Five questions about Wichita State basketball before Saturday’s scrimmage

It may be a stripped-down version of Shocker Madness, but the Black and Yellow Scrimmage at Koch Arena on Saturday afternoon still offers fans their first chance to watch the Wichita State basketball teams before the 2018-19 season begins.

The free event starts at 2 p.m. with introductions of the women’s basketball team and a controlled, 20-minute scrimmage. Then the men’s team will take the court and do the same. There will also be a garage sale of WSU athletic gear inside the Multi-Purpose Gym from noon-3 p.m.

Here are five questions about the Shockers heading into Saturday:

1. Who is that again?

Fans might not always recognize who has the ball on Saturday, especially if the players don’t wear jerseys with their names on the back.

Nine of the 13 scholarship players on the men’s team are new, while 10 of the 15 players on the women’s team are new.

“I hope that fans are expecting to be patient with our two coaches and their staffs as they build completely new teams,” WSU athletic director Darron Boatright said. “It’s going to be a process. I think a lot of people are excited. It’s just matching that excitement with expectation is what we want to be sure to temper a little bit.

“We’ve witnessed some very high-performing teams of late and I’m not saying these teams are not going to be, but I’m just saying they are their own identity and it’s going to take some time to build them.”

2. How will Markis McDuffie look?

After suffering a stress fracture in his foot at the end of last summer, McDuffie never looked 100 percent comfortable on the floor during his junior season.

But he was fully healthy for the entire summer and reports from practices so far this fall have been encouraging.

For WSU to be competitive this season, the Shockers need the McDuffie who led the team in scoring and rebounding as a sophomore. If he shows the same burst and aggression he played with in 2016-17 on Saturday, WSU fans should feel a lot better about this coming season.

3. Will Teddy Buckets live up to his name?

WSU fans are collectively holding their breath waiting on news from the NCAA concerning Teddy Allen, a West Virginia transfer who is applying for a hardship waiver to be eligible for WSU this season.

Allen arrived to WSU this summer slimmed down and reports indicate he has been the team’s best scorer in practices. If his waiver is granted, Allen could give the Shockers the scoring punch they need this season.

Shockers fans shouldn’t waste this opportunity to see Teddy Buckets go to work. After all, it could be one of their only chances this season.

4. Which newcomers will flash?

Drawing any conclusions from a controlled, 20-minute scrimmage would be foolish, but this is all that fans will have to go on until WSU’s exhibition game in three weeks.

Dexter Dennis and his other-worldly athleticism probably have the most hype, but with eight other newcomers there is plenty to be excited about for Shockers fans.

At point guard, Ricky Torres and Samajae Haynes-Jones should go head-to-head. Jamarius Burton, Erik Stevenson and Chance Moore are all freshman guards with potential. Morris Udeze (traditional post) and Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler (stretch-five) provide two options for WSU in the post, which should also feature an interesting battle between 7-footer Asbjorn Midtgaard and 6-11 junior-college transfer Jaime Echenique.

5. How does WSU’s event compare to others?

Many fans were disappointed to see the dunk contest and three-point contest go away, but they should feel good that WSU is one of just four programs in the 12-team AAC that even puts on a season-kickoff event.

Nothing like this exists for fans of Houston, Tulsa, UCF, Temple, SMU, Tulane, East Carolina and South Florida.

No one is topping Memphis’ star-studded event on Thursday — the Penny Hardaway era got started in front of more than 18,000 fans. And even Connecticut is spicing up its “First Night” event with first-year coach Dan Hurley.

But just the fact that WSU is hosting a kickoff event proves it has one of the most basketball-crazed fan bases in the conference.