Two players leave, one joins K-State basketball team

By JEFFREY MARTIN

The Kansas City Star

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Neither sophomore guard Fred Brown nor junior guard Buchi Awaji will be back next season for Kansas State, coach Frank Martin announced Thursday.

Brown averaged 8.1 points and made 42 percent of his three-point shots last season.

Awaji struggled in his adjustment from junior college and didn’t play more than 21 minutes in a game.

Brown and Awaji join forward Ron Anderson as this season’s departures. Neither Brown nor Awaji could be reached for comment.

It wasn’t all defections, though. Martin also announced that one of the openings will be filled by Martavious Irving, a 6-foot-2 guard from Boyd Anderson High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who signed his letter of intent Thursday.

Irving averaged 15.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 steals for the Cobras, who won 55 games in the last two seasons. He joins a star-studded recruiting class that includes McDonald’s All-American forward Wally Judge, 7-foot center Jordan Henriquez and guards Rodney McGruder and Nick Russell.

And the Wildcats probably aren’t finished recruiting.

According to gopowercat.com, K-State is still awaiting word on Devon Peterson, a 6-3 guard from New York’s famed Lincoln High. He signed originally with Hofstra but played the 2007-08 season at Broward (Fla.) Community College. Peterson sat out the last season at Cloud County Community College to focus on his academics, meaning he’d have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

“He reminds me of Royal Ivey,” said Lincoln coach Dwayne Morton, referring to the former Texas guard. “Same body type, defense and neither really have a position. They both just play basketball.”

Peterson’s coach at Broward, Robert Starkman, is good friends with Martin.

Posted on Thu, May. 21, 2009 10:15 PM

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