My wildly enthusiastic about the Wildcats brother-in-law managed to name drop Jacob Pullen and Bill Walker during various Christmas Day conversations. Fortunately, I managed to steer clear of a Michael Beasley reference though I could feel one coming on.
While those star players had a lot to do with reviving Kansas State basketball, they have all since departed Manhattan. They didn’t, however, take the wins with them.
The Wildcats took care of Long Beach State 77-60 in the Diamond Head Classic championship game Sunday evening to improve to 11-1. The only blemish came in double overtime to West Virginia in Wichita.
Whereas it was obvious who the best player on Kansas State was the past few seasons, K-State fans might have trouble agreeing on who is the top player on this year’s squad.
Jamar Samuels? He leads the team with 12.1 points per game, is third in rebounds with 56 heading into the Long Beach State game and provides experience.
Will Spradling? He’s tied for second in scoring and has been excellent (17 for 40) from 3-point land. He also has taken 14 charges.
Thomas Gipson? He also is tied for second in scoring at 11.2 points per game and leads the Wildcats with 71 rebounds. He was the first freshmen since Beasley to record a double-double, which he did against George Washington and West Virginia.
Rodney McGruder? He’s averaging just shy of 11 points a game and is capable of getting hot, such as the 28 he poured in against Long Beach State or when he went for 22 against Texas last season on Big Monday.
Then there’s Angel Rodriguez, who scored a career high 17 Thursday against Southern Illinois on five 3-pointers Thursday and then came back for 16 against UTEP Friday. And Jordan Henriquez, who leads the team in blocks and came up huge in a win over No. 21 Alabama Dec. 17 in Kansas City.
All six are strong players, but not the type of talents the Wildcats had in Beasley, Walker and Pullen. And that could end up being a good thing.
While star power may have something to do with how often you get on ESPN, it doesn’t necessarily translate into wins. When expectations soared last season, K-State plummeted. It was only when the team was left for the vultures did they start playing well.
Pullen had some sensational games last year, but there were a few times when he tried to do too much. And opposing teams knew it.
This year seven players average six or more points and five average four or more rebounds per game. No more than 1.2 points separates the team’s leading scorer with the No. 4 scorer. The Wildcats have had four different leading scorers and leading rebounders while six players have led or tied in assists.
I’m no expert, but to me game-planning to stop one guy is easier than trying to stop six potential weapons.
While Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Alabama and Long Beach State are good teams, it can be argued neither of the four are as good as some Big 12 teams, particularly Missouri, Baylor and Kansas.
We’ll quickly know more about whether this no-star approach works as the Wildcats visit Allen Fieldhouse Jan. 4 and then host Mizzou and Baylor. But so far K-State is playing better than its sixth place projection in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll.
Coach Frank Martin deserves credit for getting the most out of his players in the non-conference part of the schedule. Ironically, he may be the program’s biggest star. ESPN may have to hype Martin rather than the six good, but not limelight-grabbing players.