Manhattan ? Kansas State men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins completed his staff on Monday, hiring former player Erik Martin to be an assistant coach.

Martin, 35, was a major part of Huggins’ teams at Cincinnati in the early 1990s, helping the Bearcats to a national semifinal appearance in 1992 and quarterfinal appearance in 1993. Those two teams went a combined 56-10.

“(Martin) will be able to relate to our players not only from his experience as a player for me at Cincinnati, but also from his playing time in both the CBA and internationally,” Huggins said in a written statement. “He is familiar with the style of play that I want to run here at K-State and what it takes to be a successful player in that style.”

After leaving Cincinnati, the power forward spent nine years in the Continental Basketball Assn. and in several leagues overseas before beginning his coaching career at a Cincinnati high school in 2003.

The past two years, Martin has helped build Cincinnati State into a junior-college power. The Surge were 26-9 last season, advancing to the NJCAA national tournament before losing to eventual champion Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College.

The Wildcats will open their 2006-07 season against William & Mary on Nov. 11.