.
Turns out, there was no need to panic.
Fast forward 10 months and it now feels like K-State benefited from that injury. Barry Brown stepped up his game to all-conference levels and Cartier Diarra came out of nowhere to help the Wildcats go on a wining streak while averaging 7.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Then Mike McGuirl came on strong in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 17 points in a first-round victory over Creighton.