Rodney McGruder is starting to look like a marksman.
The freshman guard came off the bench Thursday in Puerto Rico and knocked down four of five three-point shots and led all Kansas State scorers with 20 points.
His big night couldn’t have come at a better time. Play was sloppy throughout at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, and K-State’s best two veteran guards (Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen) didn’t play well. But behind McGruder and some tough second play, the Wildcats pushed past Boston University for an 80-70 victory in its first game of the Puerto Rico Tip-off.
Read More »
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Kansas State senior center Luis Colon, a Puerto Rico native, missed the first two games of the season with a hand injury, and once again sat out Thursday’s game. But coach Frank Martin said his no show had nothing to do with his injury this time.
“Some things have come up off the court that we’re looking into right now,” Martin said. “We’re going to continue to keep him out until we get home and get a better idea of what’s happening. It’s unfortunate. He’s healthy enough to play I just can’t play him.”
Not being able to play surely puts a damper on Colon’s trip home. But Martin said he had no choice but to keep him in street clothes.
When asked to elaborate on what the off-court problem was Martin said, “He’s not in trouble with the law. If he was he wouldn’t be here.”
Colon averaged 4.4 points and 4.7 rebounds as a junior.
How to take this game?
The Kansas State basketball team defeated Loyola-Chicago 92-54 in its season-opener and did so rather easily, which is good.
But coach Frank Martin was so angry with his team’s performance that he said his players should be “embarrassed,” which is bad.
As is the case in most situations like this, it’s best to fall somewhere in the middle. That would make K-State’s performance on Friday at Bramlage Coliseum fairly average.
Read More »
By Kellis Robinett
|
Tags: Bramlage Coliseum, Chris Merriewether, Curtis Kelly, Denis Clemente, Dominique Sutton, Frank Martin, Jacob Pullen, Jamar Samuels, Kansas State, Loyola-Chicago, Rodney McGruder, Victor Ojeleye, Western Illinois
Filed under Basketball
|
Earlier in the week, Frank Martin said he didn’t consider Syracuse losing to Division II Le Moyne as a meaningless loss.
Even though it was labeled as an exhibition game, the Orange still sold tickets and tried to win. The loss may not have done anything to their record, but it was real and so was all the talk about it on ESPN the next day.
Maybe he brought that up to his players on Sunday. Maybe he didn’t. But Kansas State easily avoided the same outcome, and pounded Pittsburg State 89-53 in its exhibition opener at Bramlage Coliseum.
After the first media timeout, the game was horribly lopsided and Martin got to experiment with different lineups. The results were overall good.
Read More »
By Kellis Robinett
|
Tags: Curtis Kelly, Denis Clemente, Dominique Sutton, Frank Martin, Jacob Pullen, Jamar Samuels, Jordan Henriquez, K-State, Nick Russell, Pitt State, Wally Judge
Filed under Basketball
|
When Jacob Pullen started talking to reporters at Big 12 media days this week, there wasn’t much of a crowd surrounding him.
But as the interview session went on and word spread that he was the best “quote” at the event, the cameras and microphones placed in front of his face multiplied exponentially.
Pullen, a junior guard on the K-State men’s basketball team who along with senior Denis Clemente is one of the Wildcats’ veteran leaders, had plenty to say about the upcoming season.
For your enjoyment, here are some of the highlights in a special Friday edition of “A few minutes with …”
Read More »
Kansas State men’s basketball coach Frank Martin won’t showcase his team in front of a live audience until next Saturday, but he expects his players to know the ins and outs of what it takes to be a Wildcat before then.
With so many underclassmen on his roster the last few years, that hasn’t always been the case. Especially two years ago, when the Wildcats had all kinds of talent but almost zero experience.
“Two years ago we had nine first year guys,” Martin said. “Those guys had no idea what was coming.”
Read More »
It looks like Kansas State men’s basketball coach Frank Martin had a successful recruiting weekend.
Nino Williams, a 6-foot-5 guard out of Leavenworth, has verbally committed to join K-State in 2011. And according to zagsblog.com Shane Southwell, a 6-foot-7 guard out of New York has committed to K-State for 2010.
Both are three-star recruits according to rivals.
I just got off the phone with Leavenworth high school boys’ basketball coach Larry Hogan, and he said Williams will be a good addition to K-State.
Read More »