To celebrate 30 years of SLAM, we’re featuring the 30 most influential men’s college teams of the past 30 years. Stats, records and chips are not the main factor here, it’s all about their contribution to the cultural fabric of the game.
Over the next 30 days, Monday through Friday, we’ll be featuring full list here. We also have an exclusive retro collegiate collection out now that pays homage to the threads of each squad. Shop here.
Word to SLAM 117: Michael Beasley was the freshest of them all in ’08 when he was drafted at Kansas State. At the time, “Be Easy” reached #1 in the rounds and was described by former SLAM “scribe” Bonsu Thompson as having “sticky fingers, little lead, Chris Brown body control, and a voracious appetite to eat out of the glass…” (You can read the original cover story in the SLAM Digital Archive, fyi.) Beasley also doesn’t hold back when describing his own game. “When I step on the floor, I’m superhuman. I feel unstoppable.”
And he was. Averaging 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds, Beasley was hungry for a Big 12 championship and a Nate. He was super competitive, good against anyone too, he told us in his own words. Under first-year head coach Frank Martin, the Wildcats were young. freshman forward Bill “Henry” Walker and guard Jacob Pullen were second and third in scoring and were anxious to win. They nearly beat Sacramento State by 30 points in the season opener and went on a six-game winning streak in January. The potential was there. Beasley’s goal-scoring prowess, the team’s dogged defense and unselfish ball movement became hallmarks of their approach.
In fact, Beasley felt the only thing she really needed to improve on was “making it look so easy”, a testament to her confidence and the star role she embraced. Although his postseason ambitions did not materialize. The Wildcats ended up losing to Wisconsin in the second round, earning individual accolades including first team All-American selection, USBWA National FOY, Pete Newell Big Man Award, Big 12 Player of the Year, the list goes on. He continued to take his talents to the League and was selected No. 2 overall in the same 08 NBA draft in which his teammate Walker was drafted in the second round.
That ’08 season will be remembered not only for the wins and losses, but also for the exciting moments and promises made for the continued success of the program. That was just the beginning…
Photos via Getty Images.
