# 2008–09 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University in the 2008–09 college basketball season. The Wildcats, led by second-year head coach Frank Martin, played their home games at Bramlage Coliseum.

## Pre-season

The 2007–08 season was a successful one for the Wildcats. They returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996. 2007–08 was also the first season for head coach Frank Martin. Michael Beasley and Bill Walker led the team in scoring and nearly every other offensive category. They were also both drafted, marking the first time since 1990 that a Wildcat was drafted (Steve Henson was the last). It was also the first time since 1982 that more than one Wildcat was drafted (Tyrone Adams, Randy Reed and Ed Nealy.

## Regular season

Kansas State became just the second school in Big 12 history (after Iowa State in 2004–05) to rally from an 0–4 start to get back to at least .500 in conference play. The previous best finish after such a start came in 1983–84 when K-State finished Big Eight play with a 5–9 mark.
The Wildcats finished the conference season in a tie for fourth place with a 9–7 record in the Big 12 and a 21–10 record overall. They earned the number four seed in the 2009 Big 12 men's basketball tournament. 2008–09 marks the third consecutive year that the team earned one of the top 4 spots in the tournament, and thus received a first round bye.

## Incoming signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Buchi Awaji SG | Glendora, California | Los Angeles-Loyola H.S. | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 25, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Abdul Herrera C | Washington, D.C. | Miami-Hutchinson C.C. | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Apr 23, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| 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: "Kansas State 2008 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 10, 2008. "2008 Kansas State Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 10, 2008. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 10, 2008. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 10, 2008. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/09/2008* 2:00 pm | Washburn | W 81–57 | – | Bramlage Coliseum (7,733) Manhattan, KS |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/14/2008* 7:00 pm, FSKC | Florida A&M | W 96–57 | 1–0 | Bramlage Coliseum (9,070) Manhattan, KS |
| 11/16/2008* 2:00 pm | SE Missouri State | W 88–68 | 2–0 | Bramlage Coliseum (8,109) Manhattan, KS |
| 11/19/2008* 7:00 pm, FSKC | Emporia State | W 82–60 | 3–0 | Bramlage Coliseum (8,083) Manhattan, KS |
| 11/22/2008* 6:00 pm | at Cleveland State | W 69–59 | 4–0 | Wolstein Center (2,827) Cleveland, OH |
| 11/25/2008* 7:00 pm, FSKC | Oakland | W 83–64 | 5–0 | Bramlage Coliseum (8,356) Manhattan, KS |
| 11/28/2008* 11:00 pm, ESPNU | vs. Kentucky Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational | L 72–74 | 5–1 | Orleans Arena (5,000) Paradise, Nevada |
| 11/29/2008* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | vs. Iowa Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational | L 63–65 | 5–2 | Orleans Arena (2,000) Paradise, NV |
| 12/07/2008* 7:30 pm, FSN | at Oregon Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series | L 70–75 | 5–3 | McArthur Court (8,256) Eugene, OR |
| 12/11/2008* 7:00 pm, FSKC | vs. Southern Miss | W 74–55 | 6–3 | Sprint Center (6,054) Kansas City, MO |
| 12/14/2008* 6:00 pm | Gardner–Webb | W 107–48 | 7–3 | Bramlage Coliseum (8,112) Manhattan, KS |
| 12/20/2008* 1:00 pm | Centenary | W 73–51 | 8–3 | Bramlage Coliseum (8,861) Manhattan, KS |
| 12/30/2008* 7:00 pm, FSKC | Wagner | W 82–53 | 9–3 | Bramlage Coliseum (7,304) Manhattan, KS |
| 01/03/2009* 1:00 pm, FSKC | Idaho State | W 83–57 | 10–3 | Bramlage Coliseum (7,446) Manhattan, KS |
| 01/05/2009* 7:00 pm, FSKC | Chicago State | W 99–68 | 11–3 | Bramlage Coliseum (5,381) Manhattan, KS |
| 01/10/2009 12:30 pm, B12N | No. 6 Oklahoma | L 53–61 | 11–4 (0–1) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| 01/13/2009 7:00 pm, B12N | at Kansas Sunflower Showdown | L 71–87 | 11–5 (0–2) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| 01/17/2009 5:00 pm, B12N | at Nebraska | L 51–73 | 11–6 (0–3) | Devaney Sports Center (11,736) Lincoln, NE |
| 01/21/2009 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | Baylor | L 65–84 | 11–7 (0–4) | Bramlage Coliseum (9,386) Manhattan, KS |
| 01/24/2009 5:00 pm, B12N | at Colorado | W 77–75 $^{OT}$ | 12–7 (1–4) | Coors Events Center (6,061) Boulder, CO |
| 01/28/2009 8:00 pm, FSKC | Missouri | W 88–72 | 13–7 (2–4) | Bramlage Coliseum (9,665) Manhattan, KS |
| 01/31/2009 3:00 pm, B12N | at No. 11 Texas | W 85–81 $^{OT}$ | 14–7 (3–4) | Frank Erwin Center (13,186) Austin, TX |
| 02/03/2009 7:10 pm, FSKC | Iowa State | W 65–50 | 15–7 (4–4) | Bramlage Coliseum (9,489) Manhattan, KS |
| 02/07/2009 3:00 pm, B12N | at Texas A&M | W 65–60 | 16–7 (5–4) | Reed Arena (10,367) College Station, TX |
| 02/11/2009 8:00 pm, ESPNU | Texas Tech | W 85–73 | 17–7 (6–4) | Bramlage Coliseum (9,941) Manhattan, KS |
| 02/14/2009 2:30 pm, ABC | No. 16 Kansas Sunflower Showdown | L 74–85 | 17–8 (6–5) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| 02/17/2009* 7:00 pm | North Carolina Central | W 95–49 | 18–8 (6–5) | Bramlage Coliseum (7,681) Manhattan, KS |
| 02/21/2009 5:00 pm, FSKC | at Iowa State | W 50–46 | 19–8 (7–5) | Hilton Coliseum (11,922) Ames, IA |
| 02/25/2009 8:00 pm, ESPNU | at No. 11 Missouri | L 74–94 | 19–9 (7–6) | Mizzou Arena (14,825) Columbia, MO |
| 02/28/2009 7:00 pm, B12N | Nebraska | W 77–72 | 20–9 (8–6) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| 03/03/2009 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | at Oklahoma State | L 71–77 | 20–10 (8–7) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (12,106) Stillwater, OK |
| 03/07/2009 12:30 pm, B12N | Colorado | W 76–64 | 21–10 (9–7) | Bramlage Coliseum (10,152) Manhattan, KS |
| Phillips 66 Big 12 tournament ||||||
| 03/12/2009 2:00 pm, B12N | vs. Texas Quarterfinals | L 58–61 | 21–11 | Ford Center (14,909) Oklahoma City, OK |
| 2009 NIT tournament ||||||
| 03/18/2009* 7:00 pm | Illinois State First Round | W 83–79 $^{OT}$ | 22–11 | Bramlage Coliseum (8,130) Manhattan, KS |
| 03/20/2009* 8:30 pm | at San Diego State Second Round | L 52–70 | 22–12 | Cox Arena (5,100) San Diego, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| 0 | Jacob Pullen | 6'0" | 200 | G | So. | Maywood, IL, U.S. | Proviso East HS |
| 1 | Fred Brown | 6'2" | 190 | G | So. | West Palm Beach, FL, U.S. | Dwyer HS |
| 13 | Justin Werner | 6'3" | 190 | G | Fr. | Topeka, KS, U.S. | Washburn Rural HS |
| 15 | Luis Colon | 6'10" | 265 | C | Jr. | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Krop HS (Miami, FL) |
| 21 | Denis Clemente | 6'1" | 175 | G | Jr. | Bayamón, Puerto Rico | Calusa Prep HS (Miami, FL) University of Miami |
| 23 | Dominique Sutton | 6'5" | 210 | G | So. | Durham, NC, U.S. | Patterson HS (Lenoir, NC) |
| 24 | Curtis Kelly | 6'8" | 250 | F | Jr. | New York, NY, U.S. | Rice HS University of Connecticut |
| 25 | Buchi Awaji | 6'3" | 185 | G | Jr. | Los Angeles, CA, U.S. | Loyola HS Florida International University Citrus College |
| 31 | Chris Merriewether | 6'3" | 210 | G | Jr. | Jacksonville, FL, U.S. | Arlington Country Day HS |
| 32 | Jamar Samuels | 6'7" | 215 | F | Fr. | Washington, DC, U.S. | Patterson HS (Lenoir, NC) |
| 33 | Victor Ojeleye | 6'6" | 225 | F | Fr. | Ottawa, KS, U.S. | Patterson HS (Lenoir, NC) |
| 40 | Ron Anderson | 6'8" | 255 | F | So. | Upper Marlboro, MD, U.S. | McCallie HS (Chattanooga, TN) |
| 42 | Darren Kent | 6'11" | 230 | F | Sr. | Apple Valley, MN, U.S. | Eastview HS |