Wichita State basketball newcomers working together as roommates for summer workouts
A pair of newcomers on the Wichita State men’s basketball team are making their way together in their first week on WSU’s campus.
Joe Pleasant, a 6-foot-8 junior forward transfer from Abilene Christian, and Qua Grant, a 6-foot-1 junior guard transfer from West Texas A&M, both received their first taste of Koch Arena on Tuesday when the pair helped work coach Isaac Brown’s youth basketball camp.
Pleasant and Grant, who both figure to play roles for the Shockers this upcoming season, are roommates in the dorms at WSU and are building a quick bond as the lone newcomers currently on campus.
“Joe is a really cool guy,” Grant said. “We’ve been laughing about getting lost and talking about how different the arena and the campus are from where we came from. We’re both excited to show what we can do.”
Because summer school is not mandatory, Brown has made the month of June optional for players to come to Wichita for summer workouts.
WSU currently has four players on campus: Pleasant, Grant and returners Clarence Jackson and Ricky Council IV. Other players like Craig Porter, Chaunce Jenkins and Matt McFarlane are expected to trickle in over the next month. But Brown said some players won’t be in Wichita until July. That includes:
- Tyson Etienne. The star sophomore guard is currently testing the NBA Draft waters. If Etienne does decide to return to WSU, then it likely won’t be until the end of July.
- Kenny Pohto. The Swedish big man is bound by NCAA rules that stipulate international players cannot arrive on campus until one month before they start classes, which means the earliest Pohto can be at WSU is July 16.
- Dexter Dennis and Morris Udeze. The two most veteran players on the roster have been given June off by Brown, who thinks both players can be better served by training in their home bases full time.
“I wanted both of those guys to take some time off and get back home to work on their games,” Brown said. “So Dexter is going back to (Louisiana) and he’s going to play in summer leagues and he’s got a trainer down there. And then Mo is working out with the John Lucas camp (in Houston) and getting better. They both know the system, so that’s good and we’ll see them back in July.”
Summer workouts began on Tuesday for WSU with players able to work out for a total of eight hours per week for a total of eight weeks. The eight hours per week may consist of weights, conditioning and skill instruction or practice with no more than four of the eight hours being skill instruction.
As one of the handful of players already in Wichita, Pleasant and Grant said they are both excited to start their individual workouts and begin playing pick-up against and with Jackson and Council.
Both newcomers are motivated to prove themselves at a higher level — Pleasant is a veteran from a very successful mid-major ACU team, while Grant is a NCAA Division II All-American.
“I’m always excited for the challenge and I like to personally experience something myself,” Pleasant said. “I usually don’t go off the words of what somebody else said. I want to experience this for myself. I’m going to continue to do what I’ve always done and that’s just work hard and give everything I have to give to my program.”
“I’ve seen this place on Zoom in my virtual visit, but to actually be (at Koch Arena) is a surreal feeling,” Grant said. “But I’m a mellow guy. I don’t like to get too high or too low, so I’m just looking forward to getting to work and playing in front of all of these fans. I hear it gets pretty crazy in here.”
This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 2:55 PM.
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