K-State eager to embrace Bob Huggins despite rocky past.

	The Walk-On Mark Potter is senior at K-State and works as a sports reporter for the Kansas State Collegian.
	K-State was willing to overlook Huggins past improprieties because of his winning reputation. Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images Sport

By Mark Potter

For the past decade, the men's basketball program at Kansas State has served as the punch line of many jokes and rightfully so.

After former K-State coach Jim Wooldridge failed to make the postseason in each of his first four seasons, Athletics Director Tim Weiser rewarded Wooldridge with a two-year contract extension. It took six seasons of mediocrity before Weiser would eventually fire Wooldridge, who finished his K-State career with an 83-90 overall record (.480).

Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in Wooldridge's tenure occurred in the first round of the 2003 Big 12 Tournament, when forward Pervis Pasco celebrated prematurely against Colorado.

The Pasco Fiasco goes like this:

Pasco stole a pass in the final three seconds, seemingly cementing a Wildcats victory. With the ball in one hand, Pasco raised his other arm and started to leave the court. The referees whistled him for traveling, and on the ensuing play, Colorado's James Wright banked in a 3-pointer to win the game.

It was painful to watch. I didn't know whether to laugh in disbelief, yell in anger or simply feel bad for the young man.

And who could forget K-State's embarrassing 31-game losing streak against Kansas? The streak ended with the Wildcats' 59-55 victory in Lawrence on Jan. 14, 2006, but they have yet to beat the Jayhawks at K-State's 18-year-old Bramlage Coliseum.

The point is that K-State basketball is just a shell of what it once was. The last time the Wildcats received an NCAA tournament bid was 1996, the Big 12 Conference's inaugural year.