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Martin Excited to Coach Current Crop of WildcatsFriday, September 23, 2011By Jon RothsteinMSG.comFrank Martin doesn't mince words.If he's hungry, he'll ask the nearest place to get a quality meal.If he doesn't agree with a call, he'll find the nearest official and voice his opinion.And when Martin sees a reason to be excited about his basketball team, he'll surely give you the scouting report."This is without question the fastest, most athletic team we've had at Kansas State," Martin said. "Our team speed is unbelievable."That team speed might be the Wildcats' biggest asset as they prepare for life in the post-Jacob Pullen era. The talented combo guard was the face of Kansas State basketball for the last few seasons and this next chapter will be built on the foundation he worked so hard to lay in the backcourt -- but the formula might be slightly different."We won't have anybody as good as Jake was," Martin said. "But collectively, our guard play will be much better."The foundation pieces for the Wildcats are returnees Will Spradling and Rodney McGruder, both of whom started a large portion of last season. Martin is also high on sophomore Shane Southwell, a player he said is "playing his mind off in individual workouts.""The thing I like about the guys we having coming back is they've played big time minutes in big time games," Martin said. "Spradling and McGruder are going to have to lead our new guys just like Pullen led them. When we got good minutes out of those two [Spradling and McGruder] last year, we beat anybody and everybody."The savvy Spradling is the likely candidate to start at point guard and brings more than what you see in the final box score."He's one of those guys who doesn't wow you with an inside-out dribble or anything like that, but he's so competitive and understands structure so well," Martin said of Spradling. McGruder meanwhile is finally healthy after leading the Wildcats in rebounding last season and should pair nicely with Spradling and JUCO transfer Jeremy Jones, whom Martin said could be the fastest player he's ever coached."The only other guy I've ever seen faster than him with the ball is Denis Clemente," Martin said of Jones. "He's 6-foot-3 with a 6-foot-6 wingspan and he knows he needs to get stronger, but the speed he possesses is incredible."Former St. John's guard Omari Lawrence should also be in the mix for minutes and has "been shooting the top off the ball" according to Martin. Veteran Martavious Irving will also be a rotation player, along with freshman point guard Angel Rodriguez -- a jet with the ball who will be often used in ball-screen situations on offense.The baseline for Kansas State will have a different look after Curtis Kelly was lost to graduation. Back are veterans Jamar Samuels and towering big man Jordan Henriquez, whom Martin said "is a different player.""We used to get one good day a week out of him," Martin said of Henriquez. "So far, he hasn't had a bad day of individuals. I'm expecting him to take a major step forward."Meanwhile, the bouncy Samuels will need to have a big-time senior year if the Wildcats are going to have a chance to return to the NCAA Tournament."He's finally done the one thing that I've fought him on for three years and that's be committed to getting better," Martin said of Samuels.JUCO forward James Watson figures to get time in reserve off the bench on the baseline.The prognosis might be unknown for Kansas State with so many new faces, but it's hard not to hear the enthusiasm in their coach's voice about the group he's about to lead."I understand that we're going to have to depend on guys that were complimentary guys and now they're lead guys," Martin said. "And then unproven guys are now going to have to become our complimentary guys, but the truth is, when you're at a good program, a lot of times freshmen don't play a lot of minutes. I don't have a lot of answers yet, but I do know this -- I like my team."
