‘I don’t really like OU’: Here’s why WSU’s win was personal for Erik Stevenson
If the 10,727 fans at INTRUST Bank Arena for Saturday’s showdown between Wichita State and Oklahoma were any indication, many Shockers faithful are still upset about Austin Reaves’ decision to transfer from the Wichita State basketball program following the 2017-18 season.
It’s hard to say Reaves’ decision to leave hasn’t mutually benefited each side, though. Reaves has become OU’s top player and is averaging 17.6 points per game this season, while WSU took its lumps last season but has reloaded with a new-look roster and is now 9-1 following a 80-75 win over the Sooners Saturday.
But WSU sophomore Erik Stevenson, who scored a team-high 16 points, still thought he had a score to settle. It was nothing that Reaves had said or done, but rather the things that Stevenson remembers reading when he arrived at WSU — with certain fans acting like he was a second-rate replacement for Reaves.
“It shouldn’t be personal for me, but it kind of was,” Stevenson said. “There’s people that I’ve heard say I’m only playing because (Reaves) is gone and this and that. I took that personal. And for the majority of the game, he was locked up.”
But that wasn’t all for Stevenson, who still carried the memory of a 32-point loss WSU suffered last December in Oklahoma City.
“I don’t really like OU,” he continued. “They left a bad taste from last year. They walked around like they’re better than everybody. So it feels good to beat them here.”
Stevenson’s feelings seem to mirror those of a majority of the WSU fans in attendance Saturday. While there were small sections of cheering for Reaves when he was introduced before the game, many in the crowd drowned them in boos. In fact, some even booed Reaves every time he touched the ball and cheered raucously every time Reaves missed a shot.
One of the loudest cheers of the night came in the first half, when WSU center Jaime Echenique rolled to the basket for a slam dunk and was fouled by Reaves in the process.
Maybe that was more than he was expecting, but Reaves told the OU Daily earlier in the week leading up to the game that he was prepared for some boos. Reaves was not made available for comment afterward.
“I’m sure there will be a mixture of both,” Reaves said to the student newspaper. “I’ve already got a couple DMs on Instagram telling me good luck and stuff so I’m not thinking it’s gonna be all bad, but I’m sure there’s gonna be some.”
WSU’s defense did well to slow down Reaves, who entered as the second-leading scorer in the Big 12 so far this season. WSU sophomore Jamarius Burton started on Reaves and rotated with Dexter Dennis and Erik Stevenson to defend the 6-foot-5 former Shocker.
The tag-team effort limited Reaves to just two makes on his first nine shot attempts of the game. He did catch fire in the final minute, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to trim WSU’s seven-point lead to 75-72 with 38 seconds remaining. But WSU made its late-game free throws to ice this one.
“We tried to run different guys at him, deny his touches” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “He’s obviously a very good player. We just wanted to wear on him a little bit and I think we did that. Towards the end, he made some, but he also missed a lot. If you can get someone’s best player to go 5 for 13, then you’ve got a pretty good chance.”
OU coach Lon Kruger thought Reaves was maybe pressing early in the game, considering the circumstances. Reaves shot 38% from the field but did finish with six rebounds, four assists and two steals playing in 33 minutes.
“They battled him and made him earn his points,” Kruger said. “They made him work. He maybe settled for a couple early and didn’t quite get the start he wanted to. He kept working at it. He’s going to compete no doubt about that.”
This story was originally published December 15, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
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