In a move that will make some Kansas State fans worry, it was confirmed on Friday that Dominique Sutton will transfer out of the program and will complete his senior year elsewhere. In a press release from Kansas State it was announced Sutton planned to transfer closer to his home in North Carolina where he has two small children.

A starter for majority of his three seasons, Sutton has been known as a lock-down defender while combining some flashes of offensive ability. When Sutton has been "on" on the offensive end of the floor KSU has been tough to beat. The frustrating fact for Wildcat fans is Sutton could almost disappear entirely for long stretches of a game.

It will be interesting to see how this will affect the chemistry of a team coming off an Elite Eight and losing a Senior starter in the offseason. This past season Sutton averaged 7.2 points and 5.8 rebounds.

The good news for Kansas State is that they should feel they have enough depth in their program to withstand this departure. The transfer will now open up more playing time for others possibly for incoming freshman Shane Southwell from New York.

The scholarship opening will be filled by St. Johns transfer Omari Lawrence into the Kansas State program.

Submitted by Joe Loyd, special to Big 12 Hoops

With the 2010 recruiting season pretty much wrapped up, fans now have plenty of time to sit back and imagine the future greatness these young men will bring to their respective programs. With the Class of 2007 entering their Senior Years now is a good time to go back and do an early review of the Big 12 team that was ranked the highest that year by Rivals, Kansas State at #2 in the nation.

2. Kansas St Wildcats

Michael Beasley: No. 1 overall, No. 1 PF  
Bill Walker: No. 7 overall, No. 2 SF 
Dominique Sutton: 105 overall, No. 29 SF
Fred Brown: SG, No. 13 in Florida
Jamar Samuels: PF
Andre Gilbert: SG
Jacob Pullen: PG
Ron Anderson: PF

Class details
What will Michael Beasley do? That was the theme this spring after Bob Huggins left for West Virginia (his alma mater), leaving one of the best recruiting classes in the country in limbo. K-State hired assistant Frank Martin to be the successor, who in turn kept assistant coach Dalonte Hill on board. Beasley decided to stay. Four-star recruit Dominique Sutton and three-star recruit Jamar Samuels joined the roster in December and pushed the Wildcats back into the No. 2 spot in the team recruiting rankings.

Normally when greater than half a recruiting class is gone before their Junior years you would expect that class to have been quite disappointing, not so here. Michael Beasley & Bill Walker, in their abbreviated college careers, brought Kansas State back into the national scene, no small feat. In the trio of Pullen, Sutton & Samuels, you have 3 key contributors in KSU's run to the Elite Eight last season and key cogs in KSU's lofty goals for the upcoming season. On the downside, Fred Brown & Ron Anderson both were underwhelming in their two seasons in Manhattan before opting to transfer and Andre Gilbert's contributions were minimal at best before he transferred after one season.  To justify the #2 ranking though at least one conference title should be won or a Final Four appearance achieved before the last bits of this class depart the Little Apple.

by Joe Loyd, Special to Big 12 Hoops

At the start of the season, B12H ran a "Five Questions For..." segment asking the five most pressing questions of each team. In our continuing review of the season, here are the answers to those questions.

Five Questions For... Kansas St. basketball

1) Frank Martin brings the 20^th ranked recruiting class to Manhattan.  How can the 5 freshmen gel with the veterans?

Well, it wasn't the five freshman who gelled for the Wildcats, it was the veterans in Clemente, Kelly, Samuels and Pullen. So I think the answer to that question might have to be answered next season.

2) Is Denis Clemente the most fun player to watch in the conference?

He is clearly the fastest, and might be the spunkiest. He is a thrill to watch run up and down the court, antagonizing opponents while getting his team involved in the game. I'll go with ‘yes' on this.

3) Can 6-10 UConn transfer Curtis Kelly shore up the frontline for the Wildcats?

For sure. Kelly averaged 11.5 ppg and 6.2 rpg for a much improved K-State front court.

4) Is K-State a legitimate program again after nearly a decade of meritocracy (sans the Bill Walker, Michael Beasley year)?

You tell me: they finished second in conference this year and might be the pre-season favorite next year. OK, to answer my own questions, I'd say they are back to being legit.

5) What can we expect from freshman Wally Judge?

Judge came in as a much-hyped freshman, but didn't put up the numbers his Rivals.com ranking would have suggested averaging 3.5 ppg and 3 rpg. I think he'll get better, but his freshman year was kind of wasted.

Now that the college basketball season is officially over, we're going to take a look back at each Big 12 school to discuss their season. The rundown will go in order of conference standing. See the complete schedule after The Jump.

What Went Right: The stars aligned for K-State this season. Guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente turned the Wildcats into Must See TV. Their frenetic style of play harassed opponents and caused easy buckets on the other end. In half court sets, the Wildcats could rely on frontmen Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels to grab rebounds, which turned into easy put-backs or fast breaks the other way. Record wise K-State improved two conference wins from last year and finished tied for second with an 11-5 conference mark. They also earned a 2 seed in the tournament and went on a mini run before being ousted in the Elite 8 by everyone's surprise, Butler Bulldogs. In summary, this was a great season for the Wildcats, one they should be able to build upon as a program.

What Went Wrong: Not much, really. The Wildcats still couldn't beat their in-state rivals, but I think all Wildcats fans are happy with their school record 29 wins and run through the tourney.

Team MVP: The two-headed beast of Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. Combined the guards averaged 36 ppg, 7.6 apg and 5.2 rpg. Without either of them, the other wouldn't have been as effective.

Key Losses: It's a shame that the Big 12 only got to experience Denis Clemente for two year, after he transferred from the University of Miami (FL) following his sophomore year.

Outlook Next Year: The Wildcats are poised to make a run at the conference championship next year. With the losses to KU, K-State might be the odds on favorite to claim the crown.

Continue reading this post »

In a recurring piece leading up to the start of the basketball season, we will examine the top 5 questions surrounding each Big 12 basketball team.

Today, the top 5 questions for the Kansas State Wildcats.

1)       Frank Martin brings the 20^th ranked recruiting class to Manhattan.  How can the 5 freshmen gel with the veterans?

2)        Is Denis Clemente the most fun player to watch in the conference?

3)       Can 6-10 UConn transfer Curtis Kelly shore up the frontline for the Wildcats?

4)       Is K-State a legitimate program again after nearly a decade of meritocracy (sans the Bill Walker, Michael Beasley year)?

5)       What can we expect from freshman Wally Judge?

Check back Monday when we will ask Five Question For... Kansas State basketball.
Also check out Five Questions For... Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa State

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