Crowd gives rousing welcome home to Shocker basketball team (VIDEO)

Even before the Wichita State players were able to set their feet down on the campus concrete, a crowd of about 200 supporters was celebrating.

People were hoisted up on others’ shoulders just to catch a glimpse of the Shockers returning to campus at around 10:20 p.m. Sunday.

Loud chants of “Best in Kansas” and “Gregg Marshall” filled the air as the players stepped off the bus one by one to retrieve their bags.

The assembled crowd held up smartphones to film the scene, just as the players did – just from the opposite perspective.

Coach Gregg Marshall received perhaps the loudest applause of any.

“How’s Wichita? How’s Wichita? Good?” he asked a group of young fans as he smiled for a photo with them.

“Shocker Nation has a lot of pride right now,” Marshall said. “All those people who’ve had that ‘little brother syndrome’ have a chance to puff out their chest.”

Junior Evan Wessel, who was one of the key players in Sunday’s win over the University of Kansas, was swarmed by fans the minute he stepped off the bus.

“It’s unbelievable to see all these fans just to see us coming off of the bus,” Wessel said before pausing to take a picture while cradling a baby. “It really speaks to our fans. The whole town’s excited, just like we are. Now we just want to celebrate this win and move on to the Sweet 16.”

Friends and strangers alike mingled with each other on the concrete outside Koch Arena on Sunday night.

Sophomore Brant Boswell, an engineering major at Wichita State, said this was the second time he had come to greet the team at Koch Arena – the first being when the Shockers returned after losing to Kentucky in last year’s NCAA Tournament.

“That was a lot more sad than this time,” Boswell said. “It’s a shame that two Kansas teams had to play each other so early in the tournament, but at the end of the day, I think that better team” got the win.

Marshall said the team will spend its next few days before Thursday’s match-up with Notre Dame watching film and practicing as normal.

This story was originally published March 22, 2015 at 11:10 PM with the headline "Crowd gives rousing welcome home to Shocker basketball team (VIDEO)."