# 2007–08 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2007–08 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University in the 2007–08 college basketball season. The team was led by first-year head coach Frank Martin. The team relied on a talented crop of young players, headlined by true-freshman star Michael Beasley, the #1-ranked player in the high school class of 2007 by Rivals.com and one of the top prospects for the 2008 NBA draft.
The young team concluded the season 21–12 (10–6) and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.

## Players
### Roster

| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| | Denis Clemente$^1$ | 6' | 180 | G | Jr. | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Calusa Prep HS (Miami, FL) University of Miami |
| 0 | Jacob Pullen | 6'1" | 185 | G | Fr. | Maywood, IL, U.S. | Proviso East HS |
| 1 | Fred Brown | 6'3" | 185 | G | Fr. | West Palm Beach, FL, U.S. | Dwyer HS |
| 2 | Blake Young | 6'2" | 195 | G | Sr. | Orlando, FL, U.S. | Oak Ridge HS Daytona Beach CC |
| 4 | Andre Gilbert | 6'7" | 205 | F | Jr. | Brooklyn Park, MN, U.S. | Park Center HS South Dakota State University Mt. San Jacinto CC |
| 5 | Clent Stewart | 6'4" | 195 | G | Sr. | Tulsa, OK, U.S. | Union HS |
| 12 | Bill Walker$^2$ | 6'6" | 220 | F | Fr. | Huntington, WV, U.S. | North College Hill HS (North College Hill, OH) |
| 15 | David Hoskins$^3$ | 6'5" | 230 | F | Sr. | Canton, MI, U.S. | Salem HS Central Michigan University Schoolcraft CC |
| 21 | Jamar Samuels$^4$ | 6'8" | 200 | F | Fr. | Washington, DC, U.S. | Patterson HS (Lenoir, NC) |
| 23 | Dominique Sutton$^4$ | 6'5" | 205 | G | Fr. | Durham, NC, U.S. | Patterson HS (Lenoir, NC) |
| 30 | Michael Beasley | 6'10" | 235 | F | Fr. | Frederick, MD, U.S. | Notre Dame Prep HS (Fitchburg, MA) |
| 31 | Chris Merriewether | 6'4" | 195 | G | So. | Jacksonville, FL, U.S. | Arlington Country Day HS |
| 40 | Ron Anderson | 6'8" | 245 | F | Fr. | Upper Marlboro, MD, U.S. | McCallie HS (Chattanooga, TN) |
| 42 | Darren Kent | 6'10" | 210 | F | Jr. | Apple Valley, MN, U.S. | Eastview HS |
| 50 | Luis Colon | 6'10" | 275 | C | So. | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Krop HS (Miami, FL) |
| 51 | James Franklin | 6' | 190 | G | Sr. | Kansas City, KS, U.S. | Blue Valley West HS Cowley County CC |
$^1$Transfer, ineligible for 2007–08 season. $^2$Enrolled early to join team for Spring 2007 semester, but was injured and opted to begin freshman season in 2007–08. $^3$Will miss all of 2007–08 season with knee injury; intends to appeal to NCAA for sixth year to complete eligibility. $^4$Did not meet academic eligibility requirements to enroll for Fall 2007 semester; will complete academic coursework and join team for Spring 2008 semester.

### Incoming signees

2007 saw the Wildcats put together one of the nation's strongest signing classes, ranked 1st according to Scout.com, 2nd according to Rivals.com, and 5th according to ESPN.com. PF Beasley (Washington, D.C.) is the standout of the class, but is far from being its only talented member. The Wildcats signed two talented PGs in Fred Brown (West Palm Beach, Florida) and Jacob Pullen (Maywood, Illinois) and added SF Andre Gilbert (Brooklyn Park, Minnesota), a JUCO transfer with Division I experience. KSU signed a pair of talented players from the Patterson School in North Carolina in SF Dominique Sutton (Durham, North Carolina) and PF Jamar Samuels (Washington, D.C.). Both will attend prep school for the Fall 2007 semester to improve their grades and will join the team at the start of the Spring 2008 semester.
Though scheduled to graduate from high school in the Spring of 2007, SF Bill Walker (Huntington, West Virginia) finished high school early and enrolled at KSU for the 2007 Spring Semester and was allowed to join the team immediately in December of the 2006–07 season. However, he was injured in just his sixth game at KSU and opted to redshirt for the remainder of the season. He will resume his freshman season of eligibility in 2007–08. PF Ron Anderson (Upper Marlboro, Maryland), a long time AAU teammate of Beasley's, rounded out the class when he was offered a scholarship after a strong AAU showing in the Summer of 2007.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ron Anderson PF | Upper Marlboro, Maryland | Chattanooga (TN)-McCallie School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Aug 13, 2007 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 71 ||||||
| Michael Beasley PF | Washington, D.C. | Fitchburg (MA)-Notre Dame Prep | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Jun 23, 2006 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Fred Brown SG | West Palm Beach, Florida | Dwyer HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 26, 2006 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Andre Gilbert SF | Brooklyn Park, Minnesota | Park Center HS, South Dakota State, Mt. San Jacinto CC | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | May 9, 2007 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Jacob Pullen PG | Maywood, Illinois | Proviso East HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 23, 2006 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| Jamar Samuels PF | Washington, D.C. | Lenoir (NC)-Patterson School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 9, 2007 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NA ||||||
| Dominique Sutton SF | Durham, North Carolina | Lenoir (NC)-Patterson School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 25, 2006 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Bill Walker SF | Huntington, West Virginia | North College Hill (OH) HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 18, 2006 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NA ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1 Rivals: 2 ESPN: 5 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2007 Kansas St. Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 13, 2008. "Kansas State College Basketball Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 13, 2008. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 13, 2008. "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 13, 2008. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 3* 5:00 pm | | Fort Hays State | W 95–59 | 0–0 | Bramlage Coliseum (10,474) Manhattan, KS |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 9* 7:00 pm, FSN Midwest | No. 25 | Sacramento State | W 94–63 | 1–0 | Bramlage Coliseum (10,178) Manhattan, KS |
| November 11* 3:00 pm, FSN Midwest | No. 25 | Pittsburg State | W 76–66 | 2–0 | Bramlage Coliseum (8,373) Manhattan, KS |
| November 17* 6:00 pm | No. 22 | Western Illinois | W 77–64 | 3–0 | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| 2007 Old Spice Classic ||||||
| November 22* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | vs. George Mason | L 77–87 | 3–1 | The Milk House (3,163) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| November 23* 6:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 18 | vs. Central Florida | W 73–71 $^{OT}$ | 4–1 | The Milk House (2,903) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| November 25* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 18 | vs. Rider | W 82–69 | 5–1 | The Milk House (783) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series ||||||
| November 29* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | No. 17 Oregon | L 77–80 | 5–2 | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| 13th Annual Jimmy V Classic ||||||
| December 4* 6:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. Notre Dame | L 59–68 | 5–3 | Madison Square Garden (8,300) Manhattan, NY |
| December 9* 1:00 pm, FSN Midwest | | California | W 82–75 | 6–3 | Bramlage Coliseum (5,274) Manhattan, KS |
| K-State Holiday Classic presented by Subway ||||||
| December 17* 7:00 pm, FSN Midwest | | vs. Florida A&M | W 87–60 | 7–3 | Sprint Center (17,699) Kansas City, MO |
| December 22* 7:00 pm, FSN Midwest | | Winston-Salem State | W 90–48 | 8–3 | Bramlage Coliseum (4,495) Manhattan, KS |
| December 29* 1:00 pm, FSN Midwest | | Wagner | W 101–59 | 9–3 | Bramlage Coliseum (10,114) Manhattan, KS |
| December 31* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Xavier | L 77–103 | 9–4 | U.S. Bank Arena (5,233) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 7* 7:00 pm, FSN Midwest | | Savannah State | W 85–25 | 10–4 | Bramlage Coliseum (5,476) Manhattan, KS |
| Big 12 Regular season ||||||
| January 12 5:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | at Oklahoma | W 84–82 | 11–4 (1–0) | Noble Center (11,858) Norman, OK |
| January 19 3:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 10 Texas A&M | W 75–54 | 12–4 (2–0) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| January 23 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Colorado | W 72–56 | 13–4 (3–0) | Coors Events Center (6,992) Boulder, CO |
| January 26 5:00 pm, FSN Midwest | | Iowa State | W 82–57 | 14–4 (4–0) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| January 30 7:00 pm, ESPN Plus | No. 22 | No. 2 Kansas | W 84–75 | 15–4 (5–0) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| February 2 12:30 pm, ESPN Plus | No. 22 | at Missouri | L 74–77 | 15–5 (5–1) | Mizzou Arena (12,229) Columbia, MO |
| February 6 7:00 pm, FSN Midwest | No. 20 | Nebraska | W 74–59 | 16–5 (6–1) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,393) Manhattan, KS |
| February 9 5:00 pm, ESPN | No. 20 | Oklahoma State | W 82–61 | 17–5 (7–1) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| February 13 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | at Texas Tech | L 75–84 | 17–6 (7–2) | United Spirit Arena (7,742) Lubbock, TX |
| February 16 5:00 pm, ESPN Plus | No. 18 | Missouri | W 100–63 | 18–6 (8–2) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| February 20 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 24 | at Nebraska | L 64–71 | 18–7 (8–3) | Devaney Sports Center (9,725) Lincoln, NE |
| February 23 7:00 pm, FSN Midwest | No. 24 | at Baylor | L 86–92 | 18–8 (8–4) | Ferrell Center (8,712) Waco, TX |
| February 25 8:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 5 Texas | L 65–74 | 18–9 (8–5) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| March 1 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 6 Kansas ESPN College GameDay | L 74–88 | 18–10 (8–6) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| March 4 8:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | Colorado | W 78–72 | 19–10 (9–6) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| March 8 3:00 pm, ESPN Plus | | at Iowa State | W 73–69 | 20–10 (10–6) | Hilton Coliseum (14,134) Ames, IA |
| Phillips 66 2008 Big 12 Championship tournament ||||||
| March 14 9:20 pm, ESPN Plus | | vs. Texas A&M | L 60–63 | 20–11 | Sprint Center (18,897) Kansas City, MO |
| 2008 NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 20* 6:10 pm, CBS | | vs. USC First round | W 80–67 | 21–11 | Qwest Center (17,162) Omaha, NE |
| March 22* 3:20 pm, CBS | | vs. No. 6 Wisconsin Second round | L 55–72 | 21–12 | Qwest Center (–) Omaha, NE |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Post-season
### Big 12 tournament

The Wildcats went on to a 10–6 record in conference play, earning a number 3 seed in the 2008 Big 12 men's basketball tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The Wildcats faced the No. 6 seed Texas A&M Aggies and lost 60–63.

### NCAA tournament
#### First round

The Wildcats earned a berth in the 2008 NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region. In the first round they beat the No. 6 seed USC Trojans, 80–67. The victory over the Trojans was the Wildcats' first win in a tournament game since beating No. 1 seed Purdue, 73–70, in the Midwest Regional semifinals on March 25, 1988.

#### Second round

The Wildcats faced the Wisconsin Badgers from the Big Ten Conference in the second round and were soundly defeated, 55–72.
Michael Beasley scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his 28th double-double of the season, but he had only six after halftime.

## Statistics
### Season Box Score

* As of 3/9/08
| # | Player | GP | GS | Min | Avg | FGA | FGM | FG Pct | 3FGA | 3FGM | 3FG Pct | FTA | FTM | FT Pct | Off Reb | Def Reb | Total Reb | Avg | PF | FO | Asst | TO | Blk | Stl | Pts | Avg |
| 30 | Beasley | 30 | 30 | 940 | 31.3 | 525 | 282 | .537 | 86 | 34 | .395 | 256 | 197 | .770 | 126 | 249 | 375 | 12.5 | 76 | 1 | 36 | 88 | 50 | 40 | 795 | 26.5 |
| 12 | Walker | 28 | 25 | 752 | 26.9 | 353 | 162 | .459 | 102 | 32 | .314 | 128 | 92 | .719 | 73 | 108 | 181 | 6.5 | 90 | 2 | 51 | 74 | 17 | 27 | 448 | 16.0 |
| 0 | Pullen | 30 | 14 | 706 | 23.5 | 245 | 100 | .408 | 124 | 40 | .323 | 87 | 62 | .713 | 8 | 36 | 44 | 1.5 | 49 | 1 | 99 | 66 | 1 | 38 | 302 | 10.1 |
| 5 | Stewart | 27 | 19 | 783 | 29.0 | 176 | 60 | .341 | 93 | 28 | .301 | 57 | 41 | .719 | 32 | 49 | 81 | 3.0 | 48 | 1 | 87 | 61 | 3 | 25 | 189 | 7.0 |
| 2 | Young | 30 | 30 | 859 | 28.6 | 174 | 62 | .356 | 81 | 26 | .321 | 56 | 35 | .625 | 40 | 61 | 101 | 3.4 | 86 | 7 | 59 | 42 | 1 | 29 | 185 | 6.2 |
| 4 | Gilbert | 24 | 15 | 448 | 18.7 | 97 | 37 | .381 | 38 | 11 | .289 | 27 | 18 | .667 | 24 | 41 | 65 | 2.7 | 49 | 1 | 41 | 36 | 3 | 13 | 103 | 4.3 |
| 1 | Brown | 24 | 0 | 224 | 9.3 | 94 | 36 | .383 | 51 | 19 | .373 | 16 | 8 | .500 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 1.3 | 18 | 0 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 99 | 4.1 |
| 23 | Sutton | 16 | 5 | 222 | 13.9 | 41 | 22 | .537 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 18 | 10 | .556 | 23 | 20 | 43 | 2.7 | 29 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 54 | 3.4 |
| 40 | Anderson | 27 | 6 | 323 | 12.0 | 64 | 34 | .531 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 36 | 18 | .500 | 52 | 46 | 98 | 3.6 | 35 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 86 | 3.2 |
| 42 | Kent | 27 | 0 | 372 | 13.8 | 67 | 26 | .388 | 25 | 7 | .280 | 16 | 8 | .500 | 24 | 42 | 66 | 2.4 | 62 | 1 | 33 | 30 | 8 | 11 | 67 | 2.5 |
| 50 | Colon | 25 | 2 | 150 | 6.0 | 33 | 12 | .364 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 16 | 6 | .375 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 1.2 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 30 | 1.2 |
| 51 | Franklin | 11 | 1 | 46 | 4.2 | 10 | 3 | .300 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0.7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0.6 |
| 31 | Merriewether | 25 | 3 | 225 | 9.0 | 17 | 5 | .294 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 9 | 4 | .444 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 0.9 | 23 | 0 | 19 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 0.6 |
| Player | GP | GS | Min | Avg | FGA | FGM | FG Pct | 3FGA | 3FGM | 3FG Pct | FTA | FTM | FT Pct | Off Reb | Def Reb | Total Reb | Avg | PF | FO | Asst | TO | Blk | Stl | Pts | Avg |
| Opponents | 30 | | 6050 | | 1730 | 726 | .420 | 541 | 198 | .366 | 643 | 422 | .656 | 338 | 664 | 1002 | 33.4 | 620 | | 415 | 502 | 107 | 223 | 2072 | 69.1 |
| TEAM | 30 | | 6050 | | 1896 | 841 | .444 | 615 | 198 | .322 | 724 | 499 | .689 | 495 | 756 | 1251 | 41.7 | 608 | 14 | 480 | 468 | 108 | 232 | 2379 | 79.3 |