WSU notes: Freshmen Keyser, Reaves return to practice, behind in conditioning

For an athlete, there is something worse than a rough practice in which coaches and teammates point out your mistakes, sometimes at high volume. What’s worse is not practicing.

So when C.J. Keyser returned to Wichita State basketball practices recently, he took the criticism and instruction with the right spirit.

“The first day was hell,” he said. “Everybody was on me. No slack.… They didn’t get any slack in the summer time, so I shouldn’t get any slack now.”

Keyser is one of two Shockers freshmen on the roster, both of whom missed most of the summer while recovering from injury. Keyser missed most of summer workouts after stress injuries in two bones in his right foot sidelined him. Guard Austin Reaves underwent surgery on his left shoulder to repair a torn labrum in March. He eased back into action starting in mid-July.

Neither played in WSU’s exhibition trip to Canada in early August. Both are playing catchup after their teammates benefited from 10 practices and four games, in addition to small-group workouts in June and July.

“I got to watch throughout the whole summer and I sat over here and took (mental) notes and figured out how the system ran,” Reaves said. “I talked to the coaches a lot about the system and they say if you know the system and do the right things, you’re going to get rewarded.”

The biggest challenge in September, when the Shockers are allowed eight hours a week to practice in small groups or as a team, is conditioning.

“The foot feels fine,” Keyser said. “From the first day to now, I can definitely see a lot of improvement. I’m still trying to get in shape like the rest of the guys who played in Canada and have been working out the entire time. I’ve got to get in shape so I can impact the game on both ends.”

Marshall is looking forward to that version of Keyser, a 6-foot-3 guard from Baltimore. He stayed off his feet most of the summer, so he is behind Reaves on the path to playing shape.

“He’s just in dreadful condition,” Marshall said. “He’s an elite athlete, I hope. But he’s not an elite athlete right now because he’s kind of sucking wind a little bit.”

Reaves, a 6-foot-5 guard from Newark, Ark., started playing basketball, while prohibited from full practices, before the trip to Canada. His playmaking and shooting skills at both guard spots are making a good impression.

“He’s savvy,” Marshall said. “He can score. He plays hard. You can see it, if he gets stronger and stays healthy.”

Reaves came to WSU in June weighing 161 pounds. He is up to 175. Strength, Marshall said, is holding him back.

“Freshman body,” Marshall said.

Reaves feels the disadvantage most acutely when he drives into the lane and bigger defenders bump him off scoring lanes. Shoulder problems — he had surgery on the right shoulder before his sophomore year in high school — prohibited him from lifting weights in high school.

“I’ve got to get a lot bigger,” Reaves said. “When I get bigger and stronger I can play more physical, finish better in the lane.”

Even as skinny freshman, Reaves’ talents are appreciated by teammates.

“You can’t give him any space, any space at all,” Keyser said. “He can really shoot the lights out of the ball from anywhere on the floor.”

Keyser and Reaves are roommates in Shocker Hall. They worked through the physical and mental strain of injury together.

“We just kept telling each other every day to stay focused, stick to the system, learn to the system,” Reaves said. “We knew we were going to get our opportunity to show the skills we have. C.J. is one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever seen.”

In Mitch’s memory — The family of Mitch Caster, a former WSU baseball player, opened a gofundme.com page to raise money for the memorial scholarship in Caster’s name.

Caster, an outfielder and pitcher, died in a traffic accident in late August 2010 in West Des Moines, Iowa. He was on his way to Wichita after spending the summer playing for the Rochester (Minn.) Honkers.

Caster’s family started a memorial scholarship soon after his death and raised around $6,000. The family is fund-raising to build up the scholarship at www.gofundme.com/mitch-scholarship. The scholarship goes to a WSU baseball player.

“We wanted to reignite it,” said Susie Caster, his mother.

Her goal is $10,000. As of Friday, donors, including several former Shockers, donated $1,230.

“When he was young and in high school he couldn’t see himself wearing anything but black and gold,” Susie Caster said. “His passion in life was baseball. We want to carry that passion forward.”

The Mitch Caster Shocker Baseball Scholarship is considered a “current” fund scholarship. Those scholarships operate with a finite amount, according to Belinda Venters, WSU Foundation director of communications. When the money is gone, the scholarship is usually closed.

It takes $5,000 to open a current scholarship and $35,000 to endow a scholarship.

Caster, who attended Goddard High, played for WSU from 2008-10.

This story was originally published September 10, 2016 at 1:51 PM with the headline "WSU notes: Freshmen Keyser, Reaves return to practice, behind in conditioning."