JAKE WATERS
I was in Manhattan this afternoon to fill in for Kellis, who was traveling back from Lubbock after K-State’s 68-59 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. Here’s five thoughts from Bill Snyder’s press conference on K-State’s latest recruiting class, and my story from today:
Another Big 12 road game. Another ugly win for Kansas State.
The Wildcats beat Texas Tech 68-59 on Tuesday at United Spirit Arena, doing enough to improve to 7-2 in conference play. They now have the opportunity to move up in the standings with upcoming games against Iowa State and Kansas, the only two teams to beat K-State in league play.
K-State will need to play better and with more energy in those games than it did in Lubbock, but the Wildcats seem confident they will rise to the occasion. Plenty of teams head to Texas Tech and play uninspired in front of a tiny crowd. They should be fired up for its next two games.
For now let’s look back at last night with another edition (sorry I posted it later than usual, I’ve been busy traveling home and keeping up with National Signing Day) of player ratings:
Rodney McGruder – 9: The senior wing made sure K-State held off Texas Tech by doing a little bit of everything. His main contribution came on the offensive end, as he scored 18 points. But he also snared nine rebounds – four on the offensive end – in 34 minutes. He avoided foul trouble and played much better than he has recently.
Last game: 7. Average: 8.
Martavious Irving – 7.5: K-State’s sixth man was once again effective. He scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds while playing solid defense. One thing that is interesting about Irving: He almost always makes his first three-pointer. He’s confident from behind the arc.
Last game: 7. Average: 6.6.
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Two of the biggest surprises that came out of National Signing Day for Kansas State involved two players that won’t suit up for the Wildcats next season.
De’Vondre Campbell, a highly touted junior-college linebacker from Hutchinson Community College, switched his previous commitment to K-State at the last moment and instead signed with Minnesota. With the departures of Arthur Brown, Justin Tuggle and Jarell Childs, Campbell would have been a candidate to play immediately for the Wildcats.
Now, incoming recruits Nick Ramirez, Isaiah Williams and Dakorey Johnson will have less competition as they compete for playing time at linebacker next season. Ramirez, a four-star linebacker out of Lee’s Summit West, has the biggest upside of the group. Johnson brings experience as a juco transfer.
The other surprise came from a former K-State quarterback. Tavarius Bender, who quit the team last summer after enrolling a semester early to go through spring practices, is headed to Iowa Western Community College. We haven’t heard much about Bender lately, but he will try to resurrect his career at the same college where the Wildcats just landed talented quarterback Jake Waters.
For the longest time, Nick Ramirez wasn’t sure where he wanted to play college football.
Then he attended Kansas State’s final home game of the season, a 42-24 victory over Texas in which the Wildcats locked up a Big 12 championship, and everything suddenly made sense.
“My visit to the Texas game really confirmed Kansas State was the school I wanted to go to,” Ramirez said. “The atmosphere was great. I will never forget when all the fans rushed the field.”
Next season, Ramirez will try to help K-State achieve similar success on the field instead of watching from the stands. Coaches and fans alike will be expecting big things out of him right away.
The four-star linebacker out of Lee’s Summit West is one of the Wildcats’ highest rated recruits and the type of player who will compete for playing time as a freshman.
“I can’t wait to go out there and get a shot to prove myself,” Ramirez said. “I like that they expect big things out of me, because I want to prove to them that I can do it. I don’t think stars really matter, it is all about heart. I have heart. I’m ready to go out there.”
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