‘He was MVP a lot’: Remembering Wichita man, 23, killed in QuikTrip shooting

Sometimes when Billy McPherson is working as a custodian at Wichita West High, he will pass by a student wearing Chosen One clothes.

He stops them and proudly tells them it’s his son’s clothing line.

He and his family plan to keep the clothing line going, even though his son has died.

Knowledge McPherson died the day after he was shot early Sept. 30 in the parking lot of a southeast Wichita QuikTrip.

Police arrested a teenager.

Family, friends and a longtime basketball and football coach all remembered the 23-year-old for his humor, fashion, good manners and athleticism.

Mark Gaddis coached McPherson for six years — from when he was in elementary school until high school — in football on the Wichita Cowboys and also, for a few years, in basketball, with that extending into McPherson’s freshman year.

Gaddis last saw McPherson about three years ago when his former player came to a game he was coaching.

“He was just the exact same kid. Had a smile on his face. Came up and gave me a hug. Same personality that he always had,” Gaddis said, adding when he coached McPherson, as a boy, he always made all the coaches laugh. “Coachable through both sports … He’s a kid who would listen to the coach, and he would do his very best to fulfill his role and help the team succeed.”

They had a powerhouse football team for a while, too, that won the season-ending Sooner Classic Tournament in Tulsa three years in a row.

“He was MVP a lot, to be honest with you,” Gaddis said about McPherson.

Teammates and parents nicknamed him Boogie Man — later many just knew him as Boogie — because, although he was one of the smallest defensive ends in the league, he was able to cause havoc in the backfield.

McPherson is survived by his daughter, Kelaia McPherson; parents, Billy and Tisha McPherson; siblings Anthony McPherson, Marlon Hardy, Deon-shae Sweeney, Makaila Hardy, Breja-ana McPherson, Wesley Adkins (who is actually a cousin but so close with McPherson that they consider each other brothers); a grandfather, cousins and nieces and nephews.

A funeral is planned for 2 p.m. Oct. 25 at New Life Church of Wichita, 1156 North Oliver. People are asked to wear any shade of purple, for royalty. The other colors are silver and black.

Adkins said he was shocked when he heard his cousin had died. Knowledge McPherson was someone who stayed out of trouble and got along with everyone, he said.

“The world had just stopped for me when I found out,” he said.

Growing up in Wichita

Adkins, a year behind McPherson in school, looked up to his cousin. He said cousins, nieces and nephews did as well.

Knowledge McPherson’s father, Billy McPherson, greatly shaped the man he turned out to be, Adkins said, adding he also considered his uncle a father figure.

He remembers frequently staying at his aunt and uncle’s home, where “thank you” and “yes, sir” and “yes, ma’am” were mandatory.

Adkins remembers his uncle having them both do pushups every night before bed. They also couldn’t watch anything with curse words.

“The little things are what shaped us … he stayed on us, and that’s why are the way we are,” Adkins said.

Adkins’ aunt and uncle made sure the boys always got to and from practice and games.

McPherson started to shine earlier on in football as a defensive tackle and defensive end.

“He was by far probably the smallest defensive lineman in the city of Wichita, on any team. But he had a knack for getting through lines and getting the quarterbacks and running backs as well as any kid I have ever coached or ever watched,” said Gaddis, who coached McPherson in football from second to eighth grade. “He was really quick, really aggressive and really tackled well. … He was ferocious for such a small guy, and, again, always had a smile on his face.”

Kaleb Gaddis was a close friend of McPherson. He was also the coach’s son and a teammate. Gaddis said he remembers lots of sleepovers together at their teammate and friend Quintin Thomas’ house.

Thomas’ parents let them stay up later than the other parents, Gaddis said. To ensure the sleepovers would happen, McPherson was usually the one sent to the other parents to ask.

“It was always hard to say no to Knowledge, cause he was always smiling,” Gaddis said.

McPherson went on to play sports at West High School before his father allowed him to transfer to Southeast High School so he could rejoin Adkins and all the friends they grew up with and attended Curtis Middle School with as well.

Adkins stayed in football for longer at McPherson’s request. He quit in sixth grade. But his passion for basketball continued. He started to excel. In addition to playing on different teams, late night shoot arounds with McPherson at West High — which they were able to access while Billy McPherson was working the night shift — paid off.

The cousins got to play varsity together.

Adkins went on to play college basketball.

A barber and a clothing designer

After graduating from Southeast in 2020, McPherson went on to graduate from barber school, family said.

He enjoyed cutting hair for friends and family, but still felt he wanted something more.

McPherson was cutting Adkins’ hair in 2022 when Adkins mentioned he wanted to start a clothing line.

McPherson already had the same idea.

McPherson pulled out a book. He had sketches already drawn.

The two launched their own clothing lines — McPherson with Chosen One and Adkins with Smoothology.

McPherson had seen his father go from a custodian to the head custodian and then start his own cleaning business as well. McPherson often worked for his father, who trusted his son to go on his own and take care of cleaning for customers.

“I told him, ‘Son, the way you do anything, is the way you do everything,’” Billy McPherson said.

McPherson said he told his son how proud he was of him for working hard to write his own story. Knowledge McPherson was a patient and gentle father to his daughter, which his parents both admired.

“He was so gentle with her,” said McPherson’s mother, Tish McPherson. “His world was that baby.”

‘His brand is mine and my brand is his’

Meanwhile, the clothing lines the cousins started were growing in popularity.

“We both work on each other’s brand, like his brand is mine and my brand is his,” Adkins said.

The two marketed their brands at shows they attended in Wichita and Oklahoma. They also tried traveling last year to one in Houston, but weather forced them to stop in Dallas.

They made the most of it and sold their clothes out of the trunk of their vehicle.

McPherson also briefly had a shop downtown where he worked on his clothing line.

For McPherson, the name Chosen One had to do with trying to be the best at whatever you do.

Saying goodbye

Adkins talked to McPherson hours before he was shot. After getting off the phone, Adkins figured McPherson would be going to bed, like he was.

Adkins’ mother woke him up to tell him McPherson had been shot.

‘I was in shock because it was like, ‘Who in the heck would shoot Knowledge?’” he said.

Family said McPherson was with his daughter and the mother of his daughter at the time of the shooting. Police previously said a male and female were involved in a disturbance; the woman went inside the QuikTrip and made a call. Another vehicle showed up with the teen and an altercation ended in the shooting.

McPherson’s parents got a call from the hospital about 5:45 a.m. The person told them their son had been shot.

They went to the hospital. Medical staff told them he could hear what they said.

“So we just talked and we prayed. My wife prayed, all of us prayed … and cried and just talked to him,” Billy McPherson said.

They also had his daughter speak to him over the phone.

Mom told her son to fight, talk to God and repent. Dad told him they were there for him.

Doctors declared Knowledge McPherson brain dead on Oct. 1, family said. He had signed up to be an organ donor; parts of his body were going to help six people, family said.

Billy McPherson said that was the first time they learned he had signed up for that.

Knowledge McPherson had sketched a couple different designs for new clothes. The family plans to release those at a later date. They also plan to keep the clothing line going. The proceeds will benefit his daughter. They also want to try to give a percentage to crime victims.

McPherson’s second to last post on Facebook, done on Sept. 26, thanked people for supporting his company.

“I’m grateful to have this community rocking with me,” he wrote, ending: “Much love to every single one of you.”

His clothes can be found at chosenone.store.