SLATE: Wildcats Add a Player, Keep a Player

Men’s Basketball

In yet another recasting of Athletic Director Gen Taylor’s remarks about Coach Bruce Weber and the state of the men’s basketball program, Tim Bisel noted that the Wildcats may have issues, but they are the right kind of issues.

Though this story was told several years ago by the Kansas City Star’s Sam Mellinger, Frank Martin’s brush with death soon after moving to Manhattan as part of Bob Huggins’ staff is getting national attention, courtesy of a 7-minute video titled “Miracle in Manhattan.” (Yeah, we recognize the title is ripped off.) Whether you believe in miracles or mystic occurrences or scoff at such notions, and even if you read it when it was first published nearly eight years ago, the story is remarkable and worth a few minutes to read. ESPN’s video is embedded, as well.

Football

Bill Snyder’s team is getting a graduate transfer whose name should be familiar to K-State fans. Texas State defensive tackle Jordan Mittie, a 6’3, 270-pound junior, chose K-State over Memphis after visiting Manhattan this weekend. It should come as no surprise that Mittie, who will graduate in May with two years of eligibility remaining, should choose K-State. He spends most of his vacation time in Manhattan visiting his family, including his father, K-State women’s basketball coach Jeff Mittie. (Kellis Robinett, Wichita Eagle)

In other welcome news for the program, Dalvin Warmack has changed his mind about transferring and will stay at K-State for his senior year. The two-time Simone Award winner said that he has developed a relationship with running backs coach Eric Hickson and is “excited the direction the staff is going.” (Robinett, Eagle)

Golf

Senior Connie Jaffrie was tied for 5th after the first two rounds of the Arizona Wildcat Invitational after shooting 3-under par 141. The team sits 12th out of 17 teams. The final round tees off Tuesday at 8:00 MT.

Sophomore Ben Fernandez leads the K-State men with a 2-over total through two rounds of the Tiger Invitational in Opelika, Alabama.Fernandez is in 27th place individually. The team has struggled with putting in the tournament, and sits 13th of 17 teams, 28 strokes back of Auburn, who leads the tournament at -12. The final round begins at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Baseball

For the second straight week, junior college transfer Drew Mount was named the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week. Tthe Santa Clara, California, native filled up the state sheet on the weekend hitting .545 (6-for-11) with three triples, a double and a homer for a league-best 1.455 slugging percentage. He also knocked in five runs and stole five bases in only five attempts.

Campus News

Late Friday night, a fire broke out at K-State’s newest residence facility, Wefald Hall. The fire was caused by faulty fan motor, and was extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system before emergency crews arrived. Score one for the architects, right? Nobody was injured, and the building sustained about $8,500 damage, with estimates of additional damage caused by water leaking between floors yet to come. (Mara Rose Williams, KC Star)