100 Questions: Kansas State basketball's 19-20 ceiling?

***Yesterday's Question HERE***

In an attempt to pass the time this off-season we're fortunate to have secured the help of scottwildcat from Boscoe's Boys. Scott is going to provide 100 questions about the past, present, future (and who-knows-what) involving Kansas State sports, and I'll do my very best to answer them.

Let's dive in to the 100 Questions.

I'm roughly 95 percent sure this is something John Kurtz, Mason Voth and Mitch Fortner spoke about recently in an edition of The Game on KMAN. I think it was in the following hour:

Shoot. I just realized sharing that pod increased the opportunity of somebody finding inconsistency with my answer. Oh well, let's move on!

First, let’s take a moment to talk about how the word “ceiling” is going to be used in this story. It doesn’t represent a prediction, but instead a realistic best-case scenario of what could happen if things fall into place for Bruce Weber’s squad. Of course, it would be theoretically possible to even surpass whatever I set as the ceiling, as well.

So, not a prediction or necessarily even a cap on what could be accomplished, but a look at an potentially ideal outcome for the season.

The ceiling has changed for me, as of late, due in large part to DaJuan Gordon.

Now, it’s not like I expect the four-star rated Chicago Player of the Year to immediately be the Wildcats’ top option. I don’t. I’m not even sure he’ll be a full-time starter at any point this season.

I’m getting ahead of myself a bit, though, let’s come back to Gordon later.

Don’t underestimate the Wildcats’ returning core.

College basketball rosters across the country – and within the Big 12 Conference - see loads of turnover on a yearly basis. Not tons of teams are going to bring back four players with the quality experience of Xavier Sneed, Makol Mawien, Cartier Diarra and Mike McGuirl.

Sneed and Mawien represent three-year starters who will be among the very best defensive players in the league this year, and that’s not to ignore the offensive production Sneed (and even Mawien, too) can provide. Both were full time starters on the Elite 8 squad and last year's Big 12 Championship team.

Diarra has loads of starting experience, including being a key player (and starter) during the Elite 8 run two seasons ago. I wouldn’t be surprised, at all, if Diarra is K-State’s leading scorer.

McGuirl is a valuable glue guy, somebody who’s played big minutes even since breaking out with a big-time performance against Creighton in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. I’m not sure he’s a starter this season, but it’s certainly possible. He’s a tenacious defender and an underrated athlete who helps provide a bulldog-type mentality to the program.

That new ‘core four’ represents a good place to start.

When I looked at that group, K-State’s incoming recruiting class and the other pieces in place I saw the Wildcats ceiling as something around fourth in the Big 12, fringe-Top 25 type-season and another safe (No. 6 or No. 7 seed) bid into the NCAA Tournament.

It’s Gordon, however, who makes me rethink that.

Eric Bossi called him the most impressive freshman Weber has brought to K-State after watching Gordon’s impressive performance at the U19 Team USA Camp.

Weber has had freshman make major impacts (Marcus Foster, and even to an extent the Dean Wade/Barry Brown/Kam Stokes class), and if Gordon happens to be better than all of those frosh who have come before him, he’ll make an impact on this roster this year.

Wing depth is the question, with really just Sneed and Diarra good fits there. McGuirl can play there, too, but size becomes an issue.

Gordon can change the picture, however.

Listed at 6-foot-3, I would guess Gordon is closer to 6-foot-5 than that height, has long arms and what we’ve learned to be clearly underrated athleticism. If he becomes a serious contributor on the wing it allows Diarra to take advantage of his length and athleticism in the backcourt and for Sneed to more easily slide to the four spot in stretches.

That extra, and somewhat unexpected, early help makes me think the ceiling for this K-State team is now a finish well within the top four of the conference, a Top 25 ranking and another No. 5-type seed in the NCAA Tournament. Maybe not a huge difference between the other ceiling I initially projected, but to me that’s a significant shift upward.

Getting back into the Big 12 Championship race after the departure of one of the better senior classes in school history will not come easily. I probably wouldn’t predict it, either. But, at this point, I don’t think it’s impossible.