[JNixonParticipant]

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/insider/news/story?id=5459115&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2finsider%2fnews%2fstory%3fid%3d5459115

Can an insider PLEASE post this. It’s an analysis of Kansas State for this upcoming year

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

igg9, someone minsed u for no reason, so ima give u plus 1

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

igg9, someone minsed u for no reason, so ima give u plus 1

[JNixonParticipant]

Lol thanks man

[JNixonParticipant]

Lol thanks man

[sammybuckeye13Participant]

Kansas State Wildcats

29-8 (NCAA tournament — Elite Eight)

Experts’ Take

Joe Lunardi
Kansas State was one of the most compelling stories in college basketball last season. Even in defeat — three times to Kansas and in an NCAA regional championship game to Butler — the Wildcats were always at the center of excitement. The prescription for 2011 is more of the same. Read More

Doug Gottlieb
K-State put itself back on the basketball map a couple of years ago when it hired Bob Huggins and brought in Michael Beasley and Bill Walker. But last season the Wildcats went from one-and-done wonder and program on the rise to a program that has a defense-first identity and a sound base of talent returning to continue that tradition. Read More

Joe Lunardi | Close
Kansas State was one of the most compelling stories in college basketball last season. Even in defeat — three times to Kansas and in an NCAA regional championship game to Butler — the Wildcats were always at the center of excitement. The prescription for 2011 is more of the same.

Yes, the Wildcats lose the seemingly irreplaceable Denis Clemente. But Jacob Pullen returns to anchor a veteran group that has won 51 times the past two seasons. Just as important, coach Frank Martin has gone from skeptical target to a man ready to sustain long-term success in the Little Apple.

It may be premature to say the Big 12 is K-State’s to lose. After all, the conference still boasts Kansas, Texas and a third emerging power, Baylor, with just as much talent as the Wildcats. But it’s hardly a reach to suggest Kansas State has another excellent shot at the Final Four.

Gottlieb

Doug Gottlieb | Close
K-State put itself back on the basketball map a couple of years ago when it hired Bob Huggins and brought in Michael Beasley and Bill Walker. But last season the Wildcats went from one-and-done wonder and program on the rise to a program that has a defense-first identity and a sound base of talent returning to continue that tradition. With Frank Martin rightfully receiving a major bump in pay in his contract extension, K-State is not dropping anywhere near the bottom of the league any time soon.

It must be noted that although K-State returns leading scorer Jacob Pullen and the long and talented duo of Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels, Denis Clemente is gone. At times, the Wildcats lacked offense last season. With Dominique Sutton transferring and Clemente graduating, the perimeter will look different this fall, as Rodney McGruder will have to fight for his minutes with some stout incoming talent.

Look for the Cats to be far longer and more athletic than when Luis Colon played 15 minutes or so because Jordan Henriquez-Roberts has the ideal body to alter shots and defend away from the basket as well. Wally Judge looks for big minutes as well, and with Kelly and Samuels back, there will be a limit on how much the newcomers can contribute.

The biggest question heading forward is Pullen. Will Martin play him as a scoring 1 or at his more natural 2-guard spot? With Shane Southwell and Nino Williams capable, Pullen may play some point, but Martin loves incoming frosh Will Spradling, whom he compares to Steve Blake. Also keep an eye on massive Freddy Asprilla, a junior college big man from Miami Dade. Needless to say, KSU looks loaded for battle.

Lunardi

They were responsible for some of the most riveting games in March, fighting through two overtimes against Xavier before Butler knocked them out in the Elite Eight. Now, with six of the top seven scorers returning for Frank Martin’s team, expectations for the Kansas State Wildcats are about as high as they’ve ever been. The team, a projected top-10 squad headed into the preseason, is more than aware it’s supposed to be playing for higher stakes.

“As soon as we lost to Butler, the message I sent to the team is that now is the most difficult part of becoming good,” Martin says. “We’ve made all the improvements that hard work brings — getting a step better and another step better — to get to where we are this year. Now the challenge is that we have to get a little tougher, a little stronger and take that next step as a program.”

The return of marquee guard Jacob Pullen, who led the Cats with 19.3 points per game last season, is a good chunk of the reason K-State will be favored to win the conference. But now that Denis Clemente, his stunningly quick backcourt mate, is gone, the biggest question for these Cats is whether they’ll be able to maintain the pace (they ranked 11th in scoring offense last season with 79.7 ppg) with Pullen now setting the table full time. The continued maturation of forwards Jamar Samuels, Curtis Kelly (who turned into a 15-ppg contributor in March) and Wally Judge will dictate just how soon Pullen can take this team to the top.

Welcome to campus

Freddy Asprilla, 6-foot-10, F/C
The Sun Belt’s freshman of the year at Florida International two years ago, Asprilla is a skilled big man who has a solid set of scoring moves under the rim. He’s about 10-20 pounds from being in game shape, but once his conditioning comes around, he’ll be a more-than-capable replacement for Luis Colon.

Will Spradling, 6 feet, PG
On the first possession Spradling played in open gym this summer, he stripped the ball from Samuels and set up his team for a layup. The smallish guard (he weighs about 170 pounds) is already looking to make defensive plays and can hit 3s regularly when he’s left open. That’s a good skill set for a freshman looking to break into a rotation.

Hole to fill: Point guard

Clemente was a deceptively efficient lead guard last season. His 2.13 assist-to-turnover ratio sometimes got blurred by his knack for ending possessions with an errant 3 attempt, but according to his 13.7 tempo-free turnover percentage from kenpom.com, Clemente was the most careful point guard in the Big 12 last season. That kind of steady-handed leadership and his blazing speed will be hard to replicate. But that’s not all the Wildcats are missing now that Clemente is gone. “More than that, we’re going to miss his will and just the fire and energy that he brought to everything he did,” Martin says.

[+] EnlargeJacob Pullen
Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesJacob Pullen’s return puts the Wildcats in a great position.

New role: Jacob Pullen

It’s not as if Pullen didn’t play setup man in last season’s offense. Particularly against zone defenses from Colorado and Baylor, Pullen and Clemente sometimes shared the responsibility of initiating the team’s O or breaking a press. That said, the most efficient use of both guards played to their strengths: streaky-shooting Clemente as table-setter for scoring machine Pullen (who shot 39.6 percent from 3 and 82.2 percent at the line).

Playing on the ball, Pullen has demonstrated a better-than-solid handle that shouldn’t make full-time PG duties that tough a transition. The tougher part will be serving up scoring chances for teammates and bypassing his own. So don’t expect as many 20-point scoring nights in Pullen’s senior season.

“It would be impossible for me to have the same numbers as last year,” he says. “I anticipate my scoring going down, but it’s something I’m trying to prepare myself and the team for.” When the squad splits up in open gym, Pullen has forced his defenders to double him on the screen and prepped his teammates for the looks they’ll get now that opponents will be focused on him.

Summer school

Pullen spent most of July touring hoops hot spots — putting in work at the Deron Williams point guard academy, then at LeBron James’ Nike camp before being picked up for USA Elite team that trained against the national team in Las Vegas at the end of the month. Ho-hum. After Pullen’s domestic run, Martin took his entire coaching staff, their families and the basketball office’s secretaries to the Bahamas, as the head coach worked a three-day clinic with the Bahamas Basketball Federation. Junior forward Jamar Samuels is currently on a nine-day tour of Europe with a collegiate all-star team. Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, former high school All-America Wally Judge used most of the summer to rehab from a June neck operation that alleviated irritation caused by an injury last summer. Judge got back to the court this month, working on improving his shot form 19 feet out and his jump hook.

[sammybuckeye13Participant]

Kansas State Wildcats

29-8 (NCAA tournament — Elite Eight)

Experts’ Take

Joe Lunardi
Kansas State was one of the most compelling stories in college basketball last season. Even in defeat — three times to Kansas and in an NCAA regional championship game to Butler — the Wildcats were always at the center of excitement. The prescription for 2011 is more of the same. Read More

Doug Gottlieb
K-State put itself back on the basketball map a couple of years ago when it hired Bob Huggins and brought in Michael Beasley and Bill Walker. But last season the Wildcats went from one-and-done wonder and program on the rise to a program that has a defense-first identity and a sound base of talent returning to continue that tradition. Read More

Joe Lunardi | Close
Kansas State was one of the most compelling stories in college basketball last season. Even in defeat — three times to Kansas and in an NCAA regional championship game to Butler — the Wildcats were always at the center of excitement. The prescription for 2011 is more of the same.

Yes, the Wildcats lose the seemingly irreplaceable Denis Clemente. But Jacob Pullen returns to anchor a veteran group that has won 51 times the past two seasons. Just as important, coach Frank Martin has gone from skeptical target to a man ready to sustain long-term success in the Little Apple.

It may be premature to say the Big 12 is K-State’s to lose. After all, the conference still boasts Kansas, Texas and a third emerging power, Baylor, with just as much talent as the Wildcats. But it’s hardly a reach to suggest Kansas State has another excellent shot at the Final Four.

Gottlieb

Doug Gottlieb | Close
K-State put itself back on the basketball map a couple of years ago when it hired Bob Huggins and brought in Michael Beasley and Bill Walker. But last season the Wildcats went from one-and-done wonder and program on the rise to a program that has a defense-first identity and a sound base of talent returning to continue that tradition. With Frank Martin rightfully receiving a major bump in pay in his contract extension, K-State is not dropping anywhere near the bottom of the league any time soon.

It must be noted that although K-State returns leading scorer Jacob Pullen and the long and talented duo of Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels, Denis Clemente is gone. At times, the Wildcats lacked offense last season. With Dominique Sutton transferring and Clemente graduating, the perimeter will look different this fall, as Rodney McGruder will have to fight for his minutes with some stout incoming talent.

Look for the Cats to be far longer and more athletic than when Luis Colon played 15 minutes or so because Jordan Henriquez-Roberts has the ideal body to alter shots and defend away from the basket as well. Wally Judge looks for big minutes as well, and with Kelly and Samuels back, there will be a limit on how much the newcomers can contribute.

The biggest question heading forward is Pullen. Will Martin play him as a scoring 1 or at his more natural 2-guard spot? With Shane Southwell and Nino Williams capable, Pullen may play some point, but Martin loves incoming frosh Will Spradling, whom he compares to Steve Blake. Also keep an eye on massive Freddy Asprilla, a junior college big man from Miami Dade. Needless to say, KSU looks loaded for battle.

Lunardi

They were responsible for some of the most riveting games in March, fighting through two overtimes against Xavier before Butler knocked them out in the Elite Eight. Now, with six of the top seven scorers returning for Frank Martin’s team, expectations for the Kansas State Wildcats are about as high as they’ve ever been. The team, a projected top-10 squad headed into the preseason, is more than aware it’s supposed to be playing for higher stakes.

“As soon as we lost to Butler, the message I sent to the team is that now is the most difficult part of becoming good,” Martin says. “We’ve made all the improvements that hard work brings — getting a step better and another step better — to get to where we are this year. Now the challenge is that we have to get a little tougher, a little stronger and take that next step as a program.”

The return of marquee guard Jacob Pullen, who led the Cats with 19.3 points per game last season, is a good chunk of the reason K-State will be favored to win the conference. But now that Denis Clemente, his stunningly quick backcourt mate, is gone, the biggest question for these Cats is whether they’ll be able to maintain the pace (they ranked 11th in scoring offense last season with 79.7 ppg) with Pullen now setting the table full time. The continued maturation of forwards Jamar Samuels, Curtis Kelly (who turned into a 15-ppg contributor in March) and Wally Judge will dictate just how soon Pullen can take this team to the top.

Welcome to campus

Freddy Asprilla, 6-foot-10, F/C
The Sun Belt’s freshman of the year at Florida International two years ago, Asprilla is a skilled big man who has a solid set of scoring moves under the rim. He’s about 10-20 pounds from being in game shape, but once his conditioning comes around, he’ll be a more-than-capable replacement for Luis Colon.

Will Spradling, 6 feet, PG
On the first possession Spradling played in open gym this summer, he stripped the ball from Samuels and set up his team for a layup. The smallish guard (he weighs about 170 pounds) is already looking to make defensive plays and can hit 3s regularly when he’s left open. That’s a good skill set for a freshman looking to break into a rotation.

Hole to fill: Point guard

Clemente was a deceptively efficient lead guard last season. His 2.13 assist-to-turnover ratio sometimes got blurred by his knack for ending possessions with an errant 3 attempt, but according to his 13.7 tempo-free turnover percentage from kenpom.com, Clemente was the most careful point guard in the Big 12 last season. That kind of steady-handed leadership and his blazing speed will be hard to replicate. But that’s not all the Wildcats are missing now that Clemente is gone. “More than that, we’re going to miss his will and just the fire and energy that he brought to everything he did,” Martin says.

[+] EnlargeJacob Pullen
Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesJacob Pullen’s return puts the Wildcats in a great position.

New role: Jacob Pullen

It’s not as if Pullen didn’t play setup man in last season’s offense. Particularly against zone defenses from Colorado and Baylor, Pullen and Clemente sometimes shared the responsibility of initiating the team’s O or breaking a press. That said, the most efficient use of both guards played to their strengths: streaky-shooting Clemente as table-setter for scoring machine Pullen (who shot 39.6 percent from 3 and 82.2 percent at the line).

Playing on the ball, Pullen has demonstrated a better-than-solid handle that shouldn’t make full-time PG duties that tough a transition. The tougher part will be serving up scoring chances for teammates and bypassing his own. So don’t expect as many 20-point scoring nights in Pullen’s senior season.

“It would be impossible for me to have the same numbers as last year,” he says. “I anticipate my scoring going down, but it’s something I’m trying to prepare myself and the team for.” When the squad splits up in open gym, Pullen has forced his defenders to double him on the screen and prepped his teammates for the looks they’ll get now that opponents will be focused on him.

Summer school

Pullen spent most of July touring hoops hot spots — putting in work at the Deron Williams point guard academy, then at LeBron James’ Nike camp before being picked up for USA Elite team that trained against the national team in Las Vegas at the end of the month. Ho-hum. After Pullen’s domestic run, Martin took his entire coaching staff, their families and the basketball office’s secretaries to the Bahamas, as the head coach worked a three-day clinic with the Bahamas Basketball Federation. Junior forward Jamar Samuels is currently on a nine-day tour of Europe with a collegiate all-star team. Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, former high school All-America Wally Judge used most of the summer to rehab from a June neck operation that alleviated irritation caused by an injury last summer. Judge got back to the court this month, working on improving his shot form 19 feet out and his jump hook.

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

If it’s any other person asking for insider, they get -10, but god forbid it’s iggy, he gets plus points.

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

If it’s any other person asking for insider, they get -10, but god forbid it’s iggy, he gets plus points.

[JNixonParticipant]

Salty?^^

Thanks for the post sammybuckeye. I appreciate it

[JNixonParticipant]

Salty?^^

Thanks for the post sammybuckeye. I appreciate it

[McDunkin]

Jnixon is one of the 5 the chosen ones thats why!

as a matter of fact ill give him a point just for waking up this morning

[McDunkin]

Jnixon is one of the 5 the chosen ones thats why!

as a matter of fact ill give him a point just for waking up this morning

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Am I a chosen one?

[Mr.Knick 32Participant]

Am I a chosen one?

[sheltwon3Participant]

Make me a chose one lol

[sheltwon3Participant]

Make me a chose one lol

[TRC1991Participant]

the 5 chosen ones are:

nomoney
iggy
daneboy
rudeboy
tezo

the rest of us are worthless peasants barely even better then the endentured servents (DNYCE, thenewkid, mr.knick, the man who knows his sh!t, etc.)

[TRC1991Participant]

the 5 chosen ones are:

nomoney
iggy
daneboy
rudeboy
tezo

the rest of us are worthless peasants barely even better then the endentured servents (DNYCE, thenewkid, mr.knick, the man who knows his sh!t, etc.)

[OrangeJuiceJonesParticipant]

I was one of the chosen ones, until that whole incident with the ice cream truck. Just for the record, I did apologize and I was found not guilty. You hear me? Not guilty.

[OrangeJuiceJonesParticipant]

I was one of the chosen ones, until that whole incident with the ice cream truck. Just for the record, I did apologize and I was found not guilty. You hear me? Not guilty.

[McDunkin]

Thank you taylor for educating them

and ojj at least you still have a chance to make it back,,,the revenge list ruined my chances forever…im like chris brown applying for a job at a womens shelter

[McDunkin]

Thank you taylor for educating them

and ojj at least you still have a chance to make it back,,,the revenge list ruined my chances forever…im like chris brown applying for a job at a womens shelter

[Author]

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