Crooked Necks

Kansas State University, often abbreviated K-State or KSU, has a success basketball program that is often nationally ranked.

The Division I program located in Manhattan, Kansas (lightheartedly referred to as the Little Apple) competes in the highly competitive Big 12 Conference whose members include many perennial powerhouse programs including in state rival the University of Kansas. The intrastate rival Kansas Jayhawks are often referred to simply as KU and are located a mere 85 miles to the west with the city of Topeka separating the two schools.

The K-state men’s basketball program has been around for over a hundred years with competition on the hardwood beginning roughly ten years after the game was invented. KSU played its first game in 1902 and would go on to enjoy an impressive seventeen conference championships over the years and enough noteworthy victories to land a spot in a 2005 list by Street & Smith (New York City publication) as one of the top 25 greatest college basketball programs ever.

Although the K-State Wildcats have never had the distinction of winning a national championship they have advanced to the Final Four on four separate occasions. Current (February, 2010) head coach Frank Martin brings an intensity to the court every night that gives the K-State team a fighting chance for a championship run almost every season. With over 1,400 wins and 23 NCAA tournament appearances Coach Martin is building upon past success to put a competitive team on the floor each night.

During the short time that head coach Frank Martin has been with the K-State program he has showed tremendous promise in advancing the squad back to a place of national prominence. In his first year as head coach he advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after finishing the 2007-2008 season with a 20-11 record. Leading into his first season at K-State he was largely responsible for recruiting and coaching up eventual Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and All-American Michael Beasley (now with the Miami Heat). Despite losing Beasley to the NBA Draft Coach Martin improved upon his record the following season with a 21-10 mark. Through two thirds of the 2009-2010 season the KSU Wildcats are far ahead of pace to again outshine their win total from the previous year and have even broken into the top ten spots in national rankings, a feat that has not been accomplished in Manhattan, Kansas in years.

The K-State wildcats have had their ups and downs over the decades but with an energized coach at the helm and a reinvigorated fan base the team that is often considered the second best basketball team in the state of Kansas (behind KU) believes they are on the road to reversing that order in the second decade of the twenty-first century.

• University of Arizona Basketball
• Cornell Basketball
• Tips for Money Loans Online
• What Makes the Air Jordan So Special?
• Sports Equipment with Good-Quality