Gorilla men still seeking right mix

When asked how he felt about his team three games into the regular season, Pittsburg State head men’s basketball coach Gene Iba wasn’t very sure.
“I can’t be definitive and that is a plus for this team,” Iba said. “We have 14 players and it takes a lot longer to figure that out.
“If we had a 10-man roster, which we have had in the past, it will be quicker to get their roles established.”
The Gorillas are 2-1 heading into this weekend’s Chatters/Comfort Inn Classic and have already suffered a set-back Monday night when they fell 71-67 to St. Mary, an NAIA school based out of Leavenworth.
In their first two games of the season, the Gorillas outscored Lincoln and Mid-America Christian by an average of 18 points in the Chris Tucker Memorial Classic at Missouri Southern.
“In the second game, we shot lights-out but, in the last game, we didn’t,” Iba said.
PSU shot just 38 percent from the field against the Spires on Monday night, including 4-21 from 3-point range for 19 percent.
For Iba, it all comes down to just one thing.
“We have to execute better,” Iba said.
That, may be easier said than done for the Gorillas who have eight new faces on this year’s roster.
“How soon it will come ... I don’t know but, I know we will not be a good basketball team until we do,” Iba said.
The Gorillas are led in scoring by returners Carlos Taylor (14.7 points per game) and Spencer Magana (10.3 points per game). They are the only players averaging in double-figures thus far.
“That, to me, makes sense,” Iba said. “They know the system.
“I think the new players don’t have the sense of urgency that the players who have been here already have.”
But, does that lack of execution frustrate Iba and the rest of the Gorillas’ coaching staff?
“From time to time, I have thought of that,” Iba said. “There is not one point in time when you are teaching something when you don’t get frustrated.
“You want the progress to happen tomorrow and if it is not there, it can be frustrating.”
Against St. Mary on Monday, the Gorillas were facing a team that already had nine games actual playing experience whereas the Gorillas were just in their third regular season game and fourth game overall.
“I told our assistant coaches that it is not the brightest thing to schedule a team with good players that have nine games under their belt and you have just two,” Iba said.
But, Iba said that they are taking their execution progress one step at a time.
“You just have the next practice day and going back to work,” Iba said. “It is all about repetition.”
Those next practice days promise to be very busy however.
“We have a lot of things that we have not even put in yet,” Iba said.
With the conference schedule beginning on Dec. 3 at Missouri Western, the Gorillas have little time to get things to a certain comfort level.
That is where this weekend’s tournament where the Gorillas will take on Evangel and Henderson State, comes into play.
“First off, Evangel is a tough game for anyone to play,” Iba said. “We’ll play these games the same way we play a conference game ... I hope these next few games show better execution.”
The Gorillas will take on Evangel at 7 p.m. Friday and turn around and play Henderson State at 7 p.m. Saturday. Both games will be at John Lance Arena.

Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140