Merriewether awarded scholarship

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin announced today that junior guard Chris Merriewether (Jacksonville, Fla./Arlington Country Day School) will receive a scholarship for the 2008-09 season after spending his first two years as a walk-on in the program.

"This is something that Chris deserves after spending the past two years as a walk-on," said Martin. "He came here and has really worked hard, even earning a couple of starts last season, to become a valuable member of our program."

A 6-foot-3, 210-pound guard from Jacksonville, Fla., Merriewether has averaged 0.4 points and 0.7 rebounds in 38 career games with three starts for the Wildcats. He saw action in 26 games as a sophomore in 2007-08, averaging 0.5 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 8.7 minutes per game. He registered double-digit minutes nine times, including 20 or more minutes four times. He scored in eight games, including two Big 12 contests. He tied Clent Stewart for the team lead with nine charges drawn.

With the addition of Merriewether to the scholarship ranks, Kansas State will enter the 2008-09 with 12 scholarship players. The list also includes Connecticut transfer Curtis Kelly, who must out the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Martin also announced the addition of three first-year walk-ons to the program – Anthony Downing (Atchison, Kan./Atchison), Victor Ojeleye (Ottawa, Kan./Ottawa) and Justin Werner (Topeka, Kan.,/Washburn Rural).

Downing was a four-year letterman at Atchison High School in Atchison, Kan., where he averaged 25 points and 5 assists as a senior in 2007-08. Ojeleye, who spent a postgraduate year at The Patterson [N.C.] School in 2007-08, was a four-year letterman at Ottawa High School in Ottawa, Kan. He capped his senior year at Ottawa in 2006-07, owning nearly every school scoring and rebounding mark, including career points (1070) and rebounds (596). Werner was a two-year letterman at Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, Kan., where he averaged a city-best 19.0 points per game in 2007-08.

Kansas State posted a 21-12 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1995-96 season in 2007-08 and will return one starter and seven lettermen for the 2008-09 season.