Evan Wessel’s career day comes at right time for Shockers
OMAHA – Evan Wessel set season highs on Sunday in defensive rebounds, three-pointers and outward emotion.
At the end of Wichita State’s 78-65 win over Kansas in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, Wessel, a WSU junior forward, gestured toward the contingent of Shocker fans in the lower level of the CenturyLink Center.
Wessel waved and raised his arms, inciting more cheers than those fans were already mustering. It was a familiar late-game scene notable only because the player involved, Wessel, is known for avoiding such displays.
“I guess a lot of times I don’t show my emotions,” Wessel said. “(I’m a) pretty straightforward guy, but at that point I just wanted to give it to our fans, give it to my family out in the crowd.”
Wessel, a 6-foot-4 junior, came close to season highs in even more statistics. He played 30 minutes, his third straight game with at least that many and six short of the season-high 36 he had against Indiana on Friday.
Wessel’s 12 points – on a season-best four three-pointers – approached his 15 against Saint Louis on Dec. 6 and he tied a season-high with nine rebounds, six on the defensive glass.
Wessel’s game was played in phases. His early highlights came as he defended 6-foot-8 KU power forward Perry Ellis, his former Heights High teammate, in the first half. Ellis tied for the team high with 17 points, but few of them came easy.
The height disadvantage was overcome by Wessel’s physicality and the Shockers’ help when Wessel was beaten.
“Giving up three, four inches to Perry Ellis most of the day, and (Wessel) fought him, evenly I thought,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said.
The next phase for Wessel was his barrage of three-pointers. The first one kept WSU in the game, cutting an eight-point KU lead to 24-19 with 4:14 to go in the first half, and the next three kept the Jayhawks out of it.
Each of Wessel’s three second-half three-pointers gave the Shockers their biggest lead at the time. He led off the trifecta by putting WSU ahead 37-30 with 16:52 to go. A little more than three minutes later, it was 46-34, then 54-40 two minutes after that.
“That’s what our offense has been lacking at times this year,” Marshall said. “Just one more guy that can step out and make the shots.”
The in-game version of Wessel’s exuberance was one of two three-pointers he missed.
WSU led 69-59 with about three minutes to go and had just broken KU’s press to give Wessel and unguarded three-point try in the corner with about 25 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
Wessel had passed up several similar shots but, with emotions beginning to stir, he fired away. A swish would have sealed the outcome, but Wessel missed. Marshall and Wessel laughed about the moment after the game.
“I guess you could say it was somewhat of a heat check,” Wessel said. “Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have taken it, but you can’t second-guess yourself out there. I probably should have iced the clock a little bit more, but it worked out in our favor.”
The three-pointers, rebounds, durability and reliability were blended with Wessel’s usual blend of intangibles. He dove for loose balls and battled Ellis with a gamesmanship that belied the height disadvantage, and he made an impression on KU coach Bill Self.
“Evan Wessel is a stud,” Self said. “To me, he was the most valuable guy of the game, and to me he dominated the game from a loose-ball energy. And then, of course, he shot the ball in the hole well.”
Wessel improved his scoring and rebounding averages, as well as his national reputation and perception, and he went off the charts with zeal that even his teammates haven’t seen.
Well, most of his teammates.
“I live with him, so do we really want to talk about this?” WSU junior Ron Baker joked. “No, it was really good to see Evan let loose there, let the crowd know that this one was for the fans of Wichita State.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2015 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Evan Wessel’s career day comes at right time for Shockers."