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We hope you are ready for a season unlike any other: testing, distancing, and bubbles, oh my! Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen, when it is going to happen, or whether anything actually will happen…but in the meantime we will try to restore some order with season previews featuring the best players/coaches/administrators in the country. We continue our coverage with Kansas State assistant coach Shane Southwell. He made 4 NCAA tourneys as a player at Kansas State, won a gold medal last year at the U-19 World Cup, and won the NEC tourney last March at Robert Morris before coming back to Manhattan. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Southwell about winning a conference championship as both a player/coach and his expectations for this year.
You grew up in New York City: what made you choose Kansas State for college? There were a lot of different factors in my choice to go from the Big Apple to the Little Apple. Coach Frank Martin already had a couple of New York guys on his roster so I was familiar with their journey: it felt like a chance to rekindle with family. It was an easy decision for me.
Take me through the 2013 postseason:
In the Big 12 tourney you beat Texas/Oklahoma State before losing to Kansas in the title game in Kansas City: how do you describe the in-state rivalry to someone who has never experienced it in person? It is a big-time rivalry: Kansas has been more dominant in basketball than we have but when the games occur it is a great opportunity to see how the state is split down the middle between purple and red. It is a special rivalry and I would say that it is 1 of the top-5 in the sport.
In the NCAA tourney you scored 17 PTS/7-10 FG/3-3 3PM in a 2-PT loss to La Salle in Kansas City: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It is definitely up there. We had shown so much progress and I think we had the potential to make the Elite 8, especially since our region was full of upsets such as Wichita State (who made it all the way to the Final 4 as a #9 seed). The fact that we played in Kansas City almost made it feel like we lost a home game: they jumped on us early and we erased a 20-PT deficit but they made the plays at the end.
After graduating you played pro basketball in Mexico/Australia/Switzerland: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball in other countries? It is very interesting to see what Luka Doncic said about it being easier to score in the NBA rather than overseas. The biggest difference for me was just being a professional: your stats/highlights/career can lead to playing with a higher-level team and your goal is to get the next contract.
You are 1 of 6 guys to win a conference championship as both a player and coach at Kansas State (along with some notable names like Bill Guthridge/Lon Kruger): how does winning a title as a player compare to winning 1 as a coach? It was great to win as a player but now I use it is mostly to get laughs/giggles from my current players. As a coach you learn the day-in/day-out grind of managing players, but to see them apply what I teach them to improve their own game and win a conference title really sticks with me.
You work for Coach Bruce Weber after making back-to-back NCAA tourneys as a player for him in 2013/2014: what was he like to play for, and what is he like to work for? We were just joking about that 15 minutes ago. It is refreshing for both of us to see the changes in each other: I went from a young adult to a man and for Bruce I went from a player to a coach that he leans on to be successful. It is a special relationship for both of us and we have grown closer while spending more time together over the years.
In the summer of 2019 you helped Weber as video coordinator for team USA as they won a gold medal at the U-19 World Cup: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal, and how good is Cade Cunningham going to be at Oklahoma State? It was a great experience to be alongside all of the big-time talent on that team. To win a gold medal in Greece is something that not a lot of people get the opportunity to do: the gold medal is now in my office. I think that Cade will do well at Oklahoma State and he is a great person so I hope he plays well against the rest of the Big 12…but not against us!
Last March as an assistant to Andy Toole at Robert Morris you had a 10-PT win over St. Francis PA in the NEC tourney title game, then a couple of days later you learned that the NCAA tourney was canceled due to the coronavirus: what was your reaction when you 1st heard the news, and do you think that it was the right decision? At the time I was confused and hoping that we could just postpone it while we figured things out, but looking back now I am glad that the NCAA chose safety over playing games. It is always special to play in the NCAA tourney and we had great momentum after winning the title so it was unfortunate.
You only have 1 senior on the current roster in Mike McGuirl: how much pressure is there on him to be a leader this year? There is definitely a lot of pressure but Mike will lead by example in what he does. He has been around some great leaders and was a sponge so through his hard work he will show our guys the right things to do both on and off the court. He has done a great job and is really important to our team.
What is it like to be an African-American man in 2020? There are a bunch of different emotions but the most important 1 is pride. I am proud of my heritage despite all of the trials/tribulations in our culture. I am in a situation where I get to lead young men who look like me and were just like me growing up so I try to impact them day-in and day-out.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? It is simple: just get better every single day. We have been able to work out pretty consistently most of the summer and the guys have been open to getting better. Whether it is in the weight room/practice court/classroom, I am optimistic for the year ahead.