Pierson McAtee goes in depth about his journey to becoming a scholarship player for Kansas State and much more in the latest edition of our One-on-One series.

KSO: What was it like growing up in Manhattan?

Pierson McAtee: Yeah, I mean I'm super glad I grew up here in Manhattan. I love it; I'm biased. I moved here when I was one, so wasn't necessarily born and raised here, but basically. You know growing up a huge K-State fan kind of started in the (Jim) Wooldridge era, and all that, it's when I first started kind of remembering it and going to their camps. And then through Coach (Bob) Huggins and Coach (Frank) Martin and now Coach (Bruce) Weber, it's been kind of a crazy process really looking back at it. Wouldn’t want it really any other way.

KSO: How much of the success of K-State is owed to the coaching staff? What’s the relationship like with them?

PM: The coaches will brag on us, and they'll say we're the ones that are out there on the court. But there's no way we'd be as nearly as successful as we were without them. Just their guidance from workouts, to life off the court, to scouting, to thinking the game, to being a better person, player. Like, I can't brag enough about these guys, like starting with Coach Weber. I knew coming into this program it was going to be kind of a four or five year process for me, that’s why I redshirted freshman year. I knew, regardless of where my basketball skill was going to grow - and I kind of could foresee this happening regardless if that would have happened or not due to injury, whatever - I know I was going to be a better person coming out of this program. Physically putting on weight, being healthy mentally, with academics, and just being a good person overall, being well-rounded, getting involved. Coach Weber, he's always got good quotes for us regarding ball and life, and all the assistant coaches, too, they do a really good job of honing in on our skills, honing in on developing a relationship with us, and I've been extremely happy. I can tell that just from the outside looking in, I was here for a couple years just as a fan being in high school of coach Weber, and then you know, being able to come into the program and actually live it has been once a lifetime opportunity.

KSO: What was it like to get the scholarship?

PM: It was truly a dream come true. When I fist came into the program, Ben (O’Donnell) worked my tail off. I came in about 6-foot-5, 165 pounds sopping wet, trying to play like a stretch for guarding D.J. Johnson and those guys, to putting on weight and transitioning back to a guard, which is where I kind of feel more comfortable. I mean, I'm good at the three or the four, but obviously being six-foot-six at the division one level, it's really more of a guard position.

I could see my game was developing around what the coaches were helping me with and getting more opportunities to get out there and play. Talking with Coach Weber this summer - I was able to use that open spot in the summer to stay here do an internship in town - but really just be with these guys and workout, improve my game, and improve as a team... Ultimately having a chance to earn it for this full year, which that came through in the meeting, kind it kind of hit me crazy. I had been talking to coach about it and had kind of seen that's where things were starting to go but didn't know for sure 'till he said it in the meeting. Getting to talk to my parents that night and go home and visit with them and just look back on the journey and that it's not done. This is just one kind of milestone out of the way and now just have to keep going

KSO: What will do you plan to do when your final season at K-State wraps up?

PM: I graduated in May with an accounting and finance degree. K-State has got a nice dual-degree with that College of Business, and then I'm in the masters of accounting right now. And then I'll finish up that in May and then sit for the CPA exam, hopefully pass that by next early fall. I actually yesterday (last Wednesday), we had an off day, so I was up in Kansas City doing some interviews with different firms things like that. I don't necessarily foresee a life with with basketball outside of college. I love it here; I love it now and am pouring everything into it, but after that I definitely will kind of go more the academic route and start off in a new position hopefully in, you know, Kansas City, Chicago, or Dallas area so I can get back in to see these guys from time to time.

KSO: Your name was the first to come to X’s mind when I brought up leadership. What is your leadership approach?

PM: I lived it. I live, you know being here with Brian Rohleder onto Mason Schoen, who's back here, to Wesley Iwundu, and then Barry, Dean and Kam; we were all the same age came in at the same time. But I've been able to learn a lot about different leadership styles and when to say something, when to not, when to show it, and when to push someone. Really trying to take all those really good experiences that I learned from them being good leaders and trying to kind of play that myself. X and myself kind of feeding off each other being here each four and five years. Carti, he's been here, this will be his fourth year here, so he's a really good voice of reason, too. And then Mak knows what he's doing; we’re just kind of pushing to get him out of that shell every now and then to talk to those bigs because obviously, he's a really good player, a really good person, and he can help those guys a lot. Just really kind of having a good core group of guys to do it. When it's just one voice, it can be repetitive and guys can start to tone it out. But when it's different guys at different times, that takes some pressure off the coaches, and we're able come together and I feel like we've got great team chemistry already. On off the court, hanging out and continue to build that into the season and hopefully another postseason.

KSO: I know it’s still really early, but how much different is it not having Barry, Dean, and Kam here?

PM: It is a little different, just because I was around them every single year. and that was my idea. But in the spring, even though they were here for workouts every once in a while, they're off doing their own things, we got to really come together as a returning group, and work together and start to step up into leadership roles and talk about things before those newcomers got here. So when they got here in the summer, we already had a kick-start into it. And they obviously got to see Barry, Dean, and Kam play, but it wasn't like they're just listening to them, either. They were just here on their visits, and things like that. So now us being the voice of reason from the very get go, I feel like it's made it an easy transition, hopefully. That was my goal was to make it easy, seamless. And can you continue to do that and build on it?

KSO: What are your thoughts on the newcomers DaJuan Gordon, Montavious Murphy, Antonio Gordon, and David Sloan?

PM: DaJuan is a special dude, seriously. Just as a person, he's an upstanding guy and he does things the right way. I won't say this with him in here, but he's so mature for a freshman, true freshman, especially. Everybody has their moments, but he really wants to listen. And I've never really seen that from a true freshman before, where they may get upset, but he's still going to listen to you, still going to learn from that and kind of move on. And, obviously, he's so skilled as a basketball player as is, that only you know helps his game. Really looking forward to see his growth this year and years to come, too.

Antonio, got to know him a little bit, we play one on one every once in a while, kind of being in about the same body type, obviously he's he's a little bit taller but he’s 4/3 (PF/SF) and I’m kind of 3/4 (SF/PF). Just going at those guys, making them competitive, trying to get that edge. Making sure they're arriving early to meetings and workouts. Just little things like that, that can help them stay on top of things instead of falling behind.

I feel like they do well, those two, and then Montavious is another good example of that. He kind of drags those two along in his car, different places, making sure they're getting there. So I don't necessarily see all that being in grad school. I don't see it, you know, I'm not there at the 7:30 a.m. study tables or anything like that. But, from what I've heard, you know, Monte is obviously really skilled, as well, and does a good job. He's been fighting a couple little injury bugs here and there.

So I haven't seen as much from him, and kind of same thing with David (Sloan), we're just getting him back, but he's really skilled, got a lot of good vision, and working his tail off to get back to where he was pre-injury. So it was good to have him out there. Today (last Thursday) was kind of the first time we got him in live action with coaches and everything.

KSO: What’s the guard position going to look like now with Barry and Kam gone?

PM: Obviously having Mike, Carti, and X back from Elite Eight run, and Big 12 regular season championship, with high minutes, is fantastic. I mean, even though we did have Barry and Kam, and they were kind of more the face of it being older and playing four years, those guys have a lot of experience. And even Shaun (Neal-Williams), he's got some good experience, as well. X and Carti are going to be superstars. They’re really good athletes, really skilled, really work on their craft, being a leader, and just different things like that they’re going to evolve naturally. Now Mike and Shaun are guys taking that next step. I'll kind of brag on Mike (McGuirl). I love Mike, he's he's kind of my guy, sit right next to him in the locker room and saying, ‘major’ and things like that. So we just kind of give each other some crap every once in a while. But he really works hard. And I hated to see him kind of have that hand injury, but he's coming back great from that already. And I'm expecting big things from him this year, because he was working really hard, and he's going to continue to work hard to get back to the hundred-percent healthy, and I'm kind of excited for his next step.

KSO: With Mak and Levi having the most on court experience among the bigs, how do you see that position playing out?

PM: Ultimately, it's the confidence in the coaches, and they're making that decision. And I feel confident with any of those guys out there. They work hard. Having Nigel (Shadd) and James (Love) with a lot of experience, as well, just being around here, I know they may not have as much court experience. I expect James to take that next step, as well. He's been playing well in the, you know, one-on-one in the big individual workouts, from what I've been hearing, can see it in the weight room while we're lifting. But I expect him to take a big step.

If Nigel can just keep piecing little things together, he's a freak athlete, and he will be able to fit at that level. So he's just got a couple more things to click.

Then obviously with Antonio and Montavious stepping into that role, more of that stretch four that can really space it, shoot it, and put on the deck when they need to. It's just all about them getting reps and getting confidence and then learning our system. Because with coming from high school, a lot of those guys, they're the ones that are shooting all the time, they can get away with little things that if you do that, at this level will hurt your team. So just kind of breaking those small habits and developing those good ones as any freshman goes through. It'll be interesting to see once the season starts, and obviously we're a long ways away. We're just starting practice here this coming Wednesday. We just kind of had our last day of strictly court conditioning and then Monday we've got kind of our finale. Then Tuesday off and right back at it Wednesday.

KSO: What are you thoughts on the new graduate assistants Jordan Henriquez-Roberts, Mason Schoen, and Nate Michael?

PM: It's really good. It's kind of crazy. I've seen, I mean being my fifth year, I've seen my fair share of GAs, and I don't know a lot of guys usually get to see that. Starting off, we had Aaron Proctor and then Mike Furlong, who's now been moving up to video coordinator and then now student athlete development position. And then having Shane (Southwell) and Ryan (Strohm) last year, and so it's kind of crazy.

I was such a big fan of K-State basketball, and with my dad kind of being a part of helping with sports medicine I got to go on that trip to Brazil years back. I actually, like, would kick it with JO on that trip as like a sophomore in high school, and he always was really nice to me. Just being a high school kid and big fan, he knew I had aspirations at some point and just going from that point, so, now, you know, him helping mentor in a game-like atmosphere here has been really cool.

Obviously knowing Mason, he's been one of my best friends on the team. Coming in I learned from Brian Rohleder right away but it was him, Austin Budke, Zach Winter, those guys that were just a little bit older than me, I learned a lot from them. So it's nice to have Mason back it. It's a little bit of a different relationship, because obviously, you know, we were players together. And now it's, you know, he's kind of got more of that coach role. So I give him crap sometimes about little things. And he's still trying to be as professional as he should be from now and then. It’s still good to have him back.

And then meeting Nate, from what I heard he was a really good player. From what I've seen out there, he really wants to help us work on our game as well. And I'm kind of excited to see the insight that he brings, too.

KSO: Would you consider being a GA one day?

PM: It'll be hard. I thought about it, especially early, like my redshirt year when I would understand things, but physically, my body wasn't caught up to that yet. And I was like, ‘Man, maybe I should coach like, I really get this, but I just can't, necessarily put it into action yet.’ So, like, that's why I kept working with Ben in the weight room, doing extra workouts and things like that. But as a walk on for a couple of years - and I was fortunate enough that my parents could help kind of pay for the education - but but still having some of those costs there, I kind of want to go make some money with that degree. And I feel like there's some at least there to start off. I'm definitely not eliminating any possibility of that, because I do enjoy being around basketball being around college athletics specifically. So hopefully that that door will be there. I've met a lot of people through K-State, through the student athlete advisory committee within athletics. Ultimately, one day, I'd like some job that somewhere around basketball, college basketball, sports something in that regard, whether that is more on the business side or kind of coming back to the coaching side. So, not right away, but we'll see down the road.

KSO: What does K-State mean to you?

PM: Home, for sure. This this always be my home, and I’ll always come back here. Obviously, my parents being here but even if they were to move away at some point, this is where I grew up. This is where high school, college, and my love grew for the game. And I really can't say enough about K-State, it's kind of hard to find all the words, and I'm sure at the end of the year, I'll be able to put some things together. I'm just trying to live, you know, in the moment and enjoy it for what it is right now. But there are so many people I could thank for helping me get to this point and helping me develop while I'm here. People that aren't even necessarily here anymore. They moved on to two different jobs and things like that. But seriously, everyone who's who's reached out and kind of helped me grow as a person and player. I can't thank K-State enough. It's changed my life in such a positive way.