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K-State misses on APR

Below-standard score on Academic Progress Rate will cost Wildcats one men's basketball scholarship next season.

Eagle staff, wire reports

Two junior-college signees and a midseason addition comprise Kansas State's 2008-09 men's basketball recruiting class. And, based on the penalties from Tuesday's NCAA Academic Progress Rate, more help likely isn't on the way.

K-State received a 880 score, meaning the program will lose one of 13 scholarships next season.

APR is a calculation meant to measure the success of athletes in the classroom and the progress made toward graduation. A team is subject to scholarship penalties if its APR is less than 925 and if an underclassman leaves school the previous school year while in poor academic standing.

Tuesday's formal announcement of the signings of Buchi Awaji and Abdul Herrera -- coupled with the presence of Jamar Samuels, a 6-foot-8 forward who joined the Wildcats in December but redshirted -- suggest K-State's class is complete.

Awaji, a 6-foot-3 guard from Citrus College in Glendora, Calif., and Herrera, a 6-11 center from Hutchinson Community College, slide into the scholarships vacated by senior guards Blake Young and Clent Stewart. And Samuels, who was promised a scholarship for 2008-09, takes the one left behind by freshman Michael Beasley.

With senior David Hoskins' status still unclear and freshman Bill Walker undecided regarding his NBA Draft plans, Tuesday's news has to account for one of those scholarships, which means one -- or both -- won't be back next season.

Unless there are defections, which would free more spots, although all is quiet on that front.

Awaji averaged 16.5 points and 4.9 rebounds for Citrus, which won the inaugural California Community College Athletic Association title last season.

Most importantly to K-State, Awaji made 40 percent of his three-point attempts.

Herrera's numbers -- 6.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks -- were in 12.9 minutes per game at Hutch.

An original Cincinnati commitment out of South Miami (Fla.) High, he spent a redshirt year with the Bearcats before playing one season at South Carolina-Aiken, a Division II school.

Kansas -- The Jayhawks announced in March that the football program's APR score would fall below the 925 minimum and that two scholarships would be eliminated in 2008.

KU football had a four-year academic progress rate of 919 and had two players leave the program during the 2006-07 school year who were not in good academic standing.

The combination of the two cost the Jayhawks their scholarships.

Wichita State -- Men's golf is WSU's only sport that does not meet the 925 minimum. Golf, however, is a sport eligible for a squad-size adjustment because of its small roster. The adjustment exempts the sport from penalty.

Men's basketball's APR of 944 ranks it within the 60-70th percentile in the sport. Baseball's APR of 958 is in the same percentile for the sport.

The women's basketball APR of 970 ranks in the 50th-60th percentile. Volleyball is WSU's highest-ranked sport. Its APR of 985 is in the 70-80th percentile.

Oklahoma State -- Quick roster turnover helped Oklahoma State's women's basketball team go from the bottom of the Big 12 to the NCAA Tournament. Now it will cost the Cowgirls a scholarship.

The NCAA ruled Tuesday that Oklahoma State can award only 14 scholarships in women's basketball next season, instead of the usual 15, because the program failed to meet APR standards.

Associate athletic director Marilyn Middlebrook said the low APR was a result of several players departing when coach Kurt Budke was hired and that all players who remained either graduated or are moving toward their degrees. Five of the 13 players on the Cowgirls' roster for Julie Goodenough's final season as coach did not return when Budke took over prior to the 2006-07 season.

Nationally -- Nearly 150 teams face potential scholarship losses and another 26 are on the brink of a postseason ban because of poor APR scores.

Overall scores improved by four points since the NCAA began collecting data in 2003. Scores are also up in 26 of 29 sports over the last four years, and fewer teams were penalized than even NCAA officials expected last year. One reason was the substantial academic improvement made by baseball and football players.

More than 700 of the 6,272 Division I teams fell short of the mandated cut score of 925 to avoid penalties, and 218 were assessed punishments ranging from warning letters to reductions in practice times. Some were granted waivers while others showed enough improvement to avoid penalties.

But the 26 teams that have now scored less than 900 in two consecutive years must improve now. A third consecutive score below 900 would keep them out of NCAA tournaments in 2009-10, and a fourth straight year on the list could lead to having Division I status revoked.

Contributing: Jeffrey Martin, Rick Plumlee and Paul Suellentrop of The Eagle; Associated Press.