K-state Basketball has arrived!

For those of you that know me, you will know that I am a huge Basketball fan. Through the desert months that are summer sports I kept myself alive by digging up any basketball info that I could find. I frequented forums, ESPN, obscure newspaper articles, anything to get my fix. Well now that the season has started I can gorge myself again on KSU goodness.

To start off, lets cover some summer events. Over the summer, KSU jumped from a lowly 7th place to 3rd in the nation! Frank Martin was voted the big 12 coach of the year, and KSU was voted by the coaches to be the best in the Big 12. In the summer, the only basketball news to be found is on the recruiting front. Newcomers such as Freddy Asprilla, Nino Williams, Will Spradling, Juevol Miles, and Shane Southwell created some excitement. All hope was given up on a recruit named Devon Peterson until he was declared as a walk-on a week or so before the season opener. For some background, he transferred here 2 years ago, but never made it onto the team.

The real excitement of the season comes from team leaders Jacob Pullen, Curtis Kelley, Jamar Samuels and Wally Judge. Jake has been getting all sorts of awards including preseason first team All-American.

My favorite player has yet to be named so I will give a shout out. It's Rodney McGruder. He is the guard that I think will play opposite of Jake the most often during the season. The frontcourt is going to be strong this year, but the only question lies in who will take over the spot of quickster Denny Clemente.

Well I have been waiting since march for this day to come. KSU basketball has officially started against powerhouse the Newman Jets. (not really). And now some thoughts from that game.

*KSU looked kind of raw in the game, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. These early games are scheduled so that the players and coaches can make adjustments before serious competition comes along.

* I was unsure about Freddy Asprilla. He was given a lot of hype in the preseason, but after watching last nights game, I think I like him. He has some work to do, but he has the size and power to be a good substitute.

* Will Spradling was impressive. He may not be as fast as Denny, but he handled the ball well and ran the point. For the first game as a freshman, he was focused.

* Wally Judge did not play well. Sure he had the second amount of point with 13, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere.

*Jen's favorite player is Martavious Irving. Should be a solid player.

* I was impressed with Henriquez. He is still very skinny, and he made some mistakes, but by Big 12 play, I think he can be a good substitute.

Well for all of you that made it to the end of my blog, I thank you. I know if you are not as insane about basketball as I am, it may not be so much fun! I look forward to keeping you all up to date of Basketball and our lives!