Kansas State Basketball: The Time Has Come

Cameron Banning — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:15:42 -0400

It was a rainy night outside the Sprint Center, and Kansas State was taking on Texas A&M inside the brand new arena in downtown Kansas City.

Many Purple Pride K-State fans made the two-hour journey to Kansas City. But where was the fight? Where was the will?

Maybe it was there, but it sure didn’t show. K-State lost 63-60 to go one-an- done in the Big 12 Tournament.

Stop the depressing music, and insert the Wabash Cannonball. The Wildcats have not been in the NCAA Tournament since 1996, and have been through some extremely rough times, but a new era has begun, and it’s all thanks to one man—Frank Martin.

Michael Beasley is the reason for K-State’s turnaround, or is he?

Martin has been able to take a freshman talented team and turn them into family—and notch a win over the Kansas Jayhawks.

I mean what a year, you have the most talked about freshman in Beasley and then throw in a win over you rival, finally, on your home court, and you finish third in the tough Big 12 Conference. Could it get any better?

Well indeed it has, because K-State is back in the NCAA Tournament as the No. 11 seed in the Midwest region in Omaha, Nebraska. How convenient for your trip back after a long absence to the NCAA Tournament to be so close to your hometown—it truly is a wonderful thing.

K-State will take on USC at 6:10 and the place should be packed with purple. Like it or not K-State basketball is back—and now they enter their 23rd NCAA tournament as a freshman team waiting to let out all they have on the Trojans.

Kansas State Basketball: All They Have Been Through

Cameron Banning — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:29:42 -0400

Kansas State University is located in the heart of Manhattan Kansas, a small town surrounded by the flint hills. It truly is a wonderful place to live. It's not Kansas City or Wichita, but it's Manhattan, home of the Wildcats, and they are loved by their community.

K-state is mostly known for football and the glory days of Ahearn Fieldhouse and Kansas State basketball, but times change and they have more than ever this year. This year K-state basketball is one of the most talked about programs—and, well, football lost to KU at home....ouch.

But the reason for K-state being on the national stage is Micheal Beasley, the best player in college basketball. I love the quote by K-State head coach Frank Martin about his star player being the best in the country,"You take Mike Beasley and his stats and put him in a North Carolina uniform. You take Tyler Hansbrough and his stats and put him in our uniform, Who gets the award?" Frank Martin—you, my man, are dead on.

In 1998, there was a guy named Ricky Williams from Texas, and there was a guy named Micheal Bishop, from K-state. Ricky won the Heisman, Bishop got second, and in my opinion it was all about that "TEXAS" that was on the front of his jersey that won him that award. I expect the same this year.

Beasley has better numbers than Kevin Durrant had last year (He won NOPY). But this year is different, and their reason for voting against the most talented freshman to step on the college floor, "Tyler Hansbrough shows up in big games"....Beasley had 39 points against fifth-ranked KU, but who is KU? K-state is known for getting snubbed, and this year looks the same.

But who cares? We (K-state fans) love this team, we love this coach, we love our University and we are all family. Kansas State is a special place, we have been through it all, and we have now figured out, all we can do is just cheer.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Cameron Banning

Kansas State Basketball: The Time Has Come

Kansas State Basketball: All They Have Been Through