The players know now is the time to take the next step. The foundation has been laid, but coach Frank Martin admits plenty of work remains to compete with the league's best.
"We're getting there. I don't feel like we're quite there yet," said Martin. "You look at the success that other programs have had, some people have done that for 10, 11, 12 consecutive years and that's a credit to the leadership in those programs.
"We've had some kind of success over the last couple of years -- I think that started when (Bob Huggins) got hired and we came here and we tried to create a foundation for what we wanted to do.
"We've still got a ways to go to be where we need to be to consistently compete with Kansas and Texas and Oklahoma, some of the teams in this league."
The Wildcats have been picked fourth in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll, tying the 2007-08 team for the highest preseason mark since the formation of the conference 14 years ago.
K-State has several of the pieces to the puzzle in place to help meet the expectations placed upon it, including experience and increased athleticism.
An improved presence in the frontcourt that includes Connecticut transfer Curtis Kelly and heralded freshman forward Wally Judge should help take some of the offensive pressure off of Pullen and senior guard Denis Clemente, who combined to averag nearly 29 points per game last season.
Martin has taken the Wildcats to the postseason consecutive years, the first coach to do so in more than 20 years. But there's something that's been missing from those seasons.
"We're the only school other than Kansas that's been in the topthird of the league for the past three years," he said. "We've accomplished a lot of good.
"With all that said, we really have nothing to show for it -- we haven't won any trophies. Yeah, we went to the NCAA Tournament and won a game, that's great, we did that with nine first-year guys -- we're real proud of that. We followed that up with another postseason appearance last year, that's great.
"But those are small steps, we've gotta take another step, we've gotta become a serious contender for that Big 12 regular-season title."
The task will be difficult, considering Kansas, the preseasonpick to win the conference, returns two preseason All-Americans and is expected by most to be the No. 1 team in the nation when the polls are released later this month.
"I think the league is the best since I've been in it and I think it's the best it's going to be since the inception of the league," said KU coach Bill Self.
Due to the talent and depth in the league, it will be an immense challenge for the Wildcats if they hope to lay claim to their first Big 12 championship.
"It's hard, we know it's hard, we don't take it for granted," Martin said. "We're not waking up every morning, saying `oh, we're gonna win the Big 12.' No, we say we're gonna work as hard as we can and we're gonna shoot for the Big 12 title."
But K-State's potential to win the conference is nothing new from the previous two years. Two years ago, the Wildcats got off to a 5-0 start in conference play and were leading the pack.
"We were capable of doing it last year, we were capable of doing it two years ago with a bunch of freshmen -- we were in first place in the league 10 games in," he said.
"We couldn't finish the deal, because of injuries, suspensions and youth, and probably my stupidity."
With four returning starters back and a strong offseason in the weightroom under their belt, Martin is confident in his team.
"It's the most balanced, deepest, most athletic team that we've had since I've been at K-State, possibly since I've been in college basketball," he said.
Because of that, the Wildcats hope they aren't sitting nervously on the edge of their seats this year during the NCAA Tournament Selection show, something they've gone through the previous three seasons.
"The sky is the limit for this team," Pullen said. "There's something different since I've been here. I think this year we have the total package.
"As a team, we have five new faces, they don't really understand what they're working for because they haven't had a taste of anything. So you get to the point that you gotta keep explaining and keep letting them know that the NCAA Tournament is the standard and nothing under that -everything else is a failure basically."
And if Pullen gets his wish, he could be enjoying a glass of Chardonnay on Selection Sunday this year.
