On January 30, 2008, Kansas State beat Kansas, breaking a 24-year losing streak to KU in Manhattan.



I've got a short memory. Usually, if I need to remember to do something, I either need to write it down or put a reminder in my phone, or it doesn't get done. That said, I'm pretty good at remembering some things.

I always know the day that my PlayStation online membership runs out and I need to re-up (I'm out on January 10, 2019, in case anyone wants to pay for my next one). I remember which Manhattan restaurants have specials on certain days. And I also remember nearly every detail of January 30, 2008, the day "The Streak" came to an end.

I was in the fifth grade and my mom was my teacher. She knew where my focus was that day and it definitely was not on any of the lessons she was teaching that day (sorry, mom). My focus was on Manhattan and that Wednesday night showdown against Kansas. I remember I wore the black K-State Proud shirt to the game. I remember that we stopped for a bite to eat at the Sonic in Clay Center on the way to the game. I remember all of that because it was such a memorable day. Kansas State defeated Kansas, 84-75 and ended the 24-year streak of losing to KU in Manhattan.

Believe it or not, this year — tomorrow to be exact — is the 10-year anniversary of that game. As crazy as that is to believe, it's true. I wanted to write something about the 10-year anniversary, but I didn't know if I could do it justice. After all, I was just 12-years-old at the time, so I was nothing but a fan then. I also knew that there was so much to be said and I might be writing forever. So instead, I just decided to let the people closest to the situation tell the story.

I caught up with Clent Stewart and Bill Walker, two players on that 2007-08 K-State team, as well as coaches Frank Martin and Brad Underwood and asked them about their memories from that day. I asked them of some notable moments before, during and after the game. Here's what they said:

NOTE: Thanks to K-State Athletics for the courtesy videos included in the story.

At a Catbacker Event in Topeka, Michael Beasley said: "We're going to beat Kansas at home, we're going to beat them in their house, we're going to beat them in Africa." What was the thought process when that quote began to surface?

Clent Stewart: "Mike was, and is, a very confident guy. He obviously believed in his ability and our team’s ability. So when he said that, part of you thinks, ‘Well he’s a freshman and he hasn’t played them yet.’ But that’s the kind of confidence we wanted to have that season. It doesn’t matter if it was KU, or Iowa State, or Oklahoma State, or OU, it didn’t matter. We expected to win. I think having him and being our most talented and best player, having that confidence in his ability and in our team, as a senior, I liked it. It definitely put us at a different edge and picked everyone up and said, ‘Hey, let’s go play.’ I was excited about it."

Bill Walker: "As a teammate, it can have two effects. One being you have to rise to the occasion. The other being fear. For me personally, I love to compete against the best, so for him to make those statements meant we were going to have to back those words up and we looked forward to it. My response was the same as his, we played off his lead and if the top guy wants war, then war it is."

Brad Underwood: "That quote made a lot of people believe. Mike’s swagger and confidence were needed. It was a great Kansas team, we just happened to have a guy that was the best player on the court that day. Both teams fought and competed. To this day, it’s probably one of the three or four best games I’ve been a part of."

Frank Martin: "He said that at the Topeka Catbacker event in the summer. Whoever got it saved it and pulled it out when the year started, which was unfortunate somebody would do that to him, but it is what it is. But that’s who he was, that’s who I was, that’s who Bill Walker was and that’s who Jacob Pullen was. We’re not talkers, we’re not the kind to brag about what we’re going to do, but we had that core value of belief and that’s what we all connected. That’s why that night was able to happen."

There was obvious excitement with this game. If K-State was going to end the streak, it was going to be this year with Beasley, Walker and others on the roster. Fans lined up early for the game and didn't think twice about it.

Clent Stewart: "Everyone knew about the streak and not being able to beat KU in 24 years at that point in time. We felt like we had a really good team and at that point in time we were undefeated in the Big 12, I think we were 4-0 or so going into that game. I think they might’ve been 4-0 as well, so we knew that if we won that basketball game, we’d be sitting at the top of the Big 12. Anytime you play against KU with their prestige and Coach Self and what he does with those guys, it’s a fun opportunity and you know you’ve got to bring it because they’re definitely going to bring it. We knew the fans were excited about it and were hoping that’d be the year we’d break the streak. I remember coming up to the game and seeing the line outside the door, people waiting to get in. It was definitely an exciting time."

Bill Walker: "That day went by so fast, it was kind of weird for me that day. It was a calm up until we pulled up to the gym. Once we arrived it was pure chaos but in a good way. It was like K-State for once had something to be hopeful about."

Frank Martin: "I actually was frustrated the day of the game for two reasons. Michael and Bill were really bad in practice the day before and I basically put them both out of practice. I was moving forward to play without them. They were both waiting for me in the locker room after practice and they both — they had been great all year. They both said their bad and they were going to do whatever I wanted them to do and they understood, they really wanted the opportunity to play. I was already frustrated because I had to suspend a player before that game. But those guys, I trusted my instincts, which is that those two guys had done everything I had asked them to do up to that point and I wasn’t going to be an ego-maniac because as 18-year-olds, they had a bad day. They played and they both played their tails off, as the rest of our guys did. We were fortunate. You go back and look at that Jayhawk roster, I could be off by one, but I’m pretty sure there were seven NBA guys on that team. It was a heck of a performance by our guys to be able to beat that team."

Wait. Was Martin actually thinking about suspending his two best players prior to a rivalry game?

Bill Walker: "Yes, it was very accurate. Coach Martin is big on preparation and focus. The game came so easy to me that the focus wasn’t always where it needed to be. So Coach Martin sent a message to me about leadership and accountability. He told me how important it was to lead by example."

Brad Underwood: "One thing with Mike, Mike was goofy. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but those were Mike’s pressure releases, just be silly. Bill was a guy that was a lot more serious, a lot more into the moment. They were horrible (in practice). Frank couldn’t figure out if they were nervous or — there was a lot of talk about Mike’s quote and there was tremendous talk. Those guys, not that they hadn’t been in big games before, but they hadn’t been in that game and felt that emotion. I think Frank was, ‘Okay, do I not start them? Do I let them feel their way into the game?’ But the one thing about that game, in particular, you knew the cream was going to rise. You never had to worry about those guys in those moments. I’ll never forget Mike telling me — they had Darrell Arthur — and he told me before the game, ‘He knows he can’t guard me. He knows he can’t. He’s never been able to. He knows he can’t guard me.’ It played out that way. As much as Frank might have been concerned about those two, I sure wasn’t. That was the one thing I felt pretty strong on. I knew Mike was going to be on and Bill was a really good big game player."

Halftime rolled around and K-State was leading 38-36. Bramlage continued to get louder and the excitement was starting to brew. It would've been really easy for the Wildcats to lose their focus. Instead, K-State's staff kept the team's focus on the second half.

Brad Underwood: "In a lot of ways, it was a tribute to Frank. Frank, in his own way, had been a part of a lot of big games and a lot of success of winning. Frank was extremely comfortable in those moments. He was better in those moments than he was in the blowouts that we had. For me as a K-State’er, and I was part of the streak when it started, there’s tremendous emotion involved when it’s Kansas. To keep a level head — I think coaches, when they get into the game and get into the moment, you get to a place where you really don’t hear anything. Now, that building was electric. Let’s not kid ourselves, that was special that day. But you get a calming effect as a coach when you’ve been in those moments. You’re so into the next play and, ‘What do we have to do to get Mike the ball? How do we guard this?’ You stay really dialed in and you get to a place where you calm yourself."

Skip ahead to the second half. K-State and KU had been back-and-forth all night, but the Wildcats had slowly started to build a lead. K-State led 55-45 with a little over 10 minutes to play. Jacob Pullen drives to the hoop on the right side, but Sasha Kaun and Russell Robinson collapse on him. Pullen quickly dishes the ball to Beasley in the lane and he dunks the ball. The Wildcats' lead was 12 and there was still 10 minutes left, so a lot could still happen. However, that play — which is still used in pregame hype videos today — set the tone for how the game was going to finish.

Clent Stewart: "Being at home it let our home crowd get into it, because it was kind of a statement. Jacob played phenomenal that game, especially being a freshman and not having as much hype as Bill and Mike and those guys. He played phenomenal, driving the basketball like that and then finding Mike for the dunk. Michael, when he does good stuff, he’ll let you know about it. So he was talking the whole game and really getting us going and getting us pumped up. It was definitely a statement at that time in the game."

Bill Walker: "It definitely was a play that gave us momentum, but if you know anything about a Bill Self team the game isn’t over until the clock runs out. That play for sure gave us another level of energy to finish the deal."

Frank Martin: "Absolutely, that was a set play we put in for that game. We called it ‘two-side,’ I’ll never forget that. Because of the way that Kansas defended certain things, we put that action in and that’s exactly what we got out of it. There are other options to it, but option one is Michael diving to the front of the rim. He did his job, the other guys did their jobs and Jacob made a great pass."

Let's skip ahead to the fun part. There's under a minute left and K-State's lead is eight. It's pretty clear at this point K-State is going to win, but KU wasn't going to give up without a fight. The Jayhawks slapped a full-court press on, hoping to force a mistake by K-State. That's when Walker left his mark on the game. Streaking down the left side of the floor, Walker catches the baseball pass from Darren Kent and then throws down a dunk of his own, quickly slamming the door on any potential miracle KU was still praying for.

Clent Stewart: "I think that’s when we felt like we did it. The hard work that Coach Martin and the other coaches put us through, to go out and beat KU on our home court, was definitely a defining moment for our team and a statement for our team. We knew at that point in time the celebration was about to happen, the fans were about to rush the court and it was definitely exciting to be the team to be able to win that basketball game."

Bill Walker: "It was an inbound play to just get the ball in, I looked at Darren Kent and told him to place the ball in the air where my football instincts could kick in. I made a play for the ball and once I had it all I could think about was putting an exclamation point on the game. It was a rush to hear the crowd roar. Just knowing we had stopped the streak and made it cool to wear the purple again, was one of the best basketball moments I’ve had."

Frank Martin: "Late in the game, a lot of guys tend to panic throwing the long pass and settle throwing the safer pass to one of the corners against the press and then you run your players into problems. That was also something we had spoken about. Anytime we were in trouble against their press, we wanted to have Bill as a release. Bill, being so athletic, so strong and had great hands, we felt he could beat somebody in a jump ball situation. That’s what we did. We ran our set up, Bill was where he was supposed to be. Bill did what I thought he could do, which was utilize his strength, athleticism and great hands to seal off the defender, come up with the ball and then dunk the ball."

The final buzzer sounds and "The Streak" is dead. All 12,528 at Bramlage Coliseum flood the court. Michael Beasley and others stand up on the scorer's table to celebrate. It's hot, it's crowded and it's uncomfortable. But nobody cares.

Clent Stewart: "You know; K-State fans are some of the best in the world. They bleed purple. Just to finally break through and beat KU at home after having so many close losses and other times we didn’t play well, disappointing games, it was good to be able to see the fans elated and jubilant, being able to beat KU. Myself, growing up in Oklahoma, the only thing I could liken it to, was the OU/OSU rivalry. Coming in and learning about KU and K-State rivalry in football and basketball, or lack thereof at that point in basketball since it had been so long since we were really competitive, it was definitely good to be able to bring that back. I remember everyone rushing the court and I was trying to get through and push my way through to get over to my family. That’s when I saw Mike, I saw Jacob up on the scores table and I was like, ‘I’m just trying to get to my family.’ Part of that is, being there for four years and having a lot of conversations with my family on every game and stuff, I really wanted to get over there and celebrate with them. I knew I’d be able to celebrate with my teammates in the locker room."

Bill Walker: "It was pure adrenaline and excitement just to see how that game brought a community together. For that one night at least it didn’t matter what race, creed, or religion you were. It was just a sea of purple and the people of Manhattan showing the utmost appreciation for what we accomplished that game. We took pride in being Coach Martin’s first crop of guys and to win that game for him was all we really wanted to do."

Brad Underwood: "I can’t put it in words. In my own way, I don’t see much separation between Kansas and Kansas State. I get KU’s deal and the history, but in my eyes, that’s where I see K-State. It was huge because, to me, that’s still a mind-numbing streak. To finally snap it was such a relief for me, it was exhilarating. It was more than just another league game every time we played them, for me. I looked at that game different. I knew Kansas had all this success, had been to the Final Four, I get it. I didn’t see that separation. It was exhilarating, a relief, you wanted to cry. It was a little bit of everything that you run through emotionally with that game."

Frank Martin: "That’s a moment that will never leave me the rest of my life. The game ends, the adrenaline is going and your mind is racing from the game. As a coach, you’re not sitting there saying, ‘Hey, let’s jump up and down.’ Your brain is still engaged in the game and decision-making mode. I go to the locker room and I’m in the locker room for about 10 minutes and our players aren’t coming in. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ They said, ‘Frank, there’s just a party on the court right now.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ They said, ‘Everyone has not even left the court.’ So I went out there and I’ll never forget walking out there and seeing people in their 70s, 60s, 50s, college kids, everyone crying because of that moment, crying tears of joy. People I didn’t know hugging me and saying, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’ That was a powerful moment for me, personally. Then I had to go do my postgame radio show and trying to do that courtside with Wyatt and Stan and that party going on, on the court, it’s one of the most powerful professional moments of my life."