In any relationship, there has to be trust.

Do you trust Frank Martin?

This, to me, is the key to the future of Kansas State basketball. Do you like what Martin has done to your program? If so, do you think he can continue to do good? And if you dislike what’s he done, what must he do to gain your confidence — or is it a moot point? In other words, have you already decided he’s a lost cause?

These are only some of the questions, just as there would be with any first-year coach.

Full disclosure — I believe in Frank Martin.

I’m not a K-State fan — and before there is any outrage, I’ve never been a fan of any team I cover (although my parents are, which is weird, but I digress), although it makes for a better story if said team wins a whole lot — but I’m a Frank Martin fan. That does not cloud how I go about my business, just as it wouldn’t if I weren’t a Frank Martin fan.

K-State won 21 games, reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988 and ended a 24-year home drought to Kansas — the latter being two specific goals Martin announced during “Madness in Manhattan.”

OK, so the trophies he talked about winning didn’t happen.

What people have to reconcile is their expectations. Some believe having the nation’s best player and another star freshman riding shotgun should have yielded more victories and a longer post-season run. The comparison is tired, but bear with me — the same complaints were lobbed at Texas coach Rick Barnes last year after the Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin-led Longhorns won 25 games and lost in the sec-ond round of the NCAA Tournament to USC.

And Barnes is supposed to be one of the better coaches in the Big 12, a veteran coach with more than 20 years of experience.

Some perspective is needed. While Michael Beasley and Bill Walker haven’t officially decided they’re entering the NBA Draft, Martin isn’t naive, which means he realizes how the Wildcats played this season — working through Beasley and Walker, who are, after all, two future pros — can’t be how the Wildcats will play next year, and even the year after, and so on.

Asking this staff to continue to recruit the type of talent that touched down in Manhattan this year is ludicrous; there’s only one Michael Beasley, folks. It’s not going to happen, although that won’t stop Martin and Co. from trying.

Do you trust that the man has a plan? Or do you really think K-State is going to struggle to score 30 points a game — which is about all that remains from this year’s team if “Batman and Robin,” as Jacob Pullen calls Beasley and Walker, forgo their final three seasons.

Last time I checked, I didn’t think the 2006-07 squad was an offensive juggernaut, but Bob Huggins coaxed 22 wins out of that team. I remember scoring being a distinct struggle virtually every night, but I also remember balanced scoring going a long way — and not to mention a stubborn defense.

Good coaches manufacture ways to win games, and I believe Martin is a good coach.

But this isn’t about me.

Again, do you trust Frank Martin?

Best performance I’ve seen by the Cats. And while I don’t think they need to duplicate that tomorrow against No. 3 Wisconsin, they need to play with the same energy and effort to be successful… and I think they will.

Haven’t spoken with my Dad today, but he’s all fired up about Ron Anderson. Heck, Ron Anderson is fired up with Ron Anderson. I thought the freshmen were tremendous. That tired adage about freshmen no longer being freshmen rang true last night.

All that said, I thought hitting 3s and rebounding was the difference.

Funny story about rebounding: I was talking to director of basketball operations Andy Assaley – one of the best guys in the business, just a fantastic guy – and trainer Scott Greenawalt – one of the most intense guys in the business. I offered congratulations, and Assaley pointed to the rebounding totals – 44 to 27. He nodded towards Greenawalt and said, “That’s because of him.” I laughed, but I could tell they were serious so I stopped. Assaley said, “Last year, when we lost and were out-rebounded, Huggs would let Scott have it.” Greenawalt said, “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep for three days afterwards… There were times I wanted to fight Huggs.” Ah, Huggs… None of this is possible, you know, without Bob Huggins. Sorry to rain on the parade, but give credit where it’s due. But make no mistake – Frank has been tremendous.

Me? I’m not surprised.

I didn’t anticipate the run ending so abruptly, but in some ways, it was deserved. The Wildcats are a mess right now. Have a theory as to what’s wrong? Good – because I’ve run out of theories.

Is K-State standing around and watching Mike too much? No idea. Have the Wildcats lost their confidence? No clue.

All I know is, in times like these, it’s usually a matter of will. Is the will there right now? It wasn’t last night. Coaches – Bob Huggins used to always say this last year – tell their players that while they may miss shots, only they can control effort. And effort affects rebounding and defense, right? And isn’t that what seems to be plaguing K-State right now?

Perhaps that’s too simplistic. I don’t know. Seriously – I’m seeking answers. I know you all want to vent, so give me some explanations.

I realized getting right was important against Colorado, so the final margin didn’t bother me. But yesterday, I was floored by the fact that, after losing five in a row on the road, with all of the baggage that must come along with that, K-State was able to go to Hilton Coliseum and win – despite getting a combined 24 points from Mike and Bill.

Jake Pullen suggested something is brewing here – and after what he did yesterday, you should listen. The Wildcats weren’t perfect yesterday – not even close. They still haven’t played a complete 40 minutes since defeating KU in Manhattan. But you had to be encouraged by the contributions from guys like DK (who looked fluid and strong with his post moves, didn’t he?), Ron Anderson (even though he botched a bunny late), and especially Dominique Sutton, who simply needs to be on the floor and be disruptive. The Wildcats are a better defensive team when he’s out there.

Who knows what is going to happen next weekend. But I can say with absolute certainty that I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wildcats lost in the quarterfinals Friday – an 8:20 p.m. start? What a mess, but there will be cocktails consumed afterwards – or won the whole thing.

My friend from Des Moines wondered if Iowa State has provided the blueprint in how to defend Mike and Bill, and I laughed. If teams want to commit to gimmick defenses, I think Frank believes his guards are at the point now that they will take advantage of such a situation. I know Jake believes that – he was speaking hypothetically after the game about the perception that the Wildcats are just Mike and Bill, and he said after they leave (whenever that is, he stressed), people will say K-State doesn’t have any bigs because the guards are going to take over.

He’s a confident kid, and that’s exactly what you need at this time of the year.

March has already been interesting, and it just started. We’re about to get to the good stuff…

It has to be said – does K-State lose if Bill doesn’t play as well as he did? How many more dramatic turns can this season take? At this point, is it even possible or realistic to guess what will transpire Saturday in Ames?

Bill is a proud kid. I think he’ll finish the season strong, just as strong as last night, and ride that momentum into declaring for the NBA Draft. That’s my hunch. But that doesn’t matter right now – the Wildcats are likely in the NCAA Tournament, and I’m surprised by some of the negativity I’ve seen in my in-box.

K-State wasn’t impressive last night. Things need to get better in a hurry, no doubt. But how can you fear any team when, as CU coach Jeff Bzdelik and Buffaloes guard Richard Roby said, the Wildcats have two pros on the team? Especially in an elimination tournament? Once you’re in, weird things tend to happen.

It’s going to be an interesting few weeks in March.

But really, what other positives can be gleaned from that loss? Now, I’m not quite the pessimist some are – KU is good, as is Texas, as is Baylor. You see a trend here? The Wildcats’ last three losses have been to very good teams. That doesn’t excuse the outcomes, but the facts are the facts.

Last night was an awful environment for such a young team. The atmosphere was so emotionally charged, there was no way K-State’s freshman-laden crew was going to be able to overcome the Jayhawks, the crowd and the officiating. I’ve never been one to grumble about officiating – and I’m not about to now. But I will say as much as Dick Vitale and everyone else was swept up in the moment, the same happens to officials.

My last point on the environment is this – several of KU’s players, Brandon Rush in particular, said they allowed the crowd at Bramlage Coliseum to take them out of the Jan. 30 game. That’s a veteran Jayhawk team, by the way, guys with deep NCAA Tournament experience on their resumes.

What I’m saying is, this happens. K-State needs to take care of business this week against lesser teams – I believe the Wildcats will – and learn from this. Getting Bill Walker right would be a good place to start. I wrote my story for today about his disappearing act and how KU almost targeted him.

Consider this: in the last three games, Mike is averaging a shade under 38 points. And K-State has lost all three games.

Dude needs some help.

My dad and I are going to watch last night’s game again today at some point. My parents, by the way, loved the experience – the biggest college basketball game they’d witnessed up to this point was Michigan (the Jamal Crawford year) at Boston College – but hated the outcome. Pop was fired up about the officiating and the home-court edge, but he thinks K-State will beat KU if they meet in K.C.

Shameless plug – check out the Eagle’s “State of Basketball” and be sure to vote each day for each matchup.

I still believe the Wildcats are in the NCAA Tournament, but they’re about to scale the bubble. It’s the reality, folks. Will victories against Colorado and Iowa State to close the regular season be enough? Who knows?

No point in dwelling on Bill Walker. This is who he is – a highly emotional, charged athlete who is fantastic when he’s on and downright dreadful when he’s not. But that’s OK.

This team just needs something positive to happen. The whole month of February has been a drag for the Wildcats. Maybe March will be different.

As for the giving up the lead with Mike on the bench arguments, he tires late in every game. Look it up – they all do. I’m not suggesting they’re out of shape or anything like that. But the physical strain is taking a toll – and so is losing.

I haven’t had many issues with how Frank has handled this team this season, but last night’s comments about K-State’s youth and how proud he’s been of his guys sounded almost like a concession speech. I know it’s not in his nature to quit, but man…

Something positive needs to happen or it will be a NIT appearance for this team. I never thought I’d have to type those three letters this year, but I just did.

Baylor is going to be desperate – and the Bears will be at home Saturday. Two days later, Texas – which might be the best team in the Big 12 right now – comes to Manhattan. And then it’s KU a few days after that.

You all can see what lies ahead, but none of that is important right now. This team doesn’t seem right at the moment. Some of you have suggested it’s youth, and some have decided it’s on Frank. I’m not sure where I stand, and I’m not sure it’s important. But I’ll echo Frank’s line last night about the team winning together and losing together.

That’s how it is.

But, no doubt, something has to give – soon. I wrote before the week started this was a critical stretch for K-State. A win in Waco would be enormous, but who in their right mind would predict such a thing in light of what we’ve seen the past couple of weeks? It’s almost as if the players are starting to believe they can’t win on the road.

Talent isn’t and won’t be an issue the remainder of the season, just as it wasn’t last night. Some will argue the effort was there last night; I might argue otherwise.

Doesn’t matter. None of it does. The Cats have some soul-searching to do. Give Nebraska credit because the Huskers did what they had to do to be successful. The same couldn’t be said for K-State.

1. Missouri isn’t very good. Serviceable, but not tremendous.

2. Don’t upset Mike.

3. This team won’t lose again at home – sorry, Texas.

Which leads us to this week, which might be the most critical stretch of the season for the Wildcats. Has this team grown from its road woes? In fairness, each conference road loss came with certain circumstances. The game in Missouri was more about what K-State failed to do, which was close out the Tigers. And the game at Texas Tech was simply about the Wildcats failing to play with purpose early and being unable to adequately defend the Red Raiders’ motion offense – at least in the first half.

There is little margin for error when winning on the road – look at the two road victories K-State recorded. They weren’t blowouts by any stretch, and the Wildcats never let up in either.

Handling Nebraska in Lincoln will be difficult. Beating Baylor in Waco is going to be extremely difficult. And I don’t think a split does anything for K-State, if the Wildcats are intent on taking the Big 12 title. It’s a sweep or bust, and finally, after what I saw Saturday, I think this team is capable.

What do you think?

Anyway, here’s what I liked: Mike, of course; Jake’s aggressiveness early (Mike said it helps so much with the early double-teams he faces); Bill’s athleticism (he had his hops yesterday – in some games, it looks as if he doesn’t); the inspired play of the backup bigs (Colon and Ron Anderson); Fred Brown’s three-point stroke (which will be needed in the coming weeks); Frank’s control of the game (gripe about his substitution patterns if you want, but do you really think the guy doesn’t know what he’s doing? Or that he’s stubborn? C’mon…); the absurd rebounding margin (Sean Sutton should be embarrassed); the contributions of James Franklin and CMW (do you realize Frank played everybody at his disposal yesterday? And they all played well?); and a smiling Clent Stewart.

This team is soaring with confidence, and all of the adversity has only brought them closer. I know that sounds like a cliche, but man, it’s true. You have to like what Kansas State basketball looks like right now. There is a sense of purpose, direction that hasn’t been seen for a while.

Here’s what I didn’t like: Low shooting percentage (I’ve never been one of those who complains about K-State’s offense because I know there are going to be nights when shots fall, but I just wonder about the quality of some of those shots Saturday); DK and Sutton stalled on offense (DK hasn’t been the same since Iowa State, and ‘Nique isn’t effective outside of five feet – something has to give); Andre Gilbert still in street clothes (I talked to him briefly – true story, me and GPC’s Robert Cassidy saw him out at Tubby’s the night of his dust-up. He said last night that when we saw him, he wanted to go home, but he didn’t – and that’s when the trouble ensued); the opponent (I’m not a Sean Sutton defender, but that’s an oddly constructed collection of talent – did you know there are two McDonald’s All-Americans on that team in Byron Eaton and James Anderson? They’ve got a bunch of 6-foot-5, 6-foot-6 guys who only shoot jumpers, a chubby, vertically-challenged point guard who can’t penetrate, a 6-foot-11 post project who looks more comfortable on the perimeter… none of it makes sense.)

One last thought – how tough is Blake Young? He might be my favorite Wildcat to watch. Nothing he does is pretty or particularly graceful, but he plays with such effort. No, he’s not the 20-point scorer he was in junior college, but remember what Matt Figger said in his classic “Five”? Not many junior college stars project as stars in Division I basketball. Instead, with his skill set, Young has turned into a fine defensive player and a serviceable offensive component, someone who doesn’t turn the ball over and is capable of getting to the rim. And he might be the best rebounder in the Big 12 under 6-foot-3.

My dad just called. He’s obsessed, by the way. He said KU’s Achilles’ heel is dribble penetration. High BBIQ, by the way.