Jaime Echenique reflects on sudden ending to WSU career and his ex-teammates leaving
In the weeks since his college basketball career was abruptly ended by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the bitterness has exited Jaime Echenique and been replaced by gratitude.
It had been his dream to play in March Madness, the chief reason why he picked Wichita State in 2018. But that dream went unfulfilled, and the 6-foot-11 Colombian center will never know if the Shockers’ 23-8 season was good enough to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Instead of dwelling on that missed opportunity, Echenique has chosen to focus on what he sees as a silver lining: ending his career in front of the fans he loves at Koch Arena in dominant fashion, a 79-57 senior day whupping of Tulsa.
Ever since the NCAA Division I Council rejected a proposal on March 30 to grant winter-sports seniors an extra season, officially ending Echenique’s career at WSU, he has been scrolling through his phone, poring over the pictures from this last memory as a Shocker.
“I don’t think there could have been a better ending for me at the end of the day,” Echenique said in a phone interview recently. “What an amazing day. The fans were great. Whoever drew me in the pictures in the student section did an amazing job.
“We didn’t get a chance to go to March Madness and I wasn’t ready for the end of the season. I felt like I could have still done more. But you can’t be negative all the time in life. I had the best senior night of my life and I got to end my career on a win. That’s pretty good.”
The game also proved to be the final time more than half of WSU’s players would be teammates. In the days following that abrupt end to the season, seven of the Shockers’ scholarship players entered their names in the NCAA transfer portal.
Echenique admits it’s been strange to watch the team disperse.
“I think for every player the situation is different,” Echenique said. “You have to go where you feel comfortable and makes you happy. It’s kind of weird seeing all those guys leaving, but I will support them no matter what. I respect their reasons for leaving the program and they will always be my brothers.
“But for me, it was an amazing two years at Wichita State. I had a great relationship with coach (Gregg) Marshall and the staff.”
Echenique arrived at WSU in 2018 with little fanfare but left in 2020 as Marshall’s latest junior-college success story. Echenique led the team in scoring (11.3), rebounding (7.1) and blocks (1.6) this season while earning second-team all-conference honors in the American.
At 6-11 and 258 pounds, Echenique’s all-around skill-set makes him an intriguing pro prospect. It’s unclear if he will attract NBA interest, which will be even more difficult with in-person workouts in front of scouts likely canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Even if the NBA doesn’t come calling, Echenique will still have the chance to be very rich playing professionally. Many overseas leagues have restrictions on how many U.S. players they can sign, but because Echenique is a Colombia native, he wouldn’t count against that cap — a valuable commodity.
“Of course the dream for any basketball player is to play in the NBA,” Echenique said. “But I’ve talked to many players and they’ve told me that there is a life outside of the NBA. There’s still a lot of money you can make outside of the NBA. Hopefully I have a chance, but I will take whatever opportunity comes my way and do my best like I did at Wichita State.”
With all sports on pause, Echenique is still waiting to see what comes next for him. He is in discussions with sports agents and wants to sign with someone soon. But he likely won’t know where his next destination will be for quite some time.
For now, Echenique is working out and conditioning in Phoenix. He doesn’t have access to a basketball hoop, but he is still in the weight room and running to stay in shape. He wants to be ready when a call arrives.
“I feel like my size and my skill set can help teams right away,” Echenique said. “I put a lot of confidence in my game and what I did at Koch Arena. There are things besides my numbers that are important too, like how much effort I put into defense. There are a lot of things I can help with.”
As Echenique prepares to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a professional basketball player, which will allow him to financially support his family back in Colombia, he credits Marshall and the Wichita State program for putting him in this position.
“Everything was worth it. Every tear, every sweat, every run, every line in the gym that we had to do, it all made us better,” Echenique said. “I would say the biggest memory would be the 42-12 run against SMU to win. I couldn’t believe that. That’s a really, really special moment and something that will stick with me the rest of my life.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 6:04 AM.
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