A Bright Future for KSU Men's Basketball

It looks like the Men’s Basketball program is heading to another year without a post season tournament appearance. They may get into the NIT tournament, but that is starting to look doubtful also. This has been a year of highs and lows for the Cats. Of course, the biggest highlight was going on the road and beating KU for the first time in 31 attempts. The Cats have played hard in every game and lost 7 games in OT or by 2 points or less. This is a young team, with 10 of the 11 leading scorers returning next year.

In other words, next year could be a great year for the Cats. Let’s not lose sight of that. Jim Wooldridge is near the end of his sixth year at Kansas State and the Wildcats have steadily improved since his arrival.

Coach Wooldridge appears to do everything the right way and is building a program we can all be proud of. Let’s hope for the best for the remainder of this year, and look forward to what could be a great year for KSU basketball next year.

More Love for Coach Snyder...

Former Kansas State Football Coach Bill Snyder will be inducted into the Kansas State Sports Hall of Fame on June 3, in Wichita.

Snyder was one of 14 coaches and athletes announced today for the class of 2006.

In the last 17 years, Snyder posted 136 victories and was a three-time national Coach of the Year and five-time Big 8/12 Coach of the Year, with 11 trips to postseason bowl games. In 2003, Kansas State won the Big 12 Football Championship.

During his tenure as Kansas State, Snyder coached 22 all-Americans and 42 players that went in the NFL draft.

Coach Snyder Getting Some Love...

Excerpt from a conversation with former Univeristy of Georgia basketball coach Hugh Durham...

Q: Does Georgia need to build a new basketball arena?

A: Two people in intercollegiate athletics changed the way people think about that. Mike Krzyzewski at Duke has proven you can build a program with an average arena, which is what Cameron is. And [football coach] Bill Snyder at Kansas State. The way he was able to win there in Manhattan, Kansas, just shoots down every theory about the role facilities play in building a winning program. Same thing with the Coliseum. It's plenty big and what they're doing [with the new $30 million practice and training facility] is needed from a competitive standpoint. That's just part of the arms race fueled by recruiting.

Eddie Sutton

Eddie Sutton is sixty freakin’ nine years old and he is out doing tequila shooters and popping pain pills until two am. I am not sure how I should feel about this… disgusted or in awe. If he is partying like Vince Neil at this age, imagine what he must have been like in his prime.

His blood test revealed blood alcohol content 3 times the legal limit. According to my calculations, he had to drink about 16 highballs in a 4 hour time frame to get to that toasted.

I am wondering what those cocktail hours must have been during Big 12 coaching conferences. Imagine back in the day when Tom Penders was the coach at Texas and Larry Eustachy was at Iowa State. They probably stayed up all night partying, Eddie doing shots, Penders prank calling his players and Eustachy making out with Co-eds.

KSU PA Announcer Resigns

The fallout from the Manhattan Parks and Recreation investigation has reached the Kansas State Athletic department. Ivan Wilkinson, the Kansas State Football and Basketball PA announcer has resigned from his duties at Kansas State. Wilkinson became known for his "Good for another Wildcat FIRST DOWN" call and was a favorite among fans. He was a contract employee at Kansas State and it should not affect the athletic department at all.


http://www.themercury.com/view/article.asp?sectionid=News/Default/NewsArticles&id=922-2006-02-15-58114-49

2006 Kansas State Football Recruiting Class

Devin Anderson, DB5-10, 185, Ponca City, Okla. — Northeastern Oklahoma A&M

Brandon Balkcom, DT6-2, 280, Hazel Crest, Ill. — Norheastern Oklahoma A&M

Chris Carney, DB6-1, 175, Denver, Colo.

Ray Cheatham, DB6-0, 185, El Dorado, Ark. — Independence Community College

Gabriel Crews, DT6-3, 300, Joneboro, Ga.

Courtney Edmond, DB6-2, 220 , La Marque, Texas — Blinn College

Josh Freeman, QB6-6, 230, Kansas City, Mo.

Coutney Greer, RB5-10, 210, Midland, Texas

John Houlik, LB5-11, 215, Wichita, Kan.

Rob Jackson, DT6-3, 265, West Haven, Conn. — Fort Scott Community College

James Johnson, RB5 -11, 200, Port Arthur, Texas — Blinn College

Otis Johnson, DB5-11, 185, Houston, Texas

Zach Kendall, DT6-4, 280, Peculiar, Mo.

Scott Krehbiel, OT6-7, 280, Pratt, Kan.

Moses Manu, DE6-3, 260, Inglewood, Calif. — El Camino College

Jeron Mastrud, TE6-6, 255, Beaverton, Ore.

Kenneth Mayfield, OL6-4, 300, Randallstown, Md.

Davyon McGhee, LB5-11, 215, Houston, Texas

Antwon Moore, DB6-1, 218, P+onca City, Okla. — Northeastern A&M

Joshua Moore, DB5-11, 180, Pompano Beach, Fl.

Leon Patton, RB5-8, 175, Cedar Hill, Texas

Tony Purvis, DB6-0, 174, McCook, Neb.

Justin Roland, LB6-2, 250, Ponca City, Okla. — Northeastern Oklahoma A&M

Jamal Schulters, RB5-10, 180, Brooklyn, N.Y. — Fort Union Military Academy

Trevor Viers, DT6-5, 265, Windom, Kan.

Cedric Wilson, WR6-1, 190, Fort Pierce, Fla. — Garden City Community College

Inside Kansas State Athletics

A great new feature on K-State's Sports Information's website. Lots of great videos to get you fired up for the upcoming Kansas State Football season.

http://inside.kstatesports.com/

Former Kansas State Football Coach Bill Snyder Enters Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Missouri is showing its true football colors by inducting two KANSAS football greats, Bill Snyder and KSU standout linebacker Gary Spani. Spani was a former Manhattan High, Kansas State and Kansas City standout. Coach Snyder and Spani will in Springfield, MO on Sunday to be inducted into the hall.

"I'm humbled by it," Snyder said. "I never thought you got into a hall of fame until a period of time had past from your playing or coaching days. Coming this quickly, it's certainly an honor."

Kansas State Football Blog Athlete of the Week

This is the first installment of my Kansas State Football Blog of the week. I will pick a KSU Athlete each week to be the Kansas State Athlete of the week. This week goes to a Track and Field athlete... (maybe the last time that will happen)

Congratulations to Christian Smith, running at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational, he set the NCAA record for the 1000 meters. A record which had sttod since Doug Consiglio of Arkansas set it in 1986.

Christian ran a 2:19.57 1000 meter, beating the previous record of 2:19.64. There was some controversy on the record after they were told the record was set on a 200 meter banded track (whatever the hell that is) and a conversion chart would have to be used to translate the time to a flat track. When all was said and done Track and Field News declared Smith's clocking as a national collegiate record.

It the understatement of the year, Smith said "That would have been a bummer"

Congratulations again to the Kansas State Football Blog Athlete of the Week, Christian Smith.

KSU players in 2006 Draft

Kansas State Football players available for the 2006 NFL Draft.

Jeromey Clary OT 6'6" 303
Davin Dennis WR 5'10" 177
Scott Edmonds DE 6'3" 262
Tearrius George DE 6'2" 248
Victor Mann FB 6'0" 269
Derek Marso DT 6'2" 312
Maurice Porter CB 6'0" 189
Ayo Saba FB 6'0" 275
Marvin Simmons OLB 5'11" 247

Who am I...

I was born and raised in Manhattan and have been a K-State fan for as long as I can remember. I was there through the dark days of KSU football and have enjoyed the rise of the program to national status.

When I was a kid, we used to ride our bikes up to the stadium for every home game and we could usually sneak in. However, if we got busted, it just meant we had to wait until half time to enter, because back then, they opened the gates to the general public at the break.

I was there for the Ellis Rainsberger, Jim Dickey and Stan Parrish eras and even went to K-State's first bowl game, the 1982 Independance bowl. I will save the story for another day. I have been to most of the bowl games that K-State has been to since. I was in St. Louis when we lost our shot at a national championship to Texas A&M in double overtime and in Kansas City when we lost to the Sooners in the Big 12 Championship in 2000. As luck would have it, I was out of the country when we won the Big 12 Championship the next year, it seems I was the bad luck that prevented up from winning the first two.

I have seen K-State play in the Independance Bowl, The Copper Bowl, The Holiday Bowl, The Cotton Bowl, The Fiesta Bowl and the Alamo Bowl.

There it is... my K-State Fan Credentials...

Kansas State Football Head Coach Ron Prince

Since I have some catching up to do, I thought I would post some background information on our new coach. I think HCRP will bring a fresh attitude and new blood to a program that needed a push back in the right direction.


Courtesy: Kansas State UniversityRelease: 12/09/2005

“I’ve been preparing for this opportunity my whole life,” were among the first words that came out of Ron Prince’s mouth after being introduced as Kansas State’s 33rd football coach on Dec. 5, 2005. And for Prince, serving as the Wildcats’ head football coach is truly a dream come true.
Raised in Junction City, Kan., which is located just 20 miles west of Manhattan, Prince literally grew up in the shadow of Kansas State University. And as far back as he can remember, at least to the age of three or four according to his best recollections, he has dreamt of one day leading the Wildcats.

With that dream now realized, Prince has hit the ground running in his short tenure with the Wildcats. Working at a break-neck pace, he has quickly gone about the task of solidifying K-State’s recruiting and building his staff, all the while beginning the long-term process of re-integrating himself into a community that has for so long been an integral influence on his life.
Prince came to Kansas State from the University of Virginia, where he served the past three seasons as the Cavaliers’ offensive coordinator and a total of five years as the offensive line coach on Al Groh’s staff.

In that time, Prince developed a reputation as one of the nation’s top young coaching talents, helping guide Virginia to four straight bowl berths from 2002-05. Along the way, his Cavalier offense set a dozen team and individual school records and had nine offensive players drafted by NFL teams.

Currently the youngest NCAA Division I-A head coach in the country and one of just four African-American head coaches in all of Division I-A, Prince joined Groh’s staff as the Cavaliers’ offensive line coach in January of 2001 and quickly went about molding the unit into one of the ACC’s best.

In 2002, Virginia's young offensive line provided solid protection for record-setting quarterback Matt Schaub, who was named ACC Player of the Year after throwing for a school-record 2,976 yards and 28 touchdowns. Tackle Mike Mullins – the lone senior starter on the offensive line – and Elton Brown each earned honorable mention All-ACC recognition in 2002. In addition, left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson received Freshman All-America distinction and guard Brian Barthelmes earned Freshman All-ACC honors.

By the 2003 season, his third at Virginia and his first as the program’s offensive coordinator, the Cavaliers’ front wall became a dominating force, allowing the ACC’s fewest sacks as it protected Schaub, who passed for 2,952 yards that season – the second most in school history.
Heading into 2004, Virginia’s line began to be considered not only among the best in the rugged ACC, but nationally as well. In fact, The Sporting News tapped Prince’s unit the No. 3 line in all of college football that season.

And with the offensive line leading the way, Prince’s 2004 Virginia offense rolled up over 423 yards of total offense per game, including over 240 on the ground, once again led the ACC in fewest sacks allowed and finished the year atop the conference charts in both total offense and rushing offense.

Virginia’s team accomplishments on the field during Prince’s stint with the Cavaliers are bolstered by the individual accolades received by UVa’s student-athletes. During his five-year tenure at Virginia, 37 Cavaliers earned All-ACC distinction, including 19 on the offensive side of the ball. Of those 19 offensive selections, 12 occurred with Prince at the controls of the Cavs’ offense.

In 2003, Prince’s offensive unit placed four players on the All-ACC squad, including future All-Americans Heath Miller (TE) and Brown (G), who received the prestigious Jacobs Blocking Trophy, which is annually awarded to the ACC’s top offensive lineman.

In 2004, Virginia’s offense placed five student-athletes on the All-ACC team, the most of any school in the league, including Brown, who was awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy for the second straight year, and Miller, who went on to win the John Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end.

The spring of 2005 brought more recognition for Prince’s charges at Virginia as a school-record seven Cavaliers were selected in the NFL draft, including four offensive players. Miller was a first-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Brown was selected in the fourth round by Arizona. Tailback Alvin Pearman was also picked up in the fourth round by Jacksonville and wide receiver Patrick Estes was taken in the seventh by San Francisco.

Prince capped his run at Virginia this past season by producing three more All-ACC selections. Ferguson, considered by many to be the top offensive line prospect in the country, led the way by earning first-team accolades for the second straight season and becoming the first Cavalier tackle named to the first team in back-to-back seasons since the 1990 and 1991 campaigns.
A 1988 graduate of Junction City High School, Prince played two seasons at Dodge City (Kan.) Community College, receiving All-Conference honors as an offensive tackle on the field and Academic All-America and National Dean’s List accolades for his performance in the classroom.
In 1990, Prince transferred to Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. He played two seasons for the Mountaineers and helped ASU to a Southern Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA I-AA playoffs as a senior in 1991 before earning a bachelor’s degree in history from the institution in 1992.

Prince received his start in coaching shortly after graduation, returning to the state of Kansas in 1992 to serve as a volunteer assistant coach working with offensive tackles and tight ends at Dodge City.

After just one season, Prince received his first offer to coach at a four-year institution and began his full-time coaching career as an offensive line, tight ends and strength and conditioning coach at Alabama A&M in 1993. During his lone season there, he helped produce three All-Conference players, including guard Joe Patton, who went on to become a third-round draft pick of the Washington Redskins.

A stop at South Carolina State followed in 1994. While at SCSU, Prince was instrumental in mentoring an offensive line that helped the Bulldogs lead the conference and rank among the national leaders (Division I-AA) in total offense, rushing offense and scoring offense that season. South Carolina State also captured the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship that season and went on to defeat Grambling, 31-27, in the postseason Heritage Bowl.

During his tenure at SCSU, Prince coached four All-Conference offensive linemen, including standout tackle Raleigh Roundtree, a 1995 fifth-round draft pick of the San Diego Chargers.
From 1995 to 1997 Prince served as the offensive line coach at James Madison and helped guide the Dukes to an NCAA I-AA playoff berth and two consecutive top-25 rankings before taking the reins of the offensive line at Cornell from 1998-2000.

The following season Prince was tapped to coach the offensive line, and later the entire offense, on Groh’s staff at Virginia.

In addition to his duties on the collegiate level, Prince has also served NFL Minority Fellowships with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1996), Washington Redskins (1997), Atlanta Falcons (1999) and New York Giants (2000).

Born in Omaha, Neb., but raised in Junction City by parents Ernest and Georgeanne Prince, he is married to the former Zoé Ahern of Valhalla, N.Y. The couple has four children, Deuce (6), James (4), Grace (3) and John (1).

Welcome...

This blog is designed to be a central location all KSU Football fans can use for updates on the K-State Wildcat Football program. It will include information on other K-State sports and some other college sports news but the primary focus will be the KSU football program.

Thanks for stopping by, it may be a little slow until spring football starts but check back in for updates from time to time.