Kansas.com: K-State Wildcats

Freeman has new targets

JEFFREY MARTIN — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Year three for Josh Freeman is one of change.

The K-State junior quarterback is tending to the little things, such as progressions, footwork and reads. He watches film of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, seeking nuances he can call his own.

And after the departure of All-American receiver Jordy Nelson to the NFL, the onus of sustaining the Wildcats' aerial assault falls on Freeman's powerful but streamlined right arm. He's down to 240 pounds after weighing a muscular 270 last summer, before he threw for a school-record 499 times and 3,353 yards last season.

"It's his time," K-State coach Ron Prince said. "It's his team."

Freeman reflected Tuesday at Big 12 media days on his last two seasons, especially when he was thrust into the starting lineup as a freshman. He took over at QB for the Wildcats' final eight games in 2006, when they finished 7-6 with a Texas Bowl loss. K-State dropped to 5-7 last season, but Freeman did help the Wildcats to a second straight victory over a top-10 Texas team, this time on the road.

Dold may be in Wildcats' offense

JEFFREY MARTIN — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Leon Patton's indefinite suspension for an early July arrest on outstanding warrants for theft and failure to appear, is unresolved.

But Kansas State coach Ron Prince offered a few other names Tuesday as running back replacements, one in particular that was originally designated for defense.

Logan Dold starred at Garden Plain High, running for 2,388 yards and 49 touchdowns in his senior season to lead the Owls to their first state title. During his career, Dold totaled 7,144 yards, second in state history.

But even he thought he'd be playing safety at K-State. He said as much repeatedly during the spring.

Not so, Prince said Tuesday.

BOWLING

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:40 CDT

Three Wichita State bowlers have been named to Junior Team USA. Senior Ricki Williams will make her second consecutive appearance on Junior Team USA as will incoming freshman Geoffrey Young. Junior Brent Bowers earned his first selection.

BASKETBALL

Jia Perkins scored 15 points to lead five players in double figures and the Chicago Sky beat Connecticut 73-65 on Friday night, sending the Sun to their fifth straight loss.... Sheryl Swoopes scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Seattle's win over Indiana.

• Oklahoma City has signed restricted free agent guard C.J. Miles to an offer sheet. Miles current team, the Utah Jazz, has seven days to match the multiyear offer.

BOXING

K-State could get matchup vs. Huggins

JEFFREY MARTIN — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:40 CDT

Kansas State might face a former coach during Thanksgiving weekend.

The dates and times of this year's Las Vegas Invitational, of which K-State will be a participant, were announced Friday. The Wildcats will face Kentucky in the third round Nov. 28 at the Orleans Arena at 11 p.m. on ESPNU.

The winner will face the winner of Iowa and West Virginia, which is led by Bob Huggins, in the championship game the next day at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The losers will meet at 6:30 p.m.

K-State is accepting tickets requests for the event immediately. All tickets are sold in reserved all-session packages, which covers eight games in two days. Seats behind K-State's bench will be available -- donors to the Ahearn Scholarship Fund will have priority on these tickets, priced at $136. Fans wishing to order can do so at the ticket office at Bramlage Coliseum, or by calling (800) 221-CATS or by visiting www.k-statesports.com.

All-session tickets, which are also available at $94, $115, $136 and $168, can also be purchased through Orleans Arena by calling (702) 284-7777 or by going to www.orleansarena.com.

Beasley singes Bulls in summer debut

TIM REYNOLDS — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:42 CDT

Michael Beasley stood in the doorway to the gym an hour before gametime, iPod in his left hand, head bobbing slightly as he chatted with new Miami Heat teammate Mario Chalmers.

He was the picture of cool.

On the court, the Kansas State star's demeanor didn't change much.

If Beasley was the tiniest bit anxious about his first pro outing -- one that came against the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose, the player selected before him in last month's NBA draft -- he hid the nerves perfectly. Beasley scored 28 points in 23 minutes, lifting Miami past Chicago 94-70 on Monday in the Orlando summer league.

It was the ninth-highest scoring performance in Orlando summer league history, and true to form, Beasley wasn't impressed.

K-State's Patton arrested on outstanding warrants

JEFFREY MARTIN — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:42 CDT

Kansas State junior running back Leon Patton was arrested early Monday in Manhattan on outstanding warrants for theft and failure to appear.

According to Riley County Police Lt. Kurt Moldrup, Patton was issued a citation for driving with a suspended license during a traffic stop at 2:14 a.m. He was found to have a warrant issued in Pottawatomie County for a Nov. 30, 2007 theft. The failure to appear charge was for an unpaid parking ticket in Manhattan.

Patton, who ran for 390 yards and four touchdowns in 2007, is expected to be the starting running back for the Wildcats in 2008.

Coach Ron Prince did not comment. K-State sports information director Kenny Lannou said the matter would be handled internally and not until the legal process had runs its course.

Felix cruises as trials reach the finish line

EDDIE PELLS — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:42 CDT

Allyson Felix felt no final-day pressure at U.S. Olympic track and field trials. She's just that good.

Wallace Spearmon, Jenn Stuczynski and Marshevet Hooker are good, too, but all had to endure their share of bumps, bruises and thumping hearts before their Olympic trips were sewn up Sunday.

The day after Tyson Gay's untimely fall reminded everyone there are no sure things in track, the two sprinters and the pole vaulter worked harder than anyone might have imagined to make it to Beijing.

Spearmon, thought to be a shoo-in in the men's 200, needed a late burst to finish third.

Stuczynski set the American record in the pole vault at 16 feet, 1 ¾ inches, but only after she missed on her first two jumps at her opening height and needed an emotion-draining third and final attempt to keep her chances alive.

Kansas runner leaps into American racing lore

JEFFREY MARTIN — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:17 CDT

His cell phone hasn't stopped ringing.

Congratulatory bouquets and balloons are still being delivered to his parents' house in Garfield. He signed autographs for a hour and a half the other day, and details regarding his early August flight to China should be arriving any moment now.

All because Christian Smith took a dive.

Maybe that's far too simplistic, perhaps too flippant, to describe what Smith, a former Kansas State middle distance star, accomplished late Monday night at the Olympic Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. What happened -- Smith barely beating 2004 Olympian Khadevis Robinson for a third-place, 1:45.47 finish and a U.S. berth to Beijing as both literally vaulted across the finish line in the 800 -- was not only the realization of a lifelong dream, but also redemption.

There was a time, just last year, when Smith, who won the 2006 NCAA indoor mile championship while at K-State, doubted any of this was possible. At the start of 2007, his appendix burst. Four months later, 20 pounds had melted from his lithe, 160-something pound frame, and he wasn't running.

Snyder, Wefald will enter Kansas State Hall together

JEFFREY MARTIN — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

This one makes almost too much sense.

Jon Wefald and Bill Snyder, the two men responsible for the rise of Kansas State football, will be inducted into the athletic department's Hall of Fame during the weekend of Sept. 27, when the Wildcats will host Louisiana-Lafayette at Snyder Family Stadium.

Wefald, the K-State president, hired Snyder, the legendary coach, Nov. 30, 1988. Football in Manhattan, a laughingstock for too long, was never the same.

The president became the school's No. 1 fan, using athletics as the platform to raise the visibility of the school's advancements in the classroom.

Snyder won 136 games and was national coach of the year three times (1991, 1994 and 1998).

K-State's kid goes all pro

JEFFREY MARTIN — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 03:35 CDT

Last call was 11:30 p.m., which is unheard of in this, the city that supposedly never sleeps.

Then again, it shouldn't have been an issue late Thursday night, in the moments after Kansas State's Michael Beasley was chosen No. 2 in the NBA Draft. To be sure, years and years of hard work culminating in a new professional world -- well, who wouldn't celebrate that?

Problem was, Beasley and most of his high-profile peers -- it was the first time that three college freshmen were picked 1-2-3 -- are just 19.

None are legal, although Thursday guaranteed all are now millionaires.

So it made sense for a party to be held at the ESPN Zone in Times Square, the perfect family-friendly compromise. A bar, but a sports bar. Enough of the normal distractions (booze, members of the opposite sex) but in a controlled (invite-only for about 120 people), somewhat sanitized setting.

DRAFT AFTERMATH

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:43 CDT

The NBA Draft turned into a tradeathon Thursday and Friday. Here's what pick each player from Kansas and Kansas State was taken, and what team he finally landed with:

2. Michael Beasley, Miami

13. Brandon Rush, Indiana

27. Darrell Arthur, Memphis

34. Mario Chalmers, Miami

Beasley goes to Miami with second pick

JEFFREY MARTIN — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:25 CDT

The maturity-challenged prankster, the kid with the alleged character issues was smiling Thursday, as usual. But it was a nervous smile that graced Michael Beasley's face.

Turns out this entire NBA Draft process, which culminated in the Miami Heat's anticlimactic selection of the Kansas State freshman forward with the No. 2 pick, rattled the somewhat unflappable (or is it aloof?) Beasley.

He tossed and turned Wednesday night in his sleep. He admitted he was feeling a little anxious Thursday inside the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Even the presence of dozens of children and adults alike in white shirts with D.C. Assault -- his AAU organization -- on the front and his name and jersey number at K-State -- right now, 30 is taken by Heat reserve center Earl Barron -- on the back, all shouting his name, did little to calm him.

"This is crazy, man," he said. "Crazy."

Was it, though? The moment may have been unreal, but this is exactly what Beasley said he, No. 1 choice Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo -- picks 1-2-3, the first time three college freshmen have been selected at the top of the draft -- predicted would happen when they battled during the summer on the AAU circuit.

Beasley to learn NBA destiny tonight

JEFFREY MARTIN — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:19 CDT

He arrived in the Big Apple this week via train, and Michael Beasley and his family are hoping tonight doesn't resemble a train wreck.

It's certain the Kansas State freshman forward will be one of the top choices in tonight's NBA Draft. But where Beasley is selected remains a mystery, only clouded by an ESPN.com report Wednesday that insisted the Miami Heat, owner of the No. 2 pick, is strongly considering Southern California guard O.J. Mayo.

The story said Heat president Pat Riley "seems to be uncomfortable with his (Beasley's) personality and seems dead set on finding a point guard to pair in the backcourt with Dwyane Wade."

Once thought to be a so-called lock for the top spot, Beasley has likely surrendered that slot, which belongs to Chicago, to Memphis guard Derrick Rose, a Windy City native. And now, if Wednesday's reports are true, how much farther will Beasley's stock dip?

On Wednesday, Beasley told reporters that he hadn't visited with Heat officials since last week. Mayo and former Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless worked out for Miami on Tuesday, the Miami Herald reported.