Frank Martin challenges Jamar Samuels to do more this summer
Of Kansas State’s seven returning scholarship basketball players, it’s pretty easy to identify who will make up the core of next year’s team.
Rodney McGruder will likely be the best player on the roster. Will Spradling is eager to enter the starting lineup after a promising freshman season. And Jamar Samuels will be a fifth-year senior.
Yes, Shane Southwell and Jordan Henriquez ended last season on upswings, and walk-on Victor Ojeleye could very well be named a captain, but those are the three who (for now, anyway) figure to make the biggest impact for the Wildcats next season -- both on and off the court.
I asked K-State coach Frank Martin about all three earlier this week, and it turns out he has a pretty good idea of who his most dependable players will be next season, too.
But instead of a trio, he sees a duo.
He is most confident in McGruder and Spradling.
“Those are the two guys that have shown the willingness to be consistent with who they are, with their approach, with their work ethic,” Martin said. “You know I don’t assign leadership. I don’t say, ‘This guy is getting better, now sit back and observe.’ But those are the two guys, as last year progressed, that showed tremendous growth. And as this offseason has taken place, I think they’re the two guys who have been the most consistent with their approach and the most willing to share their opinions with other guys in the locker room.
“I’ve got a feeling they’re going to be team leaders. And I’m excited about that, because if both of them are, then our team has a chance of being pretty good.”
So where does that leave Samuels? Well, let’s just say Martin thinks he has some work to do before he is mentioned in the same sentence as McGruder and Spradling.
“He’s got to become better as a player. He’s flattened out,” Martin said. “He didn’t do a very good job of … Most of our guys improve. As you look at the careers of guys who have been with us, they all get better. Jamar flattened out.”
As a sophomore, Samuels was one of K-State’s most explosive players and was named Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year. He averaged 11 points and 4.9 rebounds and had moments of brilliance, including three double-doubles.
As a junior, his scoring average dropped to 8.5 points and his rebounding average went up to 5.4. Not horrible. But not a step forward, either.
Martin knows what held Samuels back.
“He didn’t do a very good job of improving himself in the weight room and the gym,” Martin said. “He was asked to play a lead role last year. He tried, but he just couldn’t do it. Part of it was that he didn’t properly prepare himself. He needs to have a better summer and weigh more than 205 pounds. It’s hard to succeed in high-major Division I basketball when you weigh 205 pounds.”
Martin hopes he can ask more out of Samuels next season the same way he is McGruder and Spradling, but in order for that to happen Samuels will need to put work in this summer.
That’s his challenge.
“He didn’t do it last year,” Martin said. “I’m not saying that I’m losing faith that he can do it this year, but he needs to show that he is going to be different. He needs to be different in who he is this time of year so he can be better prepared for when next season rolls around.”
