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.comMichael Beasley – Basketball Recruiting 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 #NameHeightWeight (lbs.)PositionClassHometownPrevious Team(s)Denis Clemente16'180GJr.Bayamón, Puerto RicoCalusa Prep HS (Miami, FL)University of Miami0Jacob Pullen6'1"185GFr.Maywood, IL, U.S.Proviso East HS1Fred Brown6'3"185GFr.West Palm Beach, FL, U.S.Dwyer HS2Blake Young6'2"195GSr.Orlando, FL, U.S.Oak Ridge HSDaytona Beach CC4Andre Gilbert6'7"205FJr.Brooklyn Park, MN, U.S.Park Center HSSouth Dakota State UniversityMt. San Jacinto CC5Clent Stewart6'4"195GSr.Tulsa, OK, U.S.Union HS12Bill Walker26'6"220FFr.Huntington, WV, U.S.North College Hill HS (North College Hill, OH)15David Hoskins36'5"230FSr.Canton, MI, U.S.Salem HSCentral Michigan UniversitySchoolcraft CC21Jamar Samuels46'8"200FFr.Washington, DC, U.S.Patterson HS (Lenoir, NC)23Dominique Sutton46'5"205GFr.Durham, NC, U.S.Patterson HS (Lenoir, NC)30Michael Beasley6'10"235FFr.Frederick, MD, U.S.Notre Dame Prep HS (Fitchburg, MA)31Chris Merriewether6'4"195GSo.Jacksonville, FL, U.S.Arlington Country Day HS40Ron Anderson6'8"245FFr.Upper Marlboro, MD, U.S.McCallie HS (Chattanooga, TN)42Darren Kent6'10"210FJr.Apple Valley, MN, U.S.Eastview HS50Luis Colon6'10"275CSo.Bayamón, Puerto RicoKrop HS (Miami, FL)51James Franklin6'190GSr.Kansas City, KS, U.S.Blue Valley West HSCowley County CC
1Transfer, ineligible for 2007–08 season.Denis Clemente joins Wildcat men's basketball program 2Enrolled early to join team for Spring 2007 semester, but was injured and opted to begin freshman season in 2007–08.Walker's season comes to an end with ruptured ACL 3Will miss all of 2007–08 season with knee injury; intends to appeal to NCAA for sixth year to complete eligibility. 4Did not meet academic eligibility requirements to enroll for Fall 2007 semester; will complete academic coursework and join team for Spring 2008 semester.Samuels, Sutton Join Wildcat Squad
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.) was the standout of the class but was 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 attended prep school for the Fall 2007 semester to improve their grades to 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.
Schedule
!colspan=9| Exhibition
!colspan=9| Regular season
!colspan=9| 2007 Old Spice Classic
!colspan=9| Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series
!colspan=9| 13th Annual Jimmy V Classic
!colspan=9| K-State Holiday Classic presented by Subway
!colspan=9| Big 12 Regular season
!colspan=9| Phillips 66 2008 Big 12 Championship tournament
!colspan=9|2008 NCAA tournament
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
#PlayerGPGSMinAvgFGAFGMFG Pct3FGA3FGM3FG PctFTAFTMFT PctOff RebDef RebTotal RebAvgPFFOAsstTOBlkStlPtsAvg30Beasley303094031.3525282.5378634.395256197.77012624937512.57613688504079526.512Walker282575226.9353162.45910232.31412892.719731081816.59025174172744816.00Pullen301470623.5245100.40812440.3238762.713836441.5491996613830210.15Stewart271978329.017660.3419328.3015741.7193249813.048187613251897.02Young303085928.617462.3568126.3215635.62540611013.486759421291856.24Gilbert241544818.79737.3813811.2892718.6672441652.749141363131034.31Brown2402249.39436.3835119.373168.5001121321.31801813310994.123Sutton16522213.94122.53750.0001810.5562320432.72901011419543.440Anderson27632312.06434.53100.0003618.5005246983.6350141369863.242Kent27037213.86726.388257.280168.5002442662.46213330811672.550Colon2521506.03312.36400.000166.3751217291.236061371301.251Franklin111464.2103.30041.25020.0003580.770730470.631Merriewether2532259.0175.29460.00094.4441112230.9230191556140.6 PlayerGPGSMinAvgFGAFGMFG Pct3FGA3FGM3FG PctFTAFTMFT PctOff RebDef RebTotal RebAvgPFFOAsstTOBlkStlPtsAvgOpponents3060501730726.420541198.366643422.656338664100233.4620415502107223207269.1TEAM3060501896841.444615198.322724499.689495756125141.760814480468108232237979.3
References