K-State guard expected to play at Texas after being linked to Overland Park shooting

Kansas State guard Amaad Wainright remains an active member of the Wildcats’ basketball team and will be available to play against Texas on Wednesday despite being linked to a shooting three weeks ago in Overland Park, coach Bruce Weber said Tuesday.

“He is with the team and playing and going to class,” Weber said at a news conference Tuesday. “He is doing what he is supposed to do.”

Wainright’s playing status was in doubt after Overland Park police said a passenger in his car fired a handgun into the back seat of another car on Jan. 17. There have been no arrests, but police are investigating.

Wainright is considered an “involved other” in the case, according to a copy of the incident report, which lists three crimes — aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal damage to property (estimated at $1,500) and criminal discharge of a firearm. The crimes were reported to be the result of a road-rage incident at about 5 p.m. along I-435 between State Line and Roe in Overland Park. They were reported three hours later.

No one was injured.

Wainright is listed as the driver on the investigation page of the report. The passenger is not identified.

Wainright, a 6-foot-2 junior, is from Kansas City. His involvement in the incident is unclear. Overland Park police spokesman John Lacy said police have not interviewed Wainright.

Weber said Wainright informed of him of the incident soon after it happened.

“We were aware of it,” Weber said. “He has cooperated. He has communicated. I have communicated with (athletic director) Gene Taylor. I have communicated with (executive associate AD of internal operations and event management) Casey Scott. They have communicated with authorities.”

On Monday night, K-State athletics released a statement that read: “Amaad fully cooperated with authorities and was not charged. To our knowledge, this matter is resolved.”

The night before the incident, Wainright helped K-State upset Oklahoma 87-69 at Bramlage Coliseum by coming off the bench to grab three rebounds. The Wildcats didn’t practice on Jan. 17 and had the day off before beginning preparations for a home game against TCU that weekend.

Wainright did not play against the Horned Frogs. At the time, K-State coach Bruce Weber said other guards had passed Wainright in the rotation and were more deserving of minutes in that game. Wainright has played in every other game.

Now, Weber admits that could be viewed as a one-game suspension.

“Obviously the timeline would look like that,” Weber said.

Weber has no plans to further punish Wainright.

“I’m not a bad person at all,” Wainright wrote on Twitter Monday night (the tweet has since been deleted). “That’s not my character no matter where I come from. I was raised right just the bad environment I was in.”

Wainright is averaging 2.9 points and 2.4 rebounds. He did not return a message seeking comment. K-State did not make him available to media on Tuesday.

Last week, Wainright was listed in Riley County police records as the victim of a burglary to his Manhattan apartment. Clothing items were listed at a loss of $1,156. No arrests have been made.

“We talk to all our guys about, obviously, anything off the court effects everybody,” Weber said. “It is the player, his family, his basketball program, his university. You want to be smart and take care of business. You have got to hold yourself accountable. We talk to all the guys about that and making sure they are doing what they are supposed to do.

“We remind them constantly, I promise you. Almost after every game, many nights, any incidents come up we are always talking to the guys about making good decisions in life and representing our program and university in a positive light.”

Wainright transferred to K-State this season from Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College. He played two seasons of high school basketball at Hogan Prep in Kansas City before transferring to John Burroughs High School in Burbank, Calif.

Weber hopes Wainright has learned from the incident.

“Now we have got to move forward,” Weber said. “Like all our guys, he has got to take care of business and do what he is supposed to do.”

This story was originally published February 6, 2018 at 3:49 PM with the headline "K-State guard expected to play at Texas after being linked to Overland Park shooting."