It's like January again

The Wichita Eagle

March 21, 2008

Watch out.

Kansas State recaptured some magic Thursday night, 'upsetting' No. 6 seed Southern California in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional.

Notice the quotation marks. They're there because it wasn't an upset at all. K-State, seeded 11th, whipped the Trojans from start to finish, except for a USC flurry in the second half that gave the Trojans a brief one-point lead and false hope.

After an O.J. Mayo steal and layup gave Southern Cal only its second lead, 49-48 with 12:40 remaining, K-State went on a big run to take back control. And here's the really good part. It wasn't all about star freshman Michael Beasley or his main sidekick, Bill Walker.

Don't get me wrong, they were good -- 45 points and 16 rebounds worth of good. But the difference in this K-State team and the one that had lost six of its past nine games was Ron Anderson. And Jacob Pullen. And Clent Stewart. And Dominique Sutton. And Blake Young. And Andre Gilbert.

This was a team, not a 2-on-5 hodge-podge. The Wildcats played like the club that won 12 of 14 games during a two-month stretch and raised hopes that it could do some serious damage in the NCAAs. If you choose to trust that Thursday night's performance signals a turnaround, then strap on your seat belts because this could be a wild ride.

A team with Beasley, Walker and an able and productive supporting cast is dangerous to Wisconsin, Duke, Memphis, Kansas, North Carolina, the Boston Celtics, the Showtime Lakers and the Harlem Globetrotters.

The Wildcats are an 11 seed in number only when they play the way they played Thursday. They were proficient. They defended. And, best of all, they did it as a unit.

The 6-foot-9 Anderson, a freshman, received some major minutes after Beasley was called for two early fouls. He made them count with 10 points and eight rebounds, six off the offensive glass. It was big time on the big stage.

Pullen, also a freshman, has had the kinds of ups and downs you feel when you bungee jump. Against USC, he had 11 points and five assists and was a floor general.

Gilbert and Sutton were the two main defenders of the Trojans' star freshman, O.J. Mayo, and while he scored 20 points, he needed 16 shots. Sutton also contributed six points. Yes, he's also a freshman.

Meanwhile, senior guards Stewart and Young contributed in different ways.

Stewart made two big three-point shots, had three assists and two steals. Young made his biggest contribution on the backboards with seven rebounds.

After USC's Dwight Lewis hit a three-pointer with 11:43 left, pulling the Trojans to within a point, K-State went on a 15-5 run to push its lead to 69-58. Twelve of those points were scored by players not named Beasley or Walker.

'That's why we've grown as a team, that's where our depth comes in,' K-State coach Frank Martin said.

Martin, in case you haven't noticed, isn't a calm guy. And he was nearly as intense answering questions during the postgame news conference as he was on the sideline.

'I do a lot of ranting and raving, but it's no different than raising a child,' he said. 'We've got seven freshmen out there. Seven. And the difference between seniors and freshmen is consistency.'

Martin pointed out how the Wildcats lack senior leadership. David Hoskins could have provided it, but he's been out all season with a knee injury. Stewart could have provided it, but he wasn't around for practice early and he suffered the loss of his mother, Vanessa, to cancer last month.

'Let's be honest here, who showed our freshmen the way?' Martin said. 'Our freshmen had to learn by just being in front of people. They didn't have those seniors to kind of help them understand how the thing goes and it's to our guys' credit that they've stayed the course. They keep believing in each other.'

George Mason was an 11 seed two years ago, when the Patriots made their memorable run to the Final Four. Only one other 11 seed has made it to the Final Four -- LSU in 1986.

You might think it's silly to start talking about the Final Four after just one tournament win. And you might be right.

Then again, you might not. If the Wildcats can string together some consistency, and not rely solely on Beasley and Walker, anything is possible.

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