Samuels opts to sit as redshirt

Kansas State men's basketball coach Frank Martin announced on Friday that freshman forward Jamar Samuels has opted to redshirt the 2007-08 season.

"After visiting with Jamar and his mother, we think the best decision for him is to take a redshirt for the rest of the season," Martin said. "Jamar continues to make strides in practice and we think he is going to be an outstanding player for us in the future."

Samuels, along with his high school teammate Dominique Sutton, joined the squad on Dec. 26, 2007 after completing the necessary academic requirements.

Both Samuels and Sutton came to Kansas State after playing at The Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C., for head coach Chris Chaney. The duo played a major role in helping the Bulldogs to a 36-4 overall record and a No. 3 national prep school ranking in 2006-07. The squad advanced to the inaugural Prep School National Championship, where they lost in the semifinals to the eventual national champions Notre Dame (Mass.) Prep, led by future teammate Michael Beasley.

A 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward from Washington, D.C., Samuels played just one season at The Patterson School after a stellar playing career at Archibishop Carroll High School in his hometown. He averaged 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks per game as a junior, while he averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks as a sophomore. He also starred on the AAU circuit with the DC Assault alongside Beasley, Sutton and fellow freshman Ron Anderson.

K-State (10-4) opens Big 12 play on Saturday, as they travel to Norman, Okla., to face Oklahoma (12-3) at the Lloyd Noble Center at 5 p.m.