K-State's Matthew Driscoll Helped Turn Low Scorer Into Jerry West Award Winner
![North Florida Ospreys head coach Matthew Driscoll is all smiles after the game of an NCAA men’s basketball matchup Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025 at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Fla. UNF held off a late rally from JU defeating them 81-78. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_560,y_101,w_5422,h_3049/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/kstate/01jw1gxxtn6vhy97p9dp.jpg "North Florida Ospreys head coach Matthew Driscoll is all smiles after the game of an NCAA men’s basketball matchup Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025 at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Fla. UNF held off a late rally from JU defeating them 81-78. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
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New Kansas State associate head coach Matthew Driscoll has overseen many players through his 37-year coaching career.
One of them was 2025 Jerry West Award winner Chaz Lanier, whom Driscoll oversaw at North Florida for four seasons. Lanier went from averaging less than five points to nearly 20 in just one year.
“When you’re talking about confidence, Chaz Lanier is the greatest example," Driscoll said about the shooting guard Friday. "You don’t win the Jerry West Award by accident. For us, he only averaged five points in back-to-back years. How do you go from that to having 20 a game and becoming the most efficient player in the country? It’s having great confidence. Because the coach continues to pour into you, but you have to continue to believe in it and reap what you sow.”
Driscoll attributed Lanier's development to confidence and hopes he can translate that to Kansas State as the associate head coach. He highlighted instances last season when certain Wildcats hesitated on good looks, leading to lost possessions or rushed shots.
"There are times when Dug [McDaniel], Coleman [Hawkins], or [Max] Jones got the ball and should've taken shots," Driscoll said. "But they didn't. So now the clock winds down and you get to the next possession. The best shot was at 15 seconds, but now things get closer, the red zone becomes tighter, and the shot becomes hurried and forced."
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Jayden is a journalism school graduate of Howard University. He was the 2024 recipient of the Terez Paylor scholarship award. He previously worked at the Orlando Sentinel.
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