K-Stated

Throughout his basketball career at Kansas State, senior forward Curtis Kelly has gone out of his way to thank the university for everything it has helped him achieve.

Since joining the Wildcats in 2008 via a transfer from Connecticut, the former blue-chip high school recruit has gone from bench player to key starter and become the first member of his family to earn a college degree.

There have been more than a few bumps along the way for the New York native, but he is now looking forward to the postseason. Before the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments arrive, though, he will first enjoy senior day at Bramlage Coliseum. It will be a special event for him.

Not only has he enjoyed his time at K-State, he has appreciated it. So much so, that he often credits the school for saving his life. Kelly was asked why he felt that way Thursday evening. His response came straight from the heart.

“From where I come from, it’s hard to survive. From where I come from, a lot of people don’t survive. Where I come from is tough. It’s not some place you just walk into and you walk out of. Where I’m from, you get there and it’s hard to make it out. So coming from where I came from, I made it since I was a young boy. I made it out with a basketball in my hand.
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Kansas State was unable to defeat UNLV without its best two players in the lineup Tuesday at the Sprint Center.

The loss came in front of a raucous sellout crowd, and the shorthanded Wildcats played the Rebels tough before falling 63-59. But it was a painful night for K-State all the same.

“We’re not about losing here,” said an angry Frank Martin. “We’re not about playing hard and coming up close and moral victories. That’s not what we built our program about. We lost, so it wasn’t good enough.”

Martavious Irving and Jamar Samuels later said they also found few positives in the loss. Samuels made a good point about the Wildcats being strong enough to beat Virginia Tech earlier this season with Kelly out of the lineup and Pullen only playing 14 minutes. He thought they should have done the same here.

K-State is certainly a team that should know how to play with members of its roster unavailable. Of the Wildcats’ 16 players, only six (Rodney McGruder, Victor Ojeleye, Nick Russell, Freddy Asprilla, Jordan Henriquez-Roberts and Will Spradling) have seen action in every game this season.

The other 10 have missed anywhere from one game to nine for various reasons. Here is a rundown:
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Will Spradling has been impressive all season, but he took his game to a new level Friday night at Friel Court by showing his clutch side late in a 63-58 victory over Washington State.

In front of a deafening student section, the freshman guard made two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to increase a narrow two-point lead to a more comfortable four. Free throws have troubled Kansas State all year, but Spradling stepped into a difficult situation and made the necessary shots under pressure to help his team win its first true road game.

A window into how Spradling kept his cool:

Leading by two points with 23 seconds remaining, K-State inbounded the ball to its best player, Jacob Pullen. Washington State had no interest in fouling the senior guard and trapped him with a double team. Spradling was supposed to be nearby to receive an outlet pass, but was out of position and the Wildcats called timeout. In the ensuing huddle, Frank Martin challenged Spradling.

“I told him, ‘You don’t want the ball at the end of the game? What’s the problem?’” Martin said. “He said, ‘Are you kidding me? Yes I want it.’ So I said, ‘Go get the ball.’”

He did. K-State ran the same play when it returned to the court with success and got the ball to Spradling. The Cougars saw a freshman with the ball and couldn’t foul him fast enough. With 16 seconds remaining, Washington State had the man it wanted at the foul line. But so did K-State.

“I knew he was making them,” Pullen said. Read More »

How big is today’s CBE Classic championship game between fourth-ranked Kansas State and top-ranked Duke?

So big that there is virtually no way to over hype it.

The Wildcats are striving for a marquee victory that will prove themselves capable of handling high expectations. The Blue Devils and coach Mike Krzyzewski are, well, Duke: the defending national champion everyone loves to hate. Except Frank Martin, that is.

“I look at two things,” Martin said. “No. 1, it’s hard to be good for one year. They’ve been good for 28 years. They’ve competed for national championships and conference championships for 28 years. That’s ridiculous.

The other part of it, which shows the kind of man that leads that program, and the people that he demands to have in that program, USA Basketball had become the laughing stock of the world. All of a sudden he engages in USA basketball and now USA basketball is back to dominating the world.

“It’s going to be a privilege to tell my grand kids one day that I was able and fortunate enough to sit on the bench opposite Coach K, and try to prepare a team to compete against his.”
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