There were a lot of happy people in Kansas State's locker room after the Wildcats clinched a spot in the Sweet 16, but no one had a bigger smile than Dean Wade.
Turns out not playing in victories over Creighton and Maryland-Baltimore County because of a foot injury made the 6-foot-10 junior forward appreciate the success more than being in the starting lineup.
"We have been working toward this goal all season," Wade said. "We had a lot of ups and downs, but we just kept fighting. Kamau (Stokes) went out and Cartier (Diarra) stepped up big-time. I've been out and other people stepped up. We just keep grinding. We could have given up a hundred times during the season, but we never did. We just keep fighting and winning games."
Advancing to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament without Wade, an All-Big 12 forward who averaged 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds this season, took serious grit.
But it's nothing new for the Wildcats. They have overcome various setbacks to reach this point.
Stokes, a junior point guard, broke his left foot three games into the conference season. K-State started 11-3 with him in the starting lineup, and the team seemed doomed without him. He led the roster in 3-pointers, assists and minutes played.
K-State coach Bruce Weber openly wondered how he could replace Stokes, who was averaging 13.4 points and 4.6 assists. His primary backup, Diarra, was an unproven redshirt freshman.
And yet, the Wildcats won five of their next six games.
How? Diarra embraced the team's next-man-up mantra and averaged 13.1 points. Wade played with extra aggression and became a regular 20-point scorer. And junior guard Barry Brown exploded for two 30-point games, pushing everyone on the roster to improve.
"You're either with us or against us," is how he put it on Twitter. Those words became a rallying cry.
Stokes returned after an eight-game absence, and now he's pushing to help compensate for Wade's absence.
"We all play for each other," junior guard Amaad Wainright said. "Cartier took his game up a notch when Kamau was out. Guys played for Dean this weekend. We all wanted to win for the coaches. There's no quit on this team."
That much was obvious when Wade was ruled out of K-State's Big 12 Tournament game against Kansas. The Jayhawks were heavily favored at opening tip, and the matchup grew more lopsided when KU guard Devonte' Graham inadvertently poked Brown in the eye and he could not return.
Kansas pulled ahead by 16 early in the second half, but K-State's role players fought back and closed within two points on a jaw-dropping alley-oop dunk from Diarra to Xavier Sneed. KU pulled away from there, but K-State never backed down.
So the Wildcats truly believed they could beat Creighton when they got Brown back for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and did so 69-59 behind an unexpected 17 points from reserve freshman guard Mike McGuirl.
Next, the short-handed group took care of UMBC. Now, it is headed to Atlanta for a game against Kentucky in the regional semifinals.
"(Fans) always talk about Jacob Pullen going to the Sweet 16," Weber said. "We got another group that did it without our best player, and I think you talk about that. That's pretty good that they were able to do that."
Wade is confident he will be healthy enough to play in the Sweet 16. K-State could use him against Kentucky, which features a much different lineup than Creighton and UMBC.
"I hope and pray we maybe have Dean back," Weber said. "We have been very fortunate with matchups and small ball. They are a little bigger and more athletic. It would be nice if, God willing, Dean is able to come in and help us."
If not, well, the Wildcats know what it takes to compensate for an injured player.
