By Tyler Scott
At the beginning of the season, the candidates for Big 12 Player of the Year were hefty. Now, it looks like there may be a clear answer in who the award may go to.
Senior guard Jacob Pullen has had a phenomenal season. Over the course of the last four games, he has scored at least 20 points in each of them. His biggest game came against Kansas when he recorded a career high 38 and was 5-of-6 from beyond the arc on Big Monday on Feb. 14.
He has also had a few weeks this season where he has been named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week and was also named National Player of the Week last week.
Senior forward Curtis Kelly put his performances this season in perspective.
“He’s playing big time and he’s making big shots when they are there,” Kelly said. “He’s our leader and we have to keep trying to score.”
Today against Missouri, Pullen recorded 24 points and also became the sixth player in Big 12 history to reach 2,000 points.
Head coach Frank Martin said Pullen has been a contributor ever since he put on a K-State uniform.
“He’s never shied away from becoming a special player,” Martin said. “He’s willing to accept the team’s responsibility for their success. He also has the will to grow and get better.”
Pullen and K-State still have two more regular season games before the Big 12 Tournament, but his streak of big point performances should continue throughout the rest of the season. There’s no word yet on what seed K-State will get in the tournament, but no matter who they play, the opponent will need to keep a good eye on this Wildcat star.
