SB Nation User Blog: EMAW

Facility Improvements Officially on Hold

EMAW — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:01:28 -0000

Facility Improvements Officially on Hold

Not that any of this is a big surprise to most of us at BOTC. Currie and Schulz have a hell of a hill to climb.

Bat Cats Earn #2 Seed in Houston Regional

EMAW — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:50:51 -0000

The dream season for the K-State baseball team continues as the Cats are set to play their first ever NCAA Baseball Tournament game on Friday in Houston at Rice's Reckling Park. KSU will face off against the #3 seed Xavier Muskateers. Game times have yet to be announced.

Check back in the coming days for updates regarding game times and any possible radio or TV schedule.

For a link to the entire NCAA Baseball bracket, click here.

Watch K-State in the Big 12 Baseball Tournament for Free

EMAW — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:29:20 -0000

Watch K-State in the Big 12 Baseball Tournament for Free

If your job allows you the opportunity, tune in Wednesday at 9 a.m. to watch the Bat Cats take on the Chickenhawks. Hopefully we gain a little revenge from the pounding we took this past weekend.

O.J. Mayo's "advisor" given money from Tim Floyd?

EMAW — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:15:13 -0000

O.J. Mayo's "advisor" given money from Tim Floyd?

Count me as one of those not surprised by this. I'm actually shocked something like this didn't come out sooner. Count this as one of the several reasons I'm glad K-State missed on Mayo.

Josh Freeman to Have Private Workout with the Jets

EMAW — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:08:57 -0000

Josh Freeman to Have Private Workout with the Jets

Rumors are out there that the Jets won't even have a shot at Josh with their 17th overall pick. The kid is definitely impressing the right people at the right time.

Good luck, Josh. Make us proud.

The Quandary of Jacob Pullen

EMAW — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:18:01 -0000

Last season, Jacob Pullen was potentially a lasting bright spot in the afterglow of the Michael Beasley era at K-State. The young point guard from Chicago proved he had the skills to hang with the best athletes in the country. He averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 assists per game while being the spark plug for a Wildcat team that would be the first reach the NCAA Tournament in more than a decade.

Fast forward to this 2008-2009 season, and Pullen is a mystery to many fans. His scoring average is higher (13.4 ppg) and he is dishing the ball to his teammates at a similar pace to last season. Yet, this is not the same Jacob Pullen we thought we would see.

Everyone associated with Kansas State basketball knew this was going to be a tough year. You don't replace two NBA draft picks very easily at a school that has only seen a handful of players make it to the league. Jake Pullen was going to be the focus of a very young - albeit talented - squad. It was no big secret that he would relinquish the point-guard duties to Denis Clemente and move exclusively to shooting guard.

However, Jacob Pullen, the feisty gnat with a penchant for scoring buckets at a 40% clip has quickly become a frustrated sophomore that can't seem to find a rhythm on the court.

While we can't argue with his increased scoring average, his field-goal percentage has fallen off this season to 37.9%. At first glance, that's not a dramatic drop from last season, but his percentage in conference games is down to 35.1% compared to 42.8% last season. That's a sizable difference in the games that (should) matter most.

In Big 12 games during the month of February Pullen has struggled, going 4-11, 5-11, 4-12, 6-11 and 5-12 from the field. If you want to go back one game further, Jake put up probably his worst performance of the season, going only 1-13 from the field in that big win over Texas.

It's this increase in missed shots that have us scratching our heads and saying, "Something is wrong." The problem is, no one - especially Jake - has been able to find what it is and rectify it.

Does this mean Jacob Pullen is not an integral part to this year's K-State team? Absolutely not. Despite his decline in shooting percentage for the year, he is still a person that defenses have to keep an eye on. He has made some big shots at key moments and has been one of many reasons the Wildcats are not wallowing in the Big 12 cellar like some media outlets predicted.

What this does mean is that something needs to change. It's becoming apparent that Pullen does not feel comfortable or confident shooting the ball this year. Losing an inside force like Michael Beasley will do that to a young guard. Plus, the emergence of Clemente as point man has pushed Jake more to the wing and kept him without a clear path to the lane.

Not much can be done this season. Frank Martin can draw some plays to possibly give Pullen more open looks, but Frank hasn't even done that for Fred Brown, the team's most efficient three-point threat. I doubt he wants to waste too many offensive opportunities letting Jake try to find his touch this late in the season. The best thing to do is keep him from driving the lane and taking contested shots. For a guy with the scoring mentality of Pullen, that's hard to do.

While it is unlikely Martin will pull Jake from the starting lineup anytime soon, changes could be and will be coming this offseason. Will we see a Clemente/Brown starting lineup with Pullen coming off the bench? It's doubtful, but all options may be open.

Then again, with talented forward Wally Judge on campus, Jake will probably find more open three-pointers and clearer paths through the lane.

But, there is still much to do this season, and Jacob Pullen will play a part. Here's hoping the talented kid from Chicago re-emerges and leads this team into the postseason.

Clemente Receives One Game Suspension

EMAW — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:39:02 -0000

Clemente will sit out tonight's game against NC Central.

Thank God this schedule worked in our favor.

That is all I will say.

Report: Dimel Coming Back to KSU

EMAW — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:45:43 -0000

According to the folks at gopowercat.com, Dana Dimel will be hired as the newest offensive coach at K-State. While his role for the Wildcats is yet to be determined, he coached tight ends and running backs at Arizona. Dave Brock's departure to Boston College opened the door for Dimel - a former assistant under Bill Snyder - to return to the place where he started his career.

Lottery to be Used for Line Procedure at KU Game

EMAW — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:10:03 -0000

I know there are many who will not be happy about this, but it's probably the most efficient way to make sure no one cuts the line or "saves a spot" for 30-40 people. I heard from a couple of people that this was a problem last year. I'm sure there will be glitches to work out this first year, but should be good in the long run.

By the way, I wonder why I never got asked to be on the Student Spirit Advisory Committee.

Mountain West Wants Auto Bid to BCS games

EMAW — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:58:42 -0000

The BCS and NCAA should take this into serious consideration. The MWC is a large step above the next lowest conference, which is probably the Sun Belt or Conference USA.

Unfortunately, "too much money involved" will be the reason the schools in the MWC won't get this to pass.