Anyway, I asked the sports editor, and this was his advice:

“Go cover K-State because Bill Snyder is out there, and with all of the junior college kids, there’s bound to be a lot of news to break.”

The punchline is that Bill left but is now back, and in three years in between, the amount of news on the beat was far, far more than I (or the sports editor) could have ever imagined. It was just what I needed, and it was essentially what I set out to accomplish.

Having done so, my work here is complete.

Now, I’m not that cold, and it’s not that easy. People would always ask where I was from, and then the next question was always, “What brought you to Kansas?” Without hesitation, I’d answer, “The job,” but at the same time, at first, I understood because during those few moments when I wasn’t working, I’d wonder if it was worth it.

After four years, it most certainly was — and then some.

Of course, I’m going to miss it. And I’ll miss all of you, which is funny because my co-worker, Joanna Chadwick, asked me Thursday what I’d miss the most and I drew a blank.

I’ve made so many unlikely friends, readers who, for some reason, connected with something I’d written and then want to connect in real time, to meet up or have a drink. Some of my fellow beat guys were mystified why I’d do such a thing, but I didn’t see the harm.

So there I was, on Bob Huggins’ return to Cincinnati as K-State’s new basketball coach, escorted around the Queen City by a very creative young man who goes by the name of “chum1” at ksufans.com. Later, when Huggins and the Wildcats played at California, I met up with one of my favorites from the Q&A, Richard. I crashed in hotels in Aggieville with my pal Josh Shea, a.k.a. “Trim Reaper” on ksufans.com. There have been KATPAKs — if you have to ask, well, that’s a shame because you’re missing out — and lots of other random interactions with readers.

I remember those moments more than I do some of the actual action or the stories behind the scenes.

Sure, there have been some unforgettable characters.

Bob Krause? Oh, he’s slick. Yes, I think it’s entirely possible he had a “wink, wink” deal with Gary Patterson, but it’s going to take a journalist far better than me to produce any evidence. Hopefully my successor.

Frank Martin? Great guy. A little paranoid, no doubt, but he’s a keeper.

Bill Snyder? Nothing but respect for everything he has accomplished at K-State.

Jon Wefald? An influential but odd man who will never come to grips with how his last few months transpired.

Josh Freeman? A better kid than he’s been cast as, and I hope he succeeds in Tampa Bay.

Ron Prince? Well, if you don’t have anything nice to say…

Mike Beasley? Just a big kid.

I could go on, but I won’t bore you. If you’ve read this far, it’s a miracle.

So let me wrap this up:

I never thought I’d be here four years, and I don’t think I was alone in that sentiment. But I was, and it’s only made me better, even though I have no idea what’s next. I’m better for the experience, and I’ll never forget my time covering K-State athletics.

I hope you won’t either.

Oh, my dad said he still plans to follow the Cats — he keeps asking about Rodney McGruder — and maybe we’ll come back out at some point and catch a game — we’ll let you all know.

Thanks for embracing and supporting me.

There’s going to be a farewell post later in the week, but before then, I want to have some fun.

Got questions? I’ve got answers, and I won’t hold back.

And before you ask, no, I don’t know what I’m going to be doing next.

No, I didn’t get laid off.

Yes, the Eagle plans to hire someone to fill the position.

Write your questions below and I’ll answer there, too.

What now? He’s mulling his options. He told me tonight that he is taking a couple of weeks to think things over, and he’ll be back in Wichita June 8. Expect something concrete from him then, if not before. But he seemed at peace with everything, eager to start looking ahead.

More as this develops…

Enjoy.

Quick take – as sad as it sounds, I do think Krause did this on his own. I’ll explain more tomorrow in another post. By the way, that would make three days in a row, which means I’m due for at least another couple of weeks off.

Just kidding.

I’ve also been told the university is going to try to legally fight the deal.

I submitted open records requests for settlements, additional contracts and anything signed between Krause and Prince yesterday; K-State has three days to respond, essentially saying they received the requests, and I hadn’t heard back as of this morning. I tried calling Krause all day Monday, but he didn’t answer. Prince’s agent, Neil Cornrich, did not return calls or an e-mail seeking confirmation and clarification.

I don’t want to deal in absolutes here because, well, I can’t control what K-State is going to do. It’s possible the administration could choose to delay such a release. But when the buyout number is released – and my sources tell me it will be today – it should be staggering to most.

Anyway, I couldn’t help but think about Ron Prince during Monday’s introductory festivities.

Here’s what I wrote Dec. 6, 2005:

While it seemed curious when South Florida coach Jim Leavitt, the school’s perceived top target, passed and signed a contract extension to remain in Tampa, K-State wasn’t in the bind it appeared to be. Weiser, vice president for institutional advancement Bob Krause and senior associate athletics director Jim Epps flew to Charlottesville, Va., unbeknownst to anyone, early last week.

“I’ve waited my entire life for this opportunity,” Prince told the three men.

In his hands he held a notebook that detailed his own breakdown of the current K-State roster, including a talent analysis, where the kids were from, prospective coaches, an outline of the first 15 days and much more. In a short amount of time, roughly a day, Prince had prepared a plan of how he’d attack this job.

He was unflappable.

“We asked pretty hard questions, and it’s hard to prepare for what we ask,” Weiser said. “We never tripped him up.”

And this is what I was told Monday by incoming president Kirk Schulz when I asked what separated Currie from the rest of the candidates:

“When John came to the interview, we would say, ‘What would you do in your first six months?’ And he’d say, ‘This is what I’d do,’ and he’d pass out a plan he’d put together. Then we asked him something else, and he’d say, ‘This is what I’d do,’ and he’d pass out another copy.

“Here I am, looking at all of this stuff, thinking, ‘This isn’t a guy that has just sort of thought about this.’ He’d prepared materials, and these were not (of the) ‘if I get an A.D. job’ (variety). We was like, ‘If I’m going to be at K-State, here’s exactly what I’m going to do.

“I left there saying, ‘This is the guy.”

I’m just saying…

The caller? Florida coach Billy Donovan.

The presumed subject? Freddy Asprilla, a 6-foot-10 center who was the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in March after averaging 14 points and 9.3 rebounds at Florida International.

Because FIU fired Sergio Ruoco – who was the reason Asprilla, who originally committed to Miami but didn’t have a sufficient SAT score, attended the school in the first place – the center is looking for a new home.

“Everybody in America has inquired about him,” Alvarez said.

But because Alvarez, who says he is Asprilla’s legal guardian as well as his AAU coach, is tight with Kan-sas State coach Frank Martin, there is a strong chance Asprilla will end up in Manhattan, following a path already forged by Luis Colon and Denis Clemente.

“He’s a stud,” Alvarez said. “Frank knows about him and wants him bad.”

New FIU coach Isiah Thomas hasn’t granted Asprilla his release, hoping the big man can be persuaded to stick around Miami. But Alvarez said Asprilla has already withdrawn from the university and he’s currently visiting his parents and vacationing in his native Colombia.

“If he’s not granted his release, we’ll go to the appeal process,” Alvarez said. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll go the junior college route for a year and decide whether or not to play.

“Either way, the kid is gone.”

He’d be eligible in 2010. If he redshirted somewhere for the 2009-10, Asprilla would have three years of eligibility. According to Alvarez, he’d be well worth the wait.

“He’s a proven commodity,” Alvarez said. “He has the best footwork and the best hands you’ve ever seen. He’s on everyone’s radar.”

Let’s be clear – Alvarez is prone to gush, no stranger to hyperbole.

But he was dead on in his assessment on Clemente – more on him later – and he readily admits his willingness to assist Martin, whom he calls his “little brother.”

“We’ll try to feed Frank a couple more pieces of the puzzle,” Alvarez said. “He’s done a great job with Denis and Luis. I think Freddy is a good possibility.”

ALSO…

Alvarez visited Manhattan during basketball season in support of Martin but also Clemente. Asked if everything is “OK” with the Wildcats’ star guard, Alvarez said,“Oh, he’s fine. Denis just gets bored sometimes.”

The coach said Clemente had just received word that he would be participating as a college instructor at one of Nike’s prestigious Skills Academies – Alvarez said it was Amare Stoudemire’s camp, but the Phoenix Sun’s camp is for big men. Utah’s Deron Williams runs the camp for point guards.

Martin Brothers, Team Texas Elite, Spiece Mo-Kan, Houston Clippers, Texas D-I Ambassadors, Hoop Planet (Atlanta), All Iowa Attack and the Kansas Players.

The last two teams are interesting because they feature Harrison Barnes, a 6-foot-6 guard who is arguably the top player in the Class of 2010, and Perry Ellis, whom I wrote briefly about earlier and might be Barnes’ equal in the Class of 2012.

Don’t shoot the messenger, but Barnes has been to several Kansas games, spotted sitting behind the bench – again, similar to Ellis in that regard. But given his enormous list of offers, Barnes seems wide open. And that’s also the information I keep receiving about Ellis, despite rumors the gifted freshman was a Jayhawk lean.

Also, K-State assistant football coaches have been in Wichita today. Someone – we couldn’t get a name – stopped by Northwest (recent commit Demarcus Robinson). Joe Bob Clements checked in at Southeast, presumably for Joseph Randle. For more information on Randle, visit Varsity Kansas – The Blog (cool name – think I could pull off K-Stated – The Blog? Actually, K-Stated is a blog, while Varsity Kansas is much, much more than that. I answered my own inane question. Carry on with your lives.).

The interest in Perry Ellis certainly isn’t dying down any.

My “people” – yep, I’ve got people – tell me that Texas A&M was at an open gym workout at Heights last week. The Aggies were represented by assistant coach Pooh Williamson, not head coach Mark Turgeon, who, of course, spent some major, major time in the ‘Ta.

Next week, Kansas State assistants Dalonte Hill and Brad Underwood are expected to visit. My “people” also said Oklahoma, which – I think – has landed more McDonald’s All-Americans in the past three seasons than any school in the Big 12, will be passing through next week as well.

As first reported Wednesday by gopowercat.com, the Wildcats are pursuing Martavious Irving, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

But it’s the chase of another “Tay” – Latavious Williams – that really bears following.

Williams, a 6-foot-8 forward who played this past season at Christian Life Center in Humble, Texas, was recently ranked the No. 17 prospect in Rivals’ Top 150 in the Class of 2009. He’s considering Georgetown, Memphis, Baylor and K-State.

The five-star recruit flirted with the Wildcats before, supposedly close to a commitment last summer while in town for the Manhattan Classic, an AAU showcase. But he never pulled the trigger. It was thought K-State cooled its interest, in part because of his academic standing, but apparently not.

According to a Wednesday report on Rivals.com, Williams is taking the SAT for the first time this week. 

A source told me that Irving and Williams are the last two targets for the Class of 2009, an impressive group that already includes Wally Judge, a McDonald’s All-American who will be action this weekend in the Jordan Brand Classic, Rodney McGruder and Nick Russell. 

Imagine Williams joining that group. Or don’t – remain pessimistic about this staff’s ability to close the deal on such elite kids. By the way, assistant coach Matt Figger and head coach Frank Martin are heading up the effort.

And finally, the Manhattan Classic will be coming back to Manhattan in late May for its second run.

Some of the big names will be returning – the D.C. Assault (of course) and King Texas Elite are notables. But the event organizers are excited about the addition of the Colorado Chaos, which has at least one Top 150 player in the Class of 2010 on its roster – 6-foot-8 forward Damian Terry, a four-star kid from Sand Creek in Colorado Springs.

The showcase has grown. There were 36 teams a year ago, but this year, between 50-60 are expected. More information will be released shortly. Keep checking the Web site.