Print edition: 
AMES, Iowa — Jamar Samuels likes his role.
All season, the Kansas State forward has voluntarily taken himself out of the starting lineup, and says he doesn't want to be on the floor for the opening tip anytime soon.
"I feel comfortable coming off the bench," Samuels said. "I've felt that way for a long time."
While some players with his talents would rather transfer than take a back seat to five teammates, Samuels is different.
Is he superstitious? Is he trying to make a run at the Big 12's sixth man of the year award? Samuels jokes that the answer to both is yes, but his actual reasoning goes much deeper.
He sees the bench as a perfect place to be at the start of games, including today's against Iowa State. While most in the arena are focused on the starting lineup festivities, and those in the game figure out the opponents and officials, he uses that time to learn.
"The bench," Samuels said, "is very relaxing. I just sit down, watch the game and get a great feel for what's going on."
K-State coach Frank Martin said Samuels also uses that time to get his head where it needs to be.
"He's still learning how to control his emotions," Martin said. "When that game starts and he comes out of the tunnel, those emotions are just raging in his body. He doesn't know how to settle himself down before the game. He utilizes those first three or four minutes of the game to kind of relax him on the sidelines. Then he can go out there and be productive."
More often than not, Samuels has influenced games with his production.
Following a 76-57 win over Nebraska earlier this week, teammate Curtis Kelly said he knew the Wildcats were going to win because Samuels threw down a dunk 23 seconds after entering the game.
"He came out like a monster," Kelly said.
That single play gave K-State an energy boost, and Samuels scored 15 points with nine rebounds. That type of effort from Samuels has led to some of the Wildcats' best wins.
When he scores 10 or more points, they are 15-1. When he fails to reach double digits, they are 2-3. He is averaging 12.0 points and 5.1 rebounds.
No wonder Jacob Pullen refers to Samuels as a "sparkplug-type player."
"He does a great job of inserting himself well off the bench," Pullen said. "He doesn't take a lot of shots, he just inserts himself whether it be blocking shots, rebounding shots, scoring the ball, he just finds a way to do what he needs to do."
Samuels can certainly affect games in a variety of ways. At 6-foot-7, Martin plays him at the power forward and small forward positions. Martin allows him to shoot three-pointers as often he dunks.
"Jamar has the ability to score it," Martin said. "He has improved his perimeter shooting and his athleticism is pretty good. So he can kind of take advantage of bigger guys on the perimeter by being able to dribble by them and make baskets."
As career progresses, Samuels will at some point need to make the adjustment to the starting lineup. As a player with NBA potential, both he and Martin realize that.
But before Samuels hears his name called, Pullen thinks he will be known across the league as an award-winning bench player.
"He should be the sixth man of the year," Pullen said. "I don't know of any other big man who is coming off the bench and doing the things that he's doing."
