The inside story of how Wichita State men’s basketball became stronger through the TBT
The final buzzer in Dayton sounded, marking the official end of the run by the AfterShocks in The Basketball Tournament.
It didn’t end the way the Wichita State men’s basketball alumni team wanted, but their disappointment was quickly swallowed up by the emotions of the past two weeks that had nothing to do with basketball.
The fun, the unity, the fellowship — these are the things that trumped everything else for the AfterShocks during this year’s TBT.
Of course, everything is more fun when you win, and the three exhilarating wins at Koch Arena in front of thousands of Shocker fans were cherished by the team.
But even more important to the team was the men’s basketball alumni reunion coordinated with the AfterShocks’ opening game that brought close to 50 former Shockers together in the Champions Club at Koch Arena. The players in attendance ranged from current NBA players like Fred VanVleet and Landry Shamet to 88-year-old legend Cleo Littleton, a 1955 WSU graduate. They mingled in the same room, laughing, telling jokes, regaling each other with former stories from their time at 21st and Hillside for close to an hour.
For many of the recent graduates, it was the first time being back together since they wore a Shocker uniform. And that was the point for AfterShocks organizers Ron Baker, Zach Bush, J.R. Simon and Garrett Stutz — to set the precedent for alumni returning to Wichita for a few days every summer to spend time with Shockers who came before them, old teammates and current players.
For a proud program, it was the most reinvigorating experience for past players they’ve experienced since leaving Wichita. And in the end, that’s ultimately what the TBT experience was about for the AfterShocks — building more of a familial feel.
“It was all about the Shocker brotherhood,” Baker said. “We want to continue to build tradition around this program and give guys the chance to interact with guys they haven’t even played with. I haven’t played with Samajae (Haynes-Jones), but over these last two weeks it feels like I’ve known him my whole life. And that’s thanks to the TBT.
“This was good for the soul and good for the program.”
After being granted access to the AfterShocks during their TBT run, The Eagle compiled behind-the-scenes stories to showcase how the Shocker brotherhood is now closer than ever.
‘Smiling from ear to ear’
In order for the reunion to be a success, the AfterShocks’ brain trust knew the event demanded the credibility that only the two Shocker NBA players, Fred VanVleet and Landry Shamet, could give it.
With Ron Baker, a Wichita celebrity in his own right, on board as the team’s general manager, doors that were previously closed suddenly opened for the AfterShocks. It didn’t take much convincing for VanVleet and Shamet to both agree to return.
“J.R. and I picked him Fred up from the airport and when he got in, he was smiling from ear to ear,” said Zach Bush, the AfterShocks head coach and a former VanVleet teammate. “The first thing he said when he got off the jet was, ‘Man, I’ve been so excited for this.’”
For Shamet, it was a nostalgic car ride from his home in Kansas City back to Wichita — a trip he said he made countless times during his three years with WSU.
“To be honest, I just wanted to see everybody,” Shamet said. “I still care about these guys. And then getting back on campus, it just brings back a ton of different emotions. It’s awesome seeing everybody. A lot of familiar faces, a lot of love. It makes me sad that my time here came and went, but it’s still awesome to be back.”
VanVleet went through the same walk down memory lane the first night he arrived in Wichita and returned to Koch Arena.
“You start remembering,” VanVleet said looking up at the rafters. “There’s a lot of nostalgia here. You look up and there’s a lot of banners you helped put up. I even remember when the scoreboard was put in. Just a lot of memories here. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into building this place into what it is. It’s just cool to be able to come back and see everything all at once.”
‘It’s an unbelievable feeling’
The most heart-warming scene came during an off day, a Saturday afternoon shootaround in east Wichita.
The previous night VanVleet hosted his pop-up shop, posed for pictures and signed autographs in his first public appearance at Koch Arena in four years. He had fulfilled his obligations and was free to hop on his private jet and resume his summer vacation to a tropical destination to his liking.
Instead, VanVleet made it a point to stay for the entire weekend. He was having too much fun being back around former teammates he hadn’t seen in years, like Baker, Tekele Cotton, Cleanthony Early and Evan Wessel.
And the best example of how much the weekend meant to VanVleet was him showing up to the off-day shootaround and immediately taking a liking to Clevin Hannah’s 6-year-old son who had tagged along.
In what became a viral video, VanVleet began putting Hannah’s son through an array of dribbling and shooting drills, shouting out encouragement and tips along the way.
Hannah and VanVleet had never been teammates — Hannah was the point guard for the Shockers three seasons before VanVleet came — which made the scene all the more powerful.
“It’s really big time to see a guy from your alma mater who’s made it to the NBA and the highest level come back and show love and work out with my boy,” Hannah said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling. It’s a blessing to be able to put my son in that position. To have that kind of relationship and to be a part of this program, it’s a true blessing.”
VanVleet didn’t put on a show for a 30-second clip to post to social media. He gave hands-on instruction to the 6-year-old boy for nearly 45 minutes, ending in a game of 1-on-1 that predictably featured VanVleet playfully swishing jumpers over the child.
For Hannah, who pulled out his phone to film on the sideline, it was a memory that he’ll cherish and one that he’s sure his son, dressed in a full LeBron James’ Lakers jersey, will someday appreciate as well.
“I want to keep my legacy living on and make sure I show my son all of my past achievements,” said Hannah, who plays professionally in Spain and lives in Wichita during the offseason. “He really loves the game and I would like to keep him around it as much as I can. It’s fun to see him learn from guys like (VanVleet). He loves to work at it and it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch him grow up.”
For Bush, it represented everything he hoped the alumni weekend would be.
“That’s what we’ve always wanted around here,” Bush said. “We want to make sure stuff like that continues because it’s just awesome to see. I want in 10 years for Dexter Dennis to be out here doing that for someone’s son.”
‘The brotherhood is the strongest I’ve ever seen’
In the seven years that Isaac Brown has been with the WSU program, he has never seen the alumni as organized as they have been this summer.
“The brotherhood is the strongest I’ve ever seen,” said Brown, now the head coach. “You would have a few guys here and there come back, but nowhere close to as many as this time. Once a Shocker, always a Shocker. I’m glad those guys were able to come back. It shows the value of relationships.”
The current Shockers may have benefited the most from the event. Players like Dexter Dennis, Morris Udeze, Monzy Jackson, Craig Porter, Ricky Council and Chaunce Jenkins were able to scrimmage against the AfterShocks a handful of times.
Afterward, they were able to pick the minds of professional basketball players and soak in the wisdom from players who are where they want to be someday.
“It’s so valuable having these veterans come back and talk about being a professional and about relationships,” Brown said. “Our young players need to know that stuff because one day they’re going to be professionals. We had the older guys talk to them about life after basketball. All of those guys have all kinds of contacts and maybe in a few years, some of them can help these guys out with an opportunity.”
After one scrimmage, Dennis sat alongside VanVleet and spoke with him for 10 minutes. Shamet also made it a point to make connections with the current players on the team.
Many of the current WSU players were in the stands being rowdy right along with the fans. After the final win at Koch Arena, they even stormed the court to celebrate with the AfterShocks. Those relationships between current and former players matter, Shamet said.
“From my perspective, being in that position and seeing all of these guys come back in one wave and talking to you speaks volumes about this program,” Shamet said. “For me, when I was around and the older guys would come back, it was seeing the precedent of what Wichita State basketball means and where those guys had gone since. You see what it means for your school. Beyond just talking, just being around means a ton and that’s the biggest impact for those young guys, hopefully.”
‘They love their basketball here’
The surge in Shocker pride among alumni has also helped Brown, who said he has received text messages from multiple former players offering their help and support in recruiting.
The most surprising of which came from Wichita native Maurice Evans, who only played at WSU for two seasons before transferring to Texas.
“He reached out and was like, ‘I’m liking the brotherhood and the way you’re doing things in Wichita. I’m down here in Houston and I want to help you guys anyway I can. I’ll be shooting you the names of some players,’” Brown said. “And I’ve never talked to Mo Evans in my life before that.”
The TBT games themselves also provided plenty of recruiting ammunition for Brown.
After Conner Frankamp made the game-winning shot that sent Koch Arena into complete pandemonium, topped with a display of pure joy from Frankamp running around the court in celebration, the WSU coach sent the Eagle’s clip of the celebration to 20 of the top recruits in the class of 2022 and 2023.
The message was clear: If Koch Arena was this wild for alumni in July, imagine how crazy the atmosphere is for the Shockers during college basketball season.
“I promise you, I had almost all of them hit me back and say, ‘Coach, that is on another level,’” Brown said. “I just told them, ‘Yes, they love their basketball here.’ We’ve got a great basketball tradition here in Wichita. And I think after watching those clips, kids are going to see that and want to be a part of that.”
‘It was a magical weekend’
By all accounts, this summer’s reunion was just the first of what the players hope to become an annual tradition.
“This is just the first year,” AfterShocks player Rashard Kelly said. “We want to do this for 20, 30, 40, 50, however many more years.”
The reunion wasn’t just important to recent graduates, either.
Players from all generations were present at the reunion, including Henry Carr, who played for the Shockers from 1983-87.
“It feels good to see some faces and players who used to be here,” Carr said. “It’s been about 10 years since I’ve been back. It’s making me feel old, but I still remember playing in the Roundhouse. I’ll never forget hearing the place rumbling on Hillside and 21st. Those were some great memories.”
Even though they had to pull out of playing for the AfterShocks, being back in Wichita was important to former Shockers like Toure’ Murry and Tekele Cotton.
“It’s always important to me because I played here, I gave my all here,” Cotton said. “When I’m back here, I love it. There’s so much love here with the fans. That’s why I always love being back here.”
For the AfterShocks players, the TBT experience created a different kind of bond between past Shockers like Kelly, Conner Frankamp, Markis McDuffie, Samajae Haynes-Jones, Zach Brown and Darral Willis.
“I think we’ve all connected and become really, really close,” AfterShocks player Conner Frankamp said. “I mean we were close before, but these last two weeks have brought us together even closer.”
And winning three straight games at Koch Arena, all in thrilling fashion, gave them an adrenaline rush like they never thought was possible once they left WSU.
“We’ve seen the city buzz multiple times throughout our college careers, but these past two weeks brought back a lot of memories,” Baker said. “We felt the fans and their love and support in this community. Our city really backed us and they got us here (to Dayton) to be honest. We were down in all three games and thank God for the Elam Ending and our fans for giving us a chance as the sixth man.”
With the help and full support from Brown and the WSU athletic department, the AfterShocks were able to make it an unforgettable experience for the alumni — an experience they didn’t take for granted.
“Of course we wanted to win games, but the biggest part of this was to get the alumni weekend going,” Bush said. “This was the vision all along, but it turned out to be even better than we imagined. It was a magical weekend. I mean, who gets to do this? This just doesn’t happen anywhere else in the country. To have Fred, Landry, Cle, Tekele and guys like Cleo Littleton in the building, it was just unbelievable. I can’t say how much this experience meant to everyone.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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