WSU alumni AfterShocks to return to TBT, Koch Arena this summer with revamped roster
The Basketball Tournament, the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event televised on ESPN, is returning to Wichita.
TBT announced on Wednesday that Wichita will once again serve as a regional host site for the 2021 tournament this summer featuring a revamped Wichita State men’s basketball alumni team still called the AfterShocks. The 16-team Wichita regional will be held at Koch Arena from July 16-20. Fan capacity is to be announced, but limited all-session tickets are on sale through GoShockers.com or by calling 316-978-3267.
As a first-time host site in 2019, Wichita shattered the TBT attendance record for four straight days with the single-game record being 7,184 fans who watched the debut game of the AfterShocks at Koch Arena. Wichita was slated to host a regional last summer until the coronavirus pandemic canceled those plans.
“From that moment on, we knew we found a great home for TBT basketball in Wichita,” said TBT founder Jon Mugar in a statement. “We are excited to partner with Wichita State and return to Koch Arena this summer to experience that passion once again.”
Conner Frankamp and Rashard Kelly, who both played for the AfterShocks in 2019, headline the former Shockers who are committed to playing in the tournament, a list that also includes first-timers and 2019 WSU graduates Markis McDuffie and Samajae Haynes-Jones. All four are in the midst of successful professional careers overseas.
Frankamp is currently averaging 16.9 points and 3.6 assists for UCAM Murcia in Spain’s highest-tier league, while Kelly is averaging 11.7 points and 7.6 rebounds for Gaziantep in Turkey’s highest-tier league. McDuffie is averaging 20.6 points, shooting 50% from the floor and 42% on three-pointers, and 6.3 rebounds for Assigeco Piacenza in Italy’s second-tier league and Haynes-Jones is averaging 20.4 points, shooting 40% on threes, and 3.3 assists for Cactus Tbilisi in Georgia’s highest-tier league.
“Playing for the AfterShocks in 2019 and getting to relive my time at Wichita State was an incredibly special opportunity,” Kelly said in a statement. “I’m really looking forward to playing in front of the best fans in college basketball again this summer, and their support will go a long way in helping us achieve our goal of winning that $1 million grand prize.”
More former Shockers will be announced on the team in the coming months, as former WSU walk-ons J.R. Simon and Zach Bush will serve as co-general managers and coaches for the team.
In 2019, the AfterShocks won their debut game in the tournament, then lost 87-79 to Sideline Cancer. They will need to win three games in Wichita this summer to punch their ticket to the quarterfinals in Dayton, Ohio.
“Our fans, as usual, set the standard for excitement and support when we set TBT attendance records in Koch Arena in front of a nationally televised ESPN audience,” WSU men’s basketball coach Isaac Brown said in a statement. “We love our former Shockers players and no other fan base across the country shows it better. TBT allows these guys to showcase their talent and play in front of the greatest fans in the world in one of the best venues in college basketball. There’s no better place for TBT to be played than in Wichita!”
The format this summer will be slightly different compared to 2019 when Wichita hosted. Instead of an eight-team regional like the 2019 summer, Wichita will now host a 16-team regional with two teams from Wichita advancing to the Elite Eight and championship weekend July 31-Aug. 3.
First-round games at Koch Arena will be played Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17. Second-round games will all be played on Sunday, July 18 and two regional championship games will be played on Tuesday, July 20. In Dayton, the quarterfinals will be Saturday, July 31, the semifinals will be Sunday, Aug. 1 and the championship game will be Tuesday, Aug. 3.
The other regional host cities include Charleston, West Virginia (July 17-21), Columbus, Ohio (July 23-27) and Peoria, Illinois (July 24-28). Wichita is the only site with only one school headlining the event. The rest of the team’s in Wichita’s regional will be announced at a later date.
“We’re eager to welcome TBT and the AfterShocks back to Wichita this summer after an incredibly successful event in 2019,” said WSU associate athletic director Brad Pittman in a statement. “The support Shockers fans show for former Wichita State athletes is incredible, and we’re looking forward to giving the AfterShocks another opportunity to play in front of a home crowd at Koch Arena.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2021 at 10:05 AM.
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