Samuels improving as Cats prepare for West Virginia

By KELLIS ROBINETT

The Wichita Eagle

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MANHATTAN | When Jamar Samuels learned he had been chosen Big 12 Player of the Week a few days ago, there was no hiding his excitement.

For the first time since winning the conference’s sixth man of the year award as a sophomore, he had something to point to as a tangible sign of improvement.

“It is an honor,” said Samuels, a senior forward. “A lot of guys try to get it, and I finally got it.”

For Samuels, who has been working hard behind closed doors to prove himself as a changed and improved player, it was an important step. As a junior he struggled to adjust to life as a starter in K-State’s system, and as a senior he started the season serving a suspension for violating team rules.

Despite adding more than 30 pounds of muscle in the offseason and earning the praise of coach Frank Martin, Samuels had plenty of doubters. He still has some today, but fewer than he did before scoring 17 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in a road win at Virginia Tech on Sunday. It was his second double-double of the week.

He hopes to make it three in a row at 8 tonight against West Virginia at Intrust Bank Arena.

“I am going to continue to work hard and get some more,” Samuels said. “It makes me want to strive harder and continue the things that I am doing. I am not going to let this team down at all. I want to be a leader, and it is my time to show people that I can be.”

No one likes seeing Samuels this focused more than Martin. He was critical of Samuels during the offseason, and publicly challenged him to do better as a senior.

So far, Samuels has. Martin is optimistic about what back-to-back quality games means for his future.

“He’s had games like that before. The problem is he had one every three weeks,” Martin said. “Like I’ve been telling him, ‘That’s the kind of talent you’ve got. It doesn’t mean you have to have 18 (points) and 14 (rebounds) every single night, but we can’t go from 18 and 14 to four and three. We’ve got to be more consistent.’ ”

As the Wildcats’ only scholarship senior, it is up to him to lead on and off the court. In order to do both, he needs to play harder and smarter than any other big man on the roster. He needs to set an example.

“The way he played the other night was that,” assistant coach Brad Underwood said. “It was energy, it was on the offensive glass, it was toughness, it was all the things that led him to become the Big 12 sixth man of the year as a sophomore.”

Samuels is playing as well. He wants more, though. Samuels says he hasn’t reached his full potential yet.

But there was a moment during Sunday’s game at Virginia Tech when he felt himself approaching his top form. After throwing down an athletic dunk in the second half, he let out an emotional scream.

“That’s all of the negative energy that I had last year, and I just yelled it out,” Samuels said. “It felt good. It felt great. Back to the old Jamar.”

WEST VIRGINIA VS KANSAS STATE<.b>

When: 8 p.m. Thursday

Where: Intrust Bank Arena

Record: West Virginia 4-2, K-State5-0

Radio: WHB, 810-AM

TV: ESPN2

West Virginia (4-2)

Pos Ht Yr Pts Reb

F Kevin Jones 6-8 Sr. 19.8 11.7

F Deniz Kilidi 6-9 Jr. 11.2 6.5

F Keaton Miles 6-6 Fr. 1.0 1.5

G Darryl Bryant 6-2 Sr. 14.2 3.5x

G Jabarie Hinds 5-11 Fr. 11.5 4.0x

Kansas State (5-0)

F Thomas Gipson 6-7 Fr. 12.0 7.0

F Jamar Samuels 6-7 Sr. 13.0 9.0

F Rodney McGruder 6-4 Jr. 11.8 5.6

G Martavious Irving 6-1 Jr. 7.5 3.0x

G Will Spradling 6-2 So. 15.0 12.0 2.6

West Virginia: The Mountaineers are off to a 4-2 start with losses to Kent State and Mississippi State. West Virginia is a young team coming off a trip to the NCAA Tournament. There are seven freshmen on the roster. Though Bob Huggins says his team “is coming along,” he also says they “are still trying to learn how to win games.” Kevin Jones leads West Virginia with 19.8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. He will be a difficult matchup inside for Jamar Samuels. The Mountaineers are set to join the Big 12, possibly as early as next season, and today’s game will help them develop a rivalry with the Wildcats. Huggins, who coached one season at K-State, will coach against the Wildcats for the first time with West Virginia today.

K-State: The Wildcats are looking to stay undefeated and pick up a second-straight win over a major conference opponent. K-State is coming off a win at Virginia Tech. Thomas Gipson and Samuels have been effective while playing together inside since Samuels joined the starting lineup after missing two games. Shane Southwell will try to continue helping K-State off the bench. He scored 11 at Virginia Tech. This is K-State’s first game in Wichita since 2002 and its first neutral-court game in Wichita since 1968. Frank Martin says K-State hasn’t decided whether to continue scheduling games in Wichita, but he is considering the idea. The Wildcats already play a neutral-court game in Kansas City each season.