Q-and-A with Frank Martin

It's hardly shocking that fans in the college-basketball-crazed Midwest are spending hundreds of dollars on tickets for this week's CBE Classic in Kansas City.

What's a bit abnormal, however, is that the tournament's main drawing card isn't tradition-rich Kansas, but rather Kansas State.

"Hopefully," Wildcats coach Frank Martin said, "a lot of people will put on purple and fill the place up."

That shouldn't be a problem.

The 18,555-seat Sprint Center has been sold out for weeks, and with teams such as No. 1 Duke, No. 11 Gonzaga and NCAA tournament mainstay Marquette in the field, it's easy to see why.

Still, no team will generate as much excitement locally as the third-ranked Kansas State Wildcats, who are suddenly getting just as much respect – and generating an equal amount of buzz – as in-state rival and seventh-ranked Kansas.

For that, the Wildcats can thank Martin, who spent one year as a Kansas State assistant before being tabbed to replace Bob Huggins. Martin guided his team to the NCAA tournament in his first season, and the Wildcats reached the Elite Eight last spring and lost to eventual national runner-up Butler.

But with leading scorer and All-American candidate Jacob Pullen back along with 2009-10 standouts Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels, the Wildcats have a legitimate chance to go even farther this season.

The journey begins Monday, when Kansas State will face its toughest test of the young season in Gonzaga. Tipoff is at 9:30 p.m. ET. A victory in that contest would catapult Martin's squad into Tuesday's title game, likely against defending national champion Duke.

"Kansas has been as good as it gets for a long time," Martin said. "And Mike [Anderson] has got it going over at Missouri, just like I knew he would they hired him. We've been fortunate to win a few games lately, too, so there are some people excited.

"Hopefully we'll generate a little interest this week."

Martin talked about the CBE Classic – and shared some thoughts on his coaching philosophy – during an interview with Yahoo! Sports.

Q: What excites you the most about this week's tournament?

A: "Just the atmosphere. It's going to be big-time. This is already one of the best basketball cities in the country. You bring programs like Duke, Gonzaga and Marquette in here … I mean, all three of those schools have huge reputations. You've got the icon of the coaching profession coming here in Mike Krzyzewski. Not only for what he's done at Duke, but for what he's done for USA Basketball. It's no surprise that when he got involved in USA Basketball, it went from being the laughingstock of the country to all of a sudden dominant again."

Q: How much will playing this caliber of competition help your team?

A: "I knew that we had challenges as a team this year. Part of it was our youth. Part of it was that our upperclassmen, the guys that were already in place, were going to be forced into leadership positions. Playing these kinds of games challenges a team, it hardens a team and it forces people to accept responsibility. In order to have a chance to succeed in the Big 12, we better have played some serious folks before we get into conference play."

Q: So many television and radio commentators point out how tough you are with your players. They show images of you screaming during timeouts, and your "glare" has become legendary. Are people making too big of a deal about your coaching style?

A: "I don't know because I don't listen to them. I turn off the volume when I watch our games on film. As far as my style … I used to be worse. Back in 1985 I coached junior varsity basketball, and I was worse because I knew less."

Q: What makes players respect you so much instead of just viewing you as a coach who yells all the time?

A: "I'm demanding. I demand that our guys accept their responsibilities. I don't have to yell at Jacob Pullen anymore. It's not like I yell at the same guy every day for four years. I yell at the guys that don't accept responsibility. We go through practice and we rehearse things and we do the same things over and over and over, and then guys don't do their assignments during games because they're not responsible enough to accept them. Those are the ones who I need to teach. I need to get their behavior corrected."

Q: Some folks believe that demanding coaches such as yourself are becoming more and more rare, and that people are too soft when it comes to dealing with kids these days. Would you agree?

A: "Absolutely, but it's not a basketball problem. It's our entire society. You know what makes me sick to my stomach? When I hear grown people say that kids have changed. Kids haven't changed. Kids don't know anything about anything. We've changed as adults. We demand less of kids. We expect less of kids. We make their lives easier instead of preparing them for what life is truly about. We're the ones that have changed. To blame kids is a cop out."

Q: Even though you want to win as many games as possible, you obviously view yourself as a teacher and mentor to the student-athletes you coach. I'm guessing that's why you didn't play forward Curtis Kelly in last week's game against a good Virginia Tech team. In fear of losing, a lot of coaches would've played Kelly if they were mad at him.

A: "Winning is the No. 1 objective. Any time you play a game, you're playing to win. You have to prepare your team to win. In college basketball, though, the biggest key is to prepare your team to win over the long haul. Curt's my guy. He's changed his body, he's changed his work habits, he's got a college degree.

"But it's no different than handling my children. Just because they make mistakes doesn't mean I’m going to stop loving them. But when they make mistakes, I'm going to hold them accountable. I'm not going to make their life easy when they screw up, because all I'd be preparing them for is failure when I'm not in their daily life anymore. It's no different for Curt or any of the guys on our team. Those are my guys. They chose to come to school here. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for that."

Q: What's the biggest question mark surrounding this team?

A: "Our youth. Our upperclassmen have never been forced to lead. Now it's on their shoulders and they're learning under fire. Everyone else is very young. They're great kids. I wouldn't trade the guys in our locker room for anyone else. But we're immature. We've got to grow up."

Q: How well do you think your players will handle the pressures that accompany the high expectations that have been heaped upon them?

A: "I have no idea. I guess we're going to find out real soon. I love our guys. Our guys prepare. Our guys compete. Our guys care. But are we going to be able to line up and win a lot of games? I don't know. We might be able to handle everything we're talking about, or we might not be any good. As simple as it sounds, I don't pay attention to winning and losing. If we don't win, we don't win. What's important to me is that our guys prepare the right way and that they go out and compete and do the things we've taught them to do."

Q: Who are your biggest mentors in the coaching profession?

A: "My high school coach, Shaky Rodriguez. And, of course, Hugs (Bob Huggins), Anthony Grant (Alabama) and Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss). When I need to visit with someone about something I'm going through or a decision I have to make, those are the guys I turn to."

Q: Last thing: You've lived in Manhattan, Kansas for four years now. How much has it grown on you?

A: "My wife is happy here. With her being happy it gives me peace of mind, because I love it here, too. I coach college basketball for a living. Why not do it in one of the ultimate college towns in the entire country? People love basketball here. It's a program that has an incredible history. It's got unbelievable tradition, and we're in a great basketball conference. The situation has everything a college basketball coach would ever want or need."