Kansas.com: K-State Wildcats

Wildcats slog past ESU

JEFFREY MARTIN — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:40 CST

At some point, maybe next week in Las Vegas or perhaps in some postseason tournament next March if they're so fortunate, Frank Martin and his Kansas State Wildcats will look back at Wednesday's tighter-than-expected 82-60 victory against Emporia State and enjoy some laughter.

Until then, however, expect disappointment from Martin and frustration from the Wildcats, a combination that might linger this season.

"As a team collectively, once we learn to stop making little mistakes, we're going to be fine," said sophomore forward Ron Anderson, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, his first collegiate double-double.

Separation was hard to come by Wednesday, and it wasn't because the visiting Hornets were K-State's equals. The Division II school lost exhibitions against Kansas and Wichita State, so facing major or mid-major competition wasn't an issue.

And in the early going, neither were the Wildcats (3-0), who were outrebounded 20-17 in the first half, when ESU shot 50 percent from the field.

WILDCAT REPORT

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:40 CST

Wednesday's box score

EMPORIA STATE (60)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Box	22	4-11	0-1	3	0	3	1	9
Ping	11	0-1	0-0	0	0	2	4	0
Andrews	25	4-5	0-0	1	5	9	3	8
Boswell	21	1-4	3-4	4	0	4	3	5
Wilbern	31	4-13	2-2	5	4	4	2	10
Moores	32	5-9	0-0	0	4	2	1	12
Allen	23	1-4	0-0	5	0	1	3	2
Holthaus	23	3-7	4-4	9	0	0	0	10
Pyle	6	1-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	2
Moore	6	1-1	0-0	2	0	1	1	2
Totals	200	24-56	9-11	36	13	26	18	60
Team reb.				6
Percent		42.9	81.8

KANSAS STATE ()

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Colon	15	3-6	0-0	2	1	0	3	6
Sutton	30	6-11	2-3	5	1	1	1	14
Kent	32	3-17	2-3	5	4	1	4	7
Pullen	32	3-17	2-3	3	5	5	0	9
Clemente	19	4-8	1-1	0	5	1	1	9
Samuels	25	5-8	1-9	8	2	0	1	11
Anderson	23	4-9	2-4	10	0	1	1	10
Brown	19	5-8	1-2	1	0	1	1	14
Merrwthr	14	1-1	0-0	1	0	1	1	2
Werner	4	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	1	0
Oleleye	2	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0
Awaji	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	200	34-71	10-24	40	18	12	14	82
Team reb.				3
Percent		47.9	41.7

Emporia State (1-1)	34 26 -- 60
Kansas State (3-0)	40 42 -- 82

Three-point goals--ESU 3-14 (Moores 2-5, Box 1-3, Boswell 0-2, Wilbern 0-2, Andrews 0-1); KSU 4-12 (Brown 3-3, Pullen 1-7, Clemente 0-2). Steals -- ESU 3 (Andrews, Allen, Pyle); KSU 12 (Kent 3, Sutton 2, Merriewether 2, Samuels 2, Anderson 2, Pullen 1). Blocks -- ESU 3 (Box, Boswell, Holthaus); KSU 3 (Colon 2, Sutton 1). Officials -- Ted Hillary, Steven Olson, Kipp Kissinger. A -- 8,083.

Two stubborn

ORU women top Shockers

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:36 CST

The Oral Roberts women took an early xx-point lead and never let Wichita State cut the lead under 12, beating the Shockers 89-76 on Tuesday night in Tulsa.

Oral Roberts used a 14-4 run midway through the first half to grab a 13-point lead with 5:24 left in the first half. ORU's Janae Voelker, a junior from Newton, hit back-to-back three-pointers to cap the run.

WSU trailed by 19 at halftime. Oral Roberts built the lead to 23 points in the second half before the Shockers began to chop away at the deficit. Wichita State cut the lead to 12 late in the game, but couldn't get closer.

"I'm proud of them for fighting back, just disappointed in how they started the game," WSU coach Jody Adams said of her players in a postgame radio interview.

Wichita State senior Marcy Sudbeck scored a career-high 24 and had 10 rebounds. Marisah Henderson had 15 points and eight assists, but also had eight turnovers.

Patterson still unhappy about events

JEFFREY MARTIN — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:36 CST

He still hasn't said he isn't coming to Kansas State.

Texas Christian coach Gary Patterson was asked Tuesday during the Mountain West coaches' conference call about his reaction to a Nov. 7 Internet report stating he'd been hired to succeed Ron Prince.

"I'm not commenting on any other job stuff right now," he said. "The biggest thing we have on our mind right now is Air Force. As I said on my radio (interview), which I'm sure everybody in Kansas got a chance to (hear), I was disappointed. I just had 65 guys fight their hearts out for a dream to get to a BCS game, and they lost it. The first thing they did when they woke up after getting home at about 4 in the morning was to find out the guy they fought for had taken another job.

"It was very disappointing to me that that happened because there were a lot of people that had put a lot of time and effort into this season. Most people that know me very well know that I would never do anything like that. Obviously, we had a lot of fires to put out."

He was then asked if that meant he wasn't considering K-State.

Samuels beefs up game

JEFFREY MARTIN — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:36 CST

When Jamar Samuels arrived in Manhattan last December, he weighed 185 pounds -- and that was after spending a semester at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., mostly working out as he completed the final pieces of his classwork in order to be eligible at Kansas State.

And then he met Scott Greenawalt, K-State's strength and conditioning coach.

"He put me on the see-food diet," Samuels said. "If I saw food, I ate it. Whatever was there, I just chomped it down."

A smile crosses his face, the same smile that the 6-foot-8 forward has often flashed on the court in the Wildcats' two victories to open the season. This is what he says he dreamed about, "enjoying myself, scoring the ball, helping my teammates win."

He just thought it would happen sooner.

Future uncertain for some KSU players

JEFFREY MARTIN — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:30 CST

In this doomed season of Kansas State football, sophomore cornerback Josh Moore and junior wide receivers Brandon Banks and Deon Murphy have been standouts.

But because Ron Prince, a man they consider a father figure and a friend, won't be around next season, all three admitted recently they've begun to question their futures, whether they'll spend another season in Manhattan.

Junior quarterback Josh Freeman has a decision to make as well, and his involves the NFL.

If Ron Prince was spiteful, he'd tell them all to leave.

But he's not, or at least he says he's not.

KSU effort irks Martin

JEFFREY MARTIN — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:40 CST

Before Kansas State's 88-68 victory Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum against Southeast Missouri State, assistant coach Brad Underwood explained how "competitively immature" the Wildcats were but also noted how receptive they've been to instruction.

"They're learning every day," he said.

And, sometimes, the lessons are harsh. After an impressive first half, in which K-State (2-0) seized a commanding 39-16 lead, the Wildcats came out flat to start the second half, which also happened in Friday's debut. Head coach Frank Martin wasn't happy then; and he was incensed Sunday, yanking his starters in favor of a fresh five that included walk-ons Victor Ojeleye and Justin Werner.

"Coach Martin told us before the game that if we aren't playing hard, he didn't care and would substitute all five of us," freshman forward Jamar Samuels said. "It was not a good feeling...."

Lapses in effort, especially on defense and on the boards, won't be tolerated, no matter who you are.

WILDCAT REPORT

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:40 CST

Sunday's box score

SE MISSOURI (68)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Kirk	21	2-6	2-2	4	0	0	3	6
Maxwell	30	5-8	1-2	10	1	6	4	13
Herring	19	3-11	1-1	4	0	4	5	7
Jones	34	0-3	1-2	3	4	5	2	1
Hill	30	2-10	1-3	5	3	3	4	5
Moore	35	9-25	7-8	1	1	1	0	31
Russell	31	2-4	1-2	17	2	2	3	5
Totals	200	23-67	14-20	47	11	21	21	68
Team reb.				3
Percent		34.3	70.0

KANSAS STATE (88)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Colon	18	1-4	2-4	5	1	1	1	4
Sutton	26	5-9	2-4	8	0	0	1	12
Kent	24	7-13	1-4	12	0	0	1	15
Pullen	19	2-9	3-5	1	6	2	2	7
Clemente	11	2-5	0-0	2	4	1	3	4
Brown	25	8-14	1-2	4	6	3	2	21
Werner	15	0-6	0-0	1	1	0	2	0
Awaji	6	1-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	2
Mrrwhr	16	0-1	0-0	1	3	1	1	0
Samuels	26	7-10	2-6	8	2	0	3	16
Ojeleye	12	3-6	1-2	4	0	0	4	7
Anderson	2	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0
Totals	200	36-78	12-27	50	23	8	20	88
Team reb.				2
Percent		46.2	44.4
Southeast Missouri (0-2)	16 52 -- 68
Kansas State (2-0)	39 49 -- 88

Three-point goals--SEMo. 8-24 (Moore 6-17, Maxwell 2-3, Hill 0-1, Jones 0-1, Herring 0-2), KSU 4-15 (Brown 4-6, Sutton 0-1, Kent 0-2, Pullen 0-2, Werner 0-4). Steals -- 4 (Kirk, Moore, Maxwell, Hill), KSU 11 (Sutton 4, Merriewether 2, Werner 2, Pullen, Clemente, Brown). Blocks -- SEMo. 2 (Maxwell 2), KSU 4 (Colon, Werner, Sutton, Merriewether). Officials -- Dan Stryffeler, Steve Coleman, tim Comer. A -- 8,109.

Dissenting views

Wildcats suffer fifth straight loss

JEFFREY MARTIN — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 02:32 CST

Dressed in their sports coats and suits, hard-to-miss name tags attached to their lapels, representatives from the Sun and Independence Bowls witnessed Saturday's carnage at Snyder Family Stadium from the safety of the press box.

Any distraction during Nebraska's 56-28 laugher against Kansas State was a welcome distraction.

So, imagine how Ron Prince feels, especially after the Wildcats dropped their fifth consecutive game. It's official: He never defeated Kansas, Missouri or NU. The only carrot left for the lame-duck coach to dangle in front of his players' noses -- becoming eligible for a bowl -- vanished Saturday. And with one game left in his abbreviated K-State career, the only remaining motivation is to perhaps match last season's win total or send the seniors out on a winning note.

But that, even at home against lowly Iowa State, is far from a given.

"I thought we played one of our best games," said junior wide receiver Deon Murphy, whose fumble of a second-quarter punt was identified by Prince as the game's "big play."

Martin vows to give Brown a chance

JEFFREY MARTIN — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:06 CST

He had a relapse.

In Kansas State's 81-57 exhibition victory last Sunday against Washburn, Fred Brown shot an air ball, which led to a defensive lapse by the sophomore guard, which led to Frank Martin yanking Brown from the game.

And afterward, Martin apologized.

"When I screw up, I'm going to tell you I screwed up," he said this week. "Last year, Fred Brown was not prepared from a work standpoint, from an everyday standpoint, to earn the minutes. This year, he's done everything in his power to earn it.

"I coached him as the Fred Brown of last year rather than the Fred Brown of this year."

WILDCAT REPORT

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:06 CST

First quarter

Key play: Courtney Herndon's 57-yard interception return for a touchdown with 11:51 left gave K-State the lead.

Key stat: 43, number of offensive yards.

Second quarter

Key play: Josh Freeman's beautifully thrown 63-yard touchdown pass to Ernie Pierce tied the game 14-14.

KSU BOX SCORE

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:06 CST

Scoring

Nebraska	14 21 0 21 -- 56
Kansas State	7 7 7 7 -- 28

Attendance--48,444

First Quarter

KSt--Herndon 57 interception return (Rossman kick), 11:51.

Neb--Helu 1 run (Henery kick), 7:13.

Rattlers snakebit by K-State defense

JEFFREY MARTIN — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:43 CST

Kansas State coach Frank Martin recently said his current group of Wildcats was already better defensively than last year's basketball team, a bold claim considering no games had been played.

But after a 96-57 rout in the season opener Friday night against Florida A&M at Bramlage Coliseum, an evening made more special by the return of the program's lavender tops, it was hard to argue with his logic.

In the first half, anyway.

"We were a lot better than we were against Washburn," said Martin, referring to K-State's exhibition victory. "But we were too casual in the second half."

The Wildcats (1-0) were everywhere in the first 20 minutes against the Rattlers (0-1), an obviously overmatched foe predicted in the preseason to finish seventh in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They were stuck at one basket for the first 11 minutes. It was 26-4 with 9:05 remaining, 35-11 with five minutes to go.

Wildcats say season still has potential

JEFFREY MARTIN — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:40 CST

For a team in the midst of a four-game losing streak and whose coach was fired a week ago and is currently in lame-duck status, the Kansas State Wildcats are decidedly upbeat entering today's home game against Nebraska.

In a season that has gone so wrong, it seems there is a glimmer of hope remaining in the form of reaching the postseason.

"It would mean everything, and that's the entire reason you play football," senior defensive end Ian Campbell said. "Right now, it's almost like a playoff. We have to win these next two games to get the opportunity -- not a guarantee -- to play in a bowl game.

"We have to do everything that is in our power to make the choice up to somebody else."

If the Wildcats were to beat the Huskers today and then Iowa State next weekend, also in Manhattan, K-State would have six wins, the required amount for bowl-eligible teams.

WILDCAT REPORT

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 01:40 CST

Friday's box score

FLORIDA A&M (57)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Twitty	20	2-8	1-2	3	1	2	5	5
Davis	15	1-2	0-0	3	0	1	2	2
Jackson	19	1-2	2-5	8	0	0	4	4
Bryant	23	2-12	4-4	1	2	1	1	10
Ballard	19	1-4	1-2	1	2	1	2	3
Webb	29	6-10	3-5	5	0	1	3	15
Hughes	26	2-8	1-2	1	0	3	0	6
Crowder	13	1-3	1-1	0	0	0	5	3
Taylor	12	1-3	0-0	0	2	2	1	2
Bent	10	2-4	1-2	3	1	1	5	5
Buchanon	10	1-3	0-0	1	1	1	4	2
Demps	4	0-0	0-2	0	0	0	1	0
Totals	200	20-59	14-25	31	9	13	33	57
Team reb.				5
Percent		33.9	56.0

KANSAS STATE (78)

	Min	Fg-a	Ft-a	R	A	TO	F	TP
Clemente	22	4-12	9-10	2	1	2	2	19
Colon	10	1-3	4-5	5	1	0	5	6
Kent	22	2-7	4-6	6	1	1	4	9
Sutton	18	5-7	3-5	8	1	0	4	13
Pullen	30	6-15	3-3	2	5	2	1	17
Samuels	21	4-6	3-4	5	2	0	3	11
Anderson	19	3-4	3-4	12	4	2	1	9
Brown	17	2-6	0-0	2	1	1	1	5
Awaji	12	1-4	0-0	1	0	0	0	2
Merrwthr	12	0-1	0-2	3	2	1	3	0
Werner	9	1-2	1-2	0	0	0	0	4
Ojeleye	8	0-0	1-4	3	1	0	0	1
Totals	200	29-67	31-34	53	19	9	24	96
Team reb.				4
Percent		43.3	68.9
Florida A&M (0-1)	20 37 -- 57
Kansas State (1-0)	48 48 -- 96

Three-point goals--Florida A&M 3-20 (Bryant 2-7, Hughes 1-7, Ballard 0-1, Webb 0-1, Davis 0-1, Twitty 0-1, Taylor 0-2), Kansas St. 7-29 (Clemente 2-8, Pullen 2-9, Kent 1-1, Werner 1-2, Brown 1-5, Awaji 0-2). Steals--Florida A&M 2 (Twitty, Webb), Kansas St. 7 (Pullen 2, Kent, Sutton, Brown, Awaji, Anderson). Blocks--Florida A&M 9 (Bryant 2, Ballard 2, Taylor 2, Bent, Buchanon, Twitty), Kansas St. 5 (Samuels 3, Kent, Colon). Technicals--Webb, Samuels. Officials--Mark Whitehead, Andrew Walton, Eric Curry. A--9,070.

Unhappy

NEBRASKA AT KANSAS STATE

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:43 CST

2:35 p.m. today at Snyder Family Stadium (50,000), Manhattan

Radio: KFTI, 1070-AM

TV: Cox PPV Ch. 770

WHAT'S AT STAKE TODAY

For NU: Probably a trip to Tempe and the Insight Bowl.

Future murky for KSU recruits

JEFFREY MARTIN — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

Raymore (Mo.) Peculiar defensive end Josh Johnson committed to Kansas State in June. To deliver the news, he called quarterbacks coach Warren Ruggiero, who handled the recruitment.

But when Ron Prince was fired last week, no one bothered to inform Johnson -- or any of the other eight players committed to K-State.

Actually, that's not entirely true.

"I heard about it on the same day it happened from a guy from Purple Pride magazine," Johnson said.

Kadero Terrell, a linebacker from Garden City Community College, was filled in by a fellow student who suggested Terrell turn on a television and see for himself.

THREE THINGS ABOUT NEBRASKA

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

1. Husker QB Joe Ganz threw for 510 yards against K-State last season. It's the Nebraska record and one of Ganz's eight 300-yard games (in 13 career starts). A 345-yard day today and Ganz will own more than half of NU's top 10 passing games. Yeah, in 14 starts.

2. If Ganz can find WR Nate Swift for 144 of those yards, Swift will become the Huskers' career leader in receiving yards, passing legend Johnny Rodgers (2,479). Swift already leads in career catches and needs five touchdowns to pass Rodgers for No. 1 in receiving TDs.

3. For some reason, the Huskers are 4-0 this season when their game is telecast on Fox Sports Net's pay-per-view package. Reason 1: All four were at home. Reason 2: The first three were against nonconference stiffs, the fourth against Kansas. This game, of course, is on FSN pay-per-view _ in Manhattan.

Key matchup

The Wildcats vs. their minds. Sure, reaching a bowl game is still within reach, but after losing four games in a row, can the season be salvaged? The players are talking up the possibilities, but guess what: There's plenty left for Nebraska to actually play for, like keeping pace in the North although winning the division is, at best, a long shot.

Love for K-State hoops

JEFFREY MARTIN — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:39 CST

Wally Judge hasn't even played a minute of collegiate basketball at Kansas State, and he's already being likened to a super hero.

How's that for pressure?

"Someone has to emerge to help Wally Judge in this group," said Dave Telep, Scout.com's national recruiting coordinator. "Batman needs a Robin."

Ranked by Scout.com as the No. 25 class in the country, the Wildcats signed an abundance of talent this week.

In addition to Judge, a 6-foot-9 forward from Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville, Fla., regarded by Scout.com as a five-star recruit and the No. 16 player in the country, there's Rodney McGruder, a 6-foot-4 guard who also attends ACD and is deemed worthy of four stars by Rivals.com,; Nick Russell, a 6-foot-4 point guard from Grace Prep Academy in Arlington, Texas; and Jordan Henriquez, a 7-foot center spending the season at the Winchendon (Mass.) School.

KSU rumors raise ruckus in Rozel

JEFFREY MARTIN — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:27 CST

The ritual, especially if they're not in attendance and certainly in the event of a loss, is for Gail and Keith Patterson to speak with their son Gary, the football coach at Texas Christian, on the phone following his games.

And they did last Thursday, after the Horned Frogs lost to Utah 13-10. There was no mention of the coaching vacancy at Kansas State, a position to which the former Wildcat strong safety/outside linebacker and graduate assistant would be linked the next day.

Sensing this, not to mention the fervor to which all news regarding their son fascinates the locals in Rozel, the Pattersons did the most sensible thing they could.

They took the phone off the hook.

Of course, that meant the Pattersons were unable to hear from their son, who apparently tried to call on Friday, the day an Internet story about Patterson becoming K-State's coach was denied by Patterson and the Wildcats.