The point guard dribbles the ball up the court. He looks left and then passes it down low to the big man. Out of the corner, number 55 streaks to the left wing waving one hand to signal that he is open for the shot. Within a second, K-State freshman Will Spradling has the ball in his hands and takes the shot three feet beyond the three-point line. He drains it. Hard to believe that just a year ago Spradling wore number 5 for the Raiders.

During his time at South, Spradling had many accomplishments: second all-time career scorer with 1,295 points and second all-time career assists with 128. He was named First Team All Sunflower for three years, All Johnson County, All Sun Country, and his senior year, All State. Following high school, Spradling chose to start his college career with the Kansas State Wildcats and was, at one point, the starting point guard for the number three team in the country.

Making the switch from high school to college basketball can be difficult — adjusting to bigger opponents and a faster pace. In order to be successful, Spradling had to make changes to his game.

“This summer I put on 20 pounds,” Spradling said. “And then just everyday we played pick-up ball as a team and that helped me adjust to the speed.”

Spradling’s scholarship at a prominent school was the result of hours of practice and heart for the game.

“Everyday [in high school], I was in the gym working out, working on my game,” Spradling said. “I tried to practice anywhere from seven to ten hours a week outside of practice.”

One person familiar with Spradling’s work ethic is his high school coach, Brett McFall, who began working with Spradling when he was in the sixth grade.

“He was just so good and so advanced I was able to teach him advanced stuff at a young age,” McFall said. “He’s the best player I’ve coached. He had a great work ethic so he worked really hard and that’s how he got so good.”

All the coaching in the world would not have mattered if Spradling was not willing to learn or have the talent to take the skills learned to the next level.

“[The] main thing that [McFall] taught me was the step-back jumper,” Spradling said. “And that’s really helped me out because that’s the best way to get your shot off at this level.”

McFall also noticed that, from a young age,  Spradling had a good sense of the court — a skill  crucial for being successful at the college level.

“He saw things before they happened,” McFall said. “He was a great decision maker, and that’s what made him stand out, is great pass making and seeing the floor.”

High school is an important time in any athlete’s career — the competitions are intense and the rivalries are filled with hate. It was no different for Spradling.

“I can pretty much remember every single one of my high school games starting freshman year, just about every one of them I can vividly remember the big plays of the game and how I played,” Spradling said.

Spradling’s skills impressed many, but he wasn’t always so intense. In high school, he would play for fun,  but even then he would continue to inspire.

“He was mostly pretty serious about getting better, but when he would mess around he would throw down 360° dunks and make crazy trick shots,” freshman basketball player Colson Bayles said.

During his short time at K-State, Spradling has been successful. He is averaging 20.5 minutes of playing time, shooting .407 from the floor and has scored 128 points so far this season.

“I feel like I just have to go out there and play my game,” Spradling said.

Since Spradling made such an impact at Shawnee Mission South and continues to turn heads at K-State, he has become someone to look up to for future Raider basketball players.

Bayles said, “I think that all Raider basketball players look up to Will as a role model. He was a superior high school basketball player and made it to D1.”

By Adam Mateos