K-State has other freshmen, too

By Ryan Greene     Jan 29, 2008

Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen (0) goes up for a shot against Oklahoma. Pullen, part of K-State's vaunted freshman class, averages 9.4 points and 3.4 assists per game.

? Darnell Jackson said after Saturday’s 84-49 Kansas University men’s basketball victory over Nebraska that it takes more than one player to beat a team.

The ‘one player’ to which the Jayhawk forward was referring was Kansas State’s über-talented freshman forward, Michael Beasley.

In the Wildcats’ eyes, though, they see themselves as more than one player.

More than two players, even.

Beasley and Bill Walker are the obvious headliners for K-State, which features the nation’s deepest pool of freshman talent. The key word there is ‘pool.’

“I don’t hear about them, so I don’t really know (much about them),” KU senior Russell Robinson said of KSU’s other freshmen. “I’m sure they impact the team in a lot of ways, but I think it’s going to be a good game, and those guys, you don’t know if they are ready for what’s gonna happen Wednesday, but I think those guys are gonna contribute in some way.”

Robinson’s knowledge of guys such as Jacob Pullen, Dominique Sutton and Fred Brown probably isn’t much different than that of many in Big 12 country and around the nation.

For now, at least.

“For us, it’s really a learning experience,” Pullen said, “We’ve got to do things that, for Mike and Bill, it’s easier for them being so athletic and so much bigger than us.

“With us, we’ve got to learn the little shortcuts and stuff, things that we can do to help the team out. I think we’re progressing well. It’s all about practice and more playing time for us. And next year, if Mike and Bill are still here, we’ll still have a great nucleus, but if not, we’re gonna have a good nucleus next year with me, Dom, Fred, Ron (Anderson) and (Denis) Clemente coming back.”

Pullen is a 6-foot-1 point guard from Proviso East High, a Chicago-area hoops factory that has produced point guards such as Doc Rivers and Dee Brown. He’s also quietly coasted along this season as K-State’s third-leading scorer behind Beasley and Walker, averaging 9.4 points and 3.4 assists a night. He’s found his stride of late, with 15 assists to just three turnovers in four conference games.

“That just comes with playing,” Beasley said of Pullen’s recent consistency. “He came in, he was a little nervous early on in the season, but he got a little stronger, got a little smarter just going with the flow, just playing with the team.”

The next biggest name among the ‘other’ freshmen is Dominique Sutton, who hasn’t had the luxury of getting acquainted with his new teammates in game situations for the entire season, having just earned his eligibility at the start of the semester. Though in seven games, despite averaging just 12.3 minutes as he eases his way into the rotation, the 6-foot-4 Sutton is 10-of-15 from the field and is one of those ‘don’t let the numbers fool you’ type of guys.

The two other freshmen who play are 6-foot-3 guard Brown (10.1 mpg, 5.3 ppg) and 6-foot-8 forward Anderson (14.2 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg). The seventh member of the heralded class is 6-foot-8 forward Jamar Samuels, who attained academic eligibility at semester’s turn, but is redshirting this season.

“To me, Sutton gives them a slash-and-athletic guy that really has a presence about him,” KU coach Bill Self said. “I would say that all of their freshmen have contributed, but those two (Pullen and Sutton) to me stand out in addition to Bill and Beasley.”

Pullen, though, has an added chip on his shoulder going into Wednesday night’s game against KU. He was in the Bramlage Coliseum stands on a recruiting visit last year when the Jayhawks won a 71-62 grinder in what Self called one of the three toughest road crowds his team had faced in five years at KU. Pullen watched his buddy, Sherron Collins, take over the game for the Jayhawks, scoring a game-high 20 points.

“He kinda did what he wanted to the guards last year, and he kinda helped KU out by getting into the paint and doing whatever he wanted to do,” Pullen said.

The two have not talked much about any of KU’s three triumphs over KSU a year ago, or this year’s rematches for that matter. Not even at the Proviso East prom last summer, which both attended. Collins was escorting his stepsister.

“We spoke, but it was his night, so I just let him enjoy it,” Collins said with a smile. “They’ve had to step up and make an impact as soon as possible. I think all the freshmen, and Beasley, even Bill Walker, are important, just like with us as a young team last year.”

The other K-State freshman on-hand that night last winter in Manhattan – Walker – was already on the team, but sidelined following ACL surgery, repairing an injury suffered six games into his K-State career.

While the two big names have combined to average 41.1 points per game through 18 contests this season, the freshman class as a whole has posted an average of 61.3 per game – or 76 percent of the team’s offensive output.

Wednesday night’s visit from Kansas will present a type of challenge this group has yet to see. According to Walker, in that case, it’s a good thing this group of newbies has the nerves to go with the production.

“I think they’re fearless,” Walker said. “They don’t really care about Frank (coach Martin) hollering at ’em, because he’s gonna do that regardless. If they’re on the floor, they’re going to play hard, and they’re going to play fearless, and I think that’s the best attribute of our team, period.

“It doesn’t surprise me. This is what I signed up for. This is why I signed to go to Kansas State, to do something like this, to have the team together and be young, but still go out there and compete.”

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