My apologies in advance if material has been posted already.
K-State anticipating the play of transfer Clemente
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Kansas State coach Frank Martin is already pumping up the potential of Miami transfer Denis Clemente as an NBA player. Martin said that Clemente is as good as Jose Juan Barea, the Dallas Mavericks' backup point and a former Northeastern point guard when Martin was an assistant.
And the K-State coach didn't stop there. He said Clemente can be as good as (gulp) former Texas point guard D.J. Augustin.
"I've seen them, and Clemente is just as good," Martin said last week. "I've seen him in practice every day. He's put on 18 more pounds. He's a good, good player."
That's high praise for a 6-foot scoring point guard who was suspended twice under Miami coach Frank Haith, the second suspension costing Clemente five games as a sophomore in the 2006-07 season.
Haith said Clemente is a really quick, big-time scorer (9.8 points a game as a sophomore for the Canes). But the question remains if the Puerto Rico native can make other players better around him since he's thinking about scoring first.
That may not matter with the way Martin wants to play next season. With Clemente and surprising freshman Jacob Pullen (the Wildcats' third-leading scorer with 9.7 points per game last season behind NBA-bound Michael Beasley and Bill Walker), the Wildcats would have a small, quick backcourt.
"Those guys are going to be fun to watch," said Martin, who anticipates using the two guards to add defensive pressure from the perimeter, too.
The Wildcats do have size with wings Dominique Sutton at 6-5, 6-10 Luis Colon and 6-8 redshirt freshman Jamar Samuels, a D.C.-area player who Martin is raving about as well as a strong, physical presence on the backboard. But clearly the Wildcats will be driven by the scoring out of the backcourt, namely from Clemente.
