photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin protests a call with an official during the first half on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Jesse Newell: Welcome back to the GameDay Cram Session, as Kansas is taking on Kansas State on Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Tom, how do you think Kansas State coach Frank Martin gets his players to respond to him when he gets after them as hard as he does?

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin protests a call with an official during the first half on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Tom Keegan: The more a player is convinced a coach can help him to get better and the more he thinks that coach cares about him as a person, the more that player will take from a coach. It’s a fascinating player-coach relationship to watch from a distance. The players call him Frank and Frank calls them every name in the book in the interest of turning them into better basketball players and better men.

JN: Just for fun, here is a Frank Martin photo gallery just from LJW photographer Nick Krug.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin screams at his bench during the first half Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010 at Bramlage Coliseum.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin screams at the Wildcats during a break in action in the first half Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin yells at his bench after a Wildcat foul during the first half on Monday, Feb. 14, 2011 at Bramlage Coliseum.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin has words for KSU guard Martavious Irving as he leaves the court during the first half Thursday, March 18, 2010 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin gets at his defense during the first half against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament championship game Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin has little to say as time dwindles in the second half against Wisconsin Saturday, March 22, 2008 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin feverishly tries to grab the attention of his players during the second half Friday, March 14, 2008 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Imagine if Nick was able to shoot him more than twice a year …

Switching over to KU, which player has been the biggest surprise to you either in a positive or negative way?

TK: Conner Teahan in a positive way. I didn’t think he’d be able to get off as many shots as he does against stiff competition. He’s a tough competitor and gets the most out of his ability.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Conner Teahan defends a shot by North Dakota guard Troy Huff during the first half Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

JN: It’s pretty amazing to think that he’s fourth on the team in scoring (8.3 points per game), only behind Thomas Robinson, Tyshawn Taylor and Elijah Johnson.

As KU coach Bill Self noted Tuesday, Teahan is an especially dangerous shooter when he has time and can get his feet set. He’s actually tied for the team lead in three-pointers with Johnson (25), though Teahan has taken 20 fewer three-pointers than his teammate (62 compared to 82).

OK, Tom, what’s your prediction for this game?

TK: Kansas by seven points.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Thomas Robinson laughs with his teammates on the bench after coming out of the game against North Dakota during the second half on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

This K-State team doesn’t have the flashy names the Wildcats have had in recent years, but it plays together as well as any team.

JN: I’ll go with KU by 12.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Elijah Johnson hoists a three over North Dakota guard Troy Huff during the first half Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

The crowd will be especially amped for this one, and Kansas State hasn’t handled that environment well in past seasons under Martin.

In KSU’s last three games at Allen Fieldhouse, it has shot 34 percent, 40 percent and 39 percent from the floor to go with an average of 15 turnovers per game.

The Wildcats are good enough this year to beat the Jayhawks at Bramlage Coliseum. I just don’t see them coming into Allen to shock KU.

All right, Tom, who’s your Hawk to Rock?

TK: Tyshawn Taylor.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor heads to the bucket past North Dakota forward Patrick Mitchell during the second half on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

He has 19 assists and six turnovers in the last three games and has the quickness to burn by K-State’s pressure.

JN: Give me Travis Releford, more for his defense than his offense.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas guards Travis Releford, front, and Elijah Johnson hound North Dakota guard Jamal Webb during the first half Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse.

He’ll most likely get matched up against KSU leading scorer Rodney McGruder, and I think we’ll see a similar effort to the one he had against Ohio State when he frustrated future pro William Buford.

McGruder doesn’t get a lot of assists (15 all season), so Releford’s main objective will be to chase him around and make sure he doesn’t get clean shots. The junior should thrive in that role Wednesday night.

Predictions tally (through 13 games)
Tom: 10-3 record, 138 points off (10.6 points off/game)
Jesse: 12-1 record, 117 points off (9 points off/game)

Hawk to Rock

Tom Keegan
Towson: Tyshawn Taylor (4th in Keegan ratings)
Kentucky: Tyshawn Taylor (1st in Keegan ratings)
Georgetown: Elijah Johnson (4th in Keegan ratings)
UCLA: Tyshawn Taylor (2nd in Keegan ratings)
Duke: Elijah Johnson (4th in Keegan ratings)
FAU: Jeff Withey (4th in Keegan ratings)
South Florida: Tyshawn Taylor (1st in Keegan ratings)
Long Beach State: Elijah Johnson (7th in Keegan ratings)
Ohio State: Thomas Robinson (2nd in Keegan ratings)
Davidson: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
USC: Jeff Withey (4th in Keegan ratings)
Howard: Kevin Young (4th in Keegan ratings)
North Dakota: Elijah Johnson (3rd in Keegan ratings)
Average: 3.2nd in Keegan ratings

Jesse Newell
Towson: Conner Teahan (6th in Keegan ratings)
Kentucky: Elijah Johnson (4th in Keegan ratings)
Georgetown: Kevin Young (9th in Keegan ratings)
UCLA: Elijah Johnson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Duke: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
FAU: Tyshawn Taylor (7th in Keegan ratings)
South Florida: Elijah Johnson (6th in Keegan ratings)
Long Beach State: Thomas Robinson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Ohio State: Travis Releford (5th in Keegan ratings)
Davidson: Jeff Withey (5th in Keegan ratings)
USC: Elijah Johnson (1st in Keegan ratings)
Howard: Tyshawn Taylor (1st in Keegan ratings)
North Dakota: Conner Teahan (5th in Keegan ratings)
Average: 4th in Keegan ratings