Former Frogs coach returns to play TCU with mixed emotions

For Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie, Saturday’s Big 12 game against TCU in Fort Worth snuck up on him.

The Wildcats (16-11, 6-10 Big 12) are nearing the end of a turnaround season in Mittie’s first season, besting last season’s mark of 11-19.

Mittie saw his team collect its sixth Big 12 victory Wednesday against rival Kansas, which is one more conference win than the Wildcats earned last season. That win also completed the season sweep of Kansas, which might delight more Wildcats fans than the team’s overall improvement.

Through that day-to-day grind of the Big 12, Mittie had little time to ponder his first return to TCU after leaving his post as the Horned Frogs’ coach a year ago after a 15-year tenure.

But Mittie certainly has had this game circled since the schedule was released.

“I can’t say I haven’t thought about it because, obviously, you know it’s coming,” Mittie said. “You know it’s on the calendar. I’ve given it thought, sure.”

He said his team will have to pack its “A” game because of the high-energy defense and shooting talent a veteran TCU team (16-11, 8-8) boasts.

After all, he recruited these players.

“[Chelsea Prince] has such a great ability to read passing lanes, and she’s a unique talent in that,” Mittie said. “You could see where they would be very good at that and not just Prince but [Natalie] Ventress — she’s long and athletic as well. Donielle Breaux does good things in that. They’ve got good personnel to do that.”

It was that kind of knowledge that helped the Wildcats beat TCU 93-79 in Manhattan on Feb. 11.

“I think, with all the film, we try to use all the information we have and hopefully, I guess, I can help our team play better,” Mittie said. “We played well the first time against them, and we’re going to have to play well this time to be successful.”

The two programs under Mittie are quite similar. Both are clad in purple and run a 2-3 base defense with a strong focus on rebounding.

The on-the-court aspects of Mittie’s return to TCU is the easy part. Once the ball is tipped, coaching instincts and competitive nature kick in, he said. It’s the emotion surrounding the return that is difficult to take into account.

“You don’t know it until you go through it,” Mittie said. “When we played them here in Manhattan, many of the players’ parents made the trip. You don’t have much interaction with the team, you’re able to kind of give them a look, give them a nod. Talk just briefly after the game. I did talk to some of the parents after the game and wished them well.

“It’s a unique circumstance because it doesn’t happen very often when you move in the league. I think with time those things will get less awkward.”

When Mittie first saw that the Wildcats’ game at TCU would be the Horned Frogs’ senior day, honoring Ventress, Prince and Breaux, he was not pleased.

He said he didn’t want anything to take the spotlight away from those three on their day to be honored.

But personally, he is happy to get to watch them play.

“From my perspective of having recruited those kids and know their families, from the personal side of things, it’s great to see them have success,” Mittie said. “It’s great to see them play well.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2015 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Former Frogs coach returns to play TCU with mixed emotions."