Wichita State legend Xavier McDaniel has become Shockers’ biggest fan in South Carolina

Gregg Marshall wasn’t the only Shocker who was excited to be playing in South Carolina.

Former Wichita State great Xavier McDaniel, who resides in Columbia, S.C., knew he had to make the drive to see the Shockers play Wednesday at Furman in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

WSU made the trip worth it, winning 76-70 to advance to the second round. The Shockers will be back in South Carolina on Sunday when they take on Clemson at 1 p.m. Central time in the second round.

“It’s always great to watch my old team play, and especially win,” McDaniel told The Eagle after the game. “It’s great for them to be in the state of South Carolina to play Furman and now Clemson. Hopefully they can get two wins and beat them Tigers.”

McDaniel was impressed by the 50 or so WSU fans who were in attendance. He was even invited back into the locker room by Marshall to help celebrate the victory.

“I like the fan turnout,” McDaniel said. “Even when I was in the NBA, I didn’t realize we had that many people in Dallas, New York, Seattle, Utah. Shocker fans are all over the world. They came out (Wednesday) and now going to Litlejohn and Clemson, South Carolina, hopefully they’ll come back out to that game and we can get the win.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2019 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Wichita State legend Xavier McDaniel has become Shockers’ biggest fan in South Carolina."