HONOLULU | Regardless of what happens today in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center, Jamar Samuels will be thinking of his grandmother.</p><p>Samuels, a Kansas State senior forward, began the week in Washington, D.C., at the funeral of Patsy Elizabeth Samuels, who died Dec. 17 at the age of 78. To attend the service, Samuels had to arrive in Hawaii late and miss practice time, but they were necessary sacrifices.</p><p>The two were very close, and Samuels had the chance to hug her earlier this month when she watched him play in a road game at Virginia Tech. That moment will have a lasting influence on him.</p><p>&#x93;The last thing she told me is that she&#x92;s proud of me,&#x94; Samuels said. &#x93;I&#x92;m going to take that to the grave with me, just knowing I can still provide for my family and I want to keep playing basketball for her.&#x94;</p><p>To that end, Samuels has played with a purpose since arriving in Hawaii. He came off the bench against Southern Illinois and scored 14 points and then came through with a double-double on Friday against Texas-El Paso.</p><p>If he can keep that strong streak of games going against Long Beach State, a week that began in tragedy could end in euphoria.</p><p>Since K-State coach Frank Martin arrived in Manhattan, he has talked about the importance of winning championships whenever possible. Despite advancing to the title game of the Big 12 tournament two years ago, and the title game of the CBE Classic last season, the Wildcats haven&#x92;t won any hardware.</p><p>No one associated with K-State wants to push the squad over that hump and bring a championship trophy back to Manhattan more than Samuels.</p><p>&#x93;I&#x92;ve never won a tournament championship since I&#x92;ve been here,&#x94; Samuels said. &#x93;To get one would mean a lot. It&#x92;s my senior year. I just want to get a win for this team.&#x94;</p><p>He thinks he owes his teammates that much. After an up-and-down career in which he began this season with a three-game suspension for violating team rules, he wants to leave his mark.</p><p>Playing three solid games and helping K-State win a tournament championship before the start of Big 12 play are achievements he says he could look back on years from now and proudly tell his children about.</p><p>Martin has been impressed with his drive to that goal.</p><p>&#x93;He has become a voice of reason, a guy who understands what I want and what the team needs from him,&#x94; Martin said. &#x93;He&#x92;s not going to melt down even though we lost the lead. He&#x92;s been rock solid.&#x94;</p><p>If he can keep that form for one more game, he will have accomplished something he would want his grandmother to see. And something his team can boast about the rest of the year.