As TBT decides to head to Columbus, Wichita State’s AfterShocks make a tough decision
Wichita will not be involved in the 2020 edition of The Basketball Tournament.
According to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, TBT is expected to announce this week that Columbus, Ohio will be the sole host for this summer’s tournament. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, TBT decided to alter its format to 24 teams playing at one venue over a 10-day span — a significant trimming from the original field of 64 teams at eight regional sites.
Wichita was a finalist to be the sole host and made a presentation to TBT that included plans to host teams in dorms on campus, with the potential of having a limited number of fans in the stands. But sources said Columbus’ location as a more centralized hub for the majority of TBT teams coming from the East Coast was the difference.
As a result, the AfterShocks, the Wichita State alumni team that electrified a Koch Arena audience last summer and shattered TBT attendance records, will not participate in the 2020 edition of the tournament.
“We have tried our best to make this work, but we came to the conclusion this week that it’s just going to be too tough to make it work,” AfterShocks coach Karon Bradley said.
Many factors went into the decision.
The biggest was the change in dates. AfterShocks players originally were planning on being in Wichita at the end of July for the regional scheduled for July 30-Aug. 3. But with the altered format, players would need to begin quarantining in Columbus at the end of June. That sped-up timeline eliminated Clevin Hannah, who is still overseas — a “vital” loss, according to Bradley who said Hannah was one of the team’s leaders.
Another factor was the uncertainty of the event. It’s a 13-hour drive to Columbus from Wichita, but many would have had to drive from their homes in Texas, which is an even longer journey. And once they arrived, there was no guarantee they would be allowed to play. All players would have to have at least three negative coronavirus tests before the team could play. If just one player tested positive, the whole team would be eliminated from the field.
Bradley said it was a tough decision not to play because the team wanted to be together and play with one another again. But in the end, they decided it would be better to wait for a chance to play in front of Wichita State fans next summer.
“There’s definitely some frustration, but we also understand what’s going on in the country and we know it’s all about being safe,” Bradley said. “We definitely wanted to build off our first year because we felt like we had momentum and we were going to play in front of an even larger crowd. But it comes down to safety first, even though we all wanted to play and be with our Shocker family. I know next year is going to be even better.”
Bradley said there are no hard feelings with TBT and he looks forward to strengthening the alliance between the organizers and the AfterShocks in coming years.
“What we’re going to do now is hit the ground running for 2021 now,” Bradley said. “I know fans are disappointed since the end of the college basketball season was canceled and now this, so they’re probably feeling like they got left hanging here.
“But overall, they’ve got to understand safety is more important right now and then just get ready for next year because it’s going to be even better now.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 5:45 PM.
.jpg)