TCU’s Mr. Postseason showed up again when his team needed him most
The thing we love about March Madness is the sudden emergence of heroes in pressure-packed postseason games.
For TCU on Thursday night that hero was Chuck O’Bannon, who scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Horned Frogs over Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.
O’Bannon knocked down four 3-pointers and another crazy long two while being fouled. It seemed like almost everything was going in for the senior forward.
“It felt good, all season I’ve been struggling to knock down shots,” O’Bannon said. “I stayed confident in myself, my coaches stayed confident in me and I knew that if I just stayed consistent it would work out for me in the long run.”
O’Bannon started the season strong and had a stretch earlier in the season where he scored 10 or more with at least two 3-pointers four times in a five game stretch from Nov. 31-Dec. 21.
After that stretch he only scored in double figures three times the rest of the regular season. At one point the coaching staff changed his role and opted to bring him off the bench. For most players that humbling experience can be hard to accept, but O’Bannon trusted that the coaching staff was doing what’s best for the team and himself.
“It was just saying consistent, that’s all it is,” O’Bannon said. “There’s going to be adversity, there’s going to be ups and downs, but you can’t let your mind get the best of you. Coming off the bench, starting, whatever it is you have to come play every night.”
That type of mentality is one of the many reasons O’Bannon has endeared himself to the TCU coaching staff and coach Jamie Dixon in particular.
Dixon was in a good mood after the Horned Frogs handled Kansas State as most coaches are after a win. But you could tell Dixon had a real joy seeing of team’s veterans have a breakout moment in the postseason.
“I was so happy for him,” Dixon said. “He’s kept a good attitude, he’s rotated and we changed him around a little bit. If he didn’t play well he was in the gym the very next day, he was the first guy I mentioned when I got in the locker room.”
Thursday wasn’t O’Bannon’s first shining postseason moment. He scored 23 points and had five 3-pointers in the close loss to Arizona in the Round of 32 last season.
There’s something about the stakes and stage increasing that brings out the best in O’Bannon.
“He’s Mr. Postseason, it’s his time, like it’s our time,” Dixon said.
It’s a mantra that Dixon has reiterated often in the late game stretch. All the injuries the team has endured with players in and out of the lineup made the regular season tough at times.
But it’s made the team stronger, including players like O’Bannon who stepped up when needed. O’Bannon kept TCU afloat early in the game when Kansas State looked poised to run off in the first half. He was just as effective in the second half and also added seven rebounds and solid defense.
TCU has starpower with Mike Miles Jr. and Damion Baugh, but the Horned Frogs also have great depth as O’Bannon showed Thursday night. Whether it’s Miles, O’Bannon, Baugh, Emanuel Miller or JaKobe Coles, TCU isn’t lacking in firepower and offered another reminder of what the team can accomplish.
“Since the beginning of the season we know when we play like this we’re one of the best teams in the country,” O’Bannon said.
