Kansas State college basketball preview: Marcus Foster enters the spotlight

Before his senior year of high school ever began, Marcus Foster already had all the motivation he needed to fuel one of the best freshman seasons in college basketball. An uneven summer on the grassroots circuit after his junior year dropped Foster from the top 150 recruiting rankings, and caused schools like Marquette and Cal to pull their scholarship offers. Foster would accept one of the last high-major offers he had left from Bruce Weber and Kansas State, and immediately became the Wildcats’ unlikely leader in his first season.

Foster was already on his way to promising campaign before he broke out on the national scene with a 34-point effort in a win against No. 15 Texas in early February. Two nights later, he scored 20 to spearhead an upset victory over No. 7 Kansas. Kansas State would ultimately fall to Kentucky in its first NCAA Tournament game, but not before Foster had established himself as a burgeoning star.

Foster won’t be overlooked by anyone entering his sophomore season. He’s a serious contender for Big 12 Player of the Year and a potential All-American. He’s the catalyst for a Kansas State squad that will need him to put up big numbers as it transitions in a pair of new starters. If the Wildcats can maintain their top 20 defensive efficiency from a year ago and a strong group of sophomores can build on intriguing freshman seasons, this could be Weber’s best team since the last time he coached Dee Brown at Illinois. Whatever happens, Foster will be in the middle of it.

PG Jevon Thomas, sophomore

SG Marcus Foster, sophomore

SF Wesley Iwundu, sophomore

PF Thomas Gipson, senior

C D.J Johnson, junior

Key bench players: G Nigel Johnson (sophomore), G Justin Edwards (junior), F Malek Harris (freshman), C Stephen Hunt (junior)

Senior Thomas Gipson is set to be KSU’s No. 2 option as a 6’7, 250-pound bruiser on the inside. Gipson scored in double-figures in the team’s final nine games last season and shot 56 percent from the floor on the year, the third best mark in the conference.

A trio of sophomores are all going to be counted on to provide supplemental offense alongside Foster and Gipson. Wesley Iwundu has perhaps the best chance to break out as a 6’7 wing who can impact the game in a number of ways. He’s already a good rebounder and a sound passer. The key will be if he can increase the volume on his attempts from three-point range (17) while maintaining close to the same efficiency (41.2 percent).

Justin Edwards is the most intriguing player on a deep bench. The 6’4 guard averaged 16.7 points per game in his one season at Maine before transferring to Manhattan.

If the Wildcats are going to win NCAA Tournament games, someone is going to have to prove they’re a capable three-point shooter aside from Foster. Foster excluded (a 35 percent shooter from deep), no one returning took more threes than the 62 Nigel Johnson hoisted last year, and he only hit them at a 27 percent clip. Thomas doesn’t even take them -- he only made two of the 12 threes he attempted last season. Even Edwards scored all those points at Maine while making only 27 percent of the 3.4 threes he took per game last season.

Foster and a reliable defense make Kansas State a formidable opponent all year. As long as they can keep defenses honest with decent outside shooting, the Wildcats will be a tough out in the tournament.