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McGruder, Kansas State ready for road matchup with Texas
Published 2/11/2012 in Sports
By ARNE GREEN
Special to The Telegram
Rodney McGruder is making a habit of putting his best foot forward against Texas.
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Associated Press Texas Tech forward Jaron Nash, left, and Kansas State center Jordan Henriquez chase a loose ball during the second half of a Big 12 conference game on Tuesday. Kansas State won and heads to Austin, Texas, for a matchup with the Longhorns today.
Fortunately for the Kansas State Wildcats, that foot appears to be healing just in time.
McGruder, slowed by an infected blister in home victories last Saturday over Texas A&M and Tuesday against Texas Tech, should be good to go when the Wildcats travel to Austin, Texas, for their second go-round with Texas at 1 p.m. today in the Frank Erwin Center.
"He feels better, health-wise," K-State coach Frank Martin said of McGruder, who scored a career-high 33 points in the Wildcats' 84-80 victory over the Longhorns on Jan. 18. "He was awful from a health standpoint, how he felt in the Texas A&M game.
"He felt better against Tech and he feels a lot better (Thursday)."
By winning twice at Bramlage Coliseum, K-State improved to 17-6 overall and 6-5 in the Big 12. Texas (15-9, 5-6) also has won two in a row.
McGruder, who leads the Wildcats with 14.6 points a game, had just five on 1-for-9 shooting against Texas A&M, his lone single-digit scoring game in Big 12 play. He came back with 10 points in 23 minutes and made both of his 3-point attempts Tuesday as the Wildcats beat Texas Tech, 65-46.
"I have just been listening to Frank and the trainers," McGruder said Thursday. "Frank has been trying to get me through it.
"I just listen to advice from guys who know what they're talking about. Previously, I have been in a lot of pain, but now it's getting a lot better."
It's hard to imagine McGruder being better than he was in the first meeting with Texas, when he went 11-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and grabbed eight rebounds. He also had 22 points against the Longhorns last year.
"D.C. guys like Texas, I guess," said K-State senior forward Jamar Samuels, another Washington, D.C., native, who battled foul trouble and still scored 14 points in 24 minutes the last time against the Longhorns. "I know Mike (Beasley) had at least 18-plus points a game against them when he was here.
"Rodney is always well prepared against Texas and it really shows. I know that he is amped up for this game and everyone else is, too."
K-State has won three straight against Texas and four of the last five. Another big game from McGruder could go a long way toward extending the streak.
"I hope it happens again," Martin said. "There is nothing more I would like to see than him scoring somewhere between 22 and 33 points a game. That would be a god-send.
"Rodney has been pretty consistent for us in his ability to score. He is really important to us."
In the first Texas game, K-State also got 11 points each from Thomas Gipson and Will Spradling. J'Covan Brown had 22 points, but made just 8 of 28 shots for Texas, while Sheldon McClellan scored 19 off the bench and point guard Myck Kabongo added 14 points and 10 assists.
With seven league games left, K-State is a game behind fourth-place Iowa State (7-4), with Texas and Oklahoma one game behind the Wildcats. Iowa State plays host to Texas A&M today.
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