How Wichita State basketball fans convinced Siena transfer Colby Rogers to commit
On the plane ride back to New York, Colby Rogers couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to play in front of a sellout crowd of 10,506 fans at Koch Arena.
The 6-foot-4 sharpshooter had become a priority recruiting target for the Wichita State men’s basketball team after playing his first three seasons in college at Cal Poly and Siena, where Rogers was used to playing in front of about half of that many fans.
Rogers had taken an official visit to Pac-12 member California and was scheduled for another visit to Temple, but both of those programs drew less than 4,800 fans in attendance last season. He also heard from major-conference teams like TCU, Georgia Tech and Pitt, but they were also football-first schools.
Although Rogers didn’t commit at the end of his official visit to Wichita last weekend, he knew in his mind where he was going by the time his plane landed. The next day, Rogers officially pledged to head coach Isaac Brown’s 2022 recruiting class at Wichita State.
“I didn’t really know what to expect coming to Wichita, but what jumped out to me is the fan support in the city and how they live and breathe Wichita State basketball,” Rogers told The Eagle. “It’s hard for me to not appreciate that kind of fan support, especially in my case coming from two smaller schools. I think playing in front of (WSU fans) and having that kind of support on a consistent basis at home can be a game-changer. That was too hard for me to pass up.”
Rogers, who still has two years of eligibility remaining, immediately becomes one of Brown’s most intriguing commitments to the reload at Wichita State with up to nine scholarships available in the recruiting class. He averaged 14.1 points and made 2.6 threes per game on 42.9% accuracy for a Siena team that finished third in its conference.
For a program that has shot below the national average in 3-point percentage for four straight seasons, Rogers is a welcomed addition. He scored 1.42 points per possessions and finished in the 97th percentile in catch-and-shoot three-pointers, per Synergy.
“I feel like I’m definitely a sharpshooter who can open up the floor for the rest of the guys and make things easier,” Roger said. “But I want to expand my game and show that I’m not just a shooter. I want to make plays off the bounce, get in the lane, find open teammates and create open shots. I think my shooting will help me with those other things.
“I know (WSU) lost a lot in the portal and with Tyson (Etienne) going to the NBA draft, so I think there’s a need for me and I think I can satisfy that need and also bring more to the table than what I showed at Siena.”
Rogers admitted he was intrigued by his fit in Brown’s offensive system, which features multiple ballhandlers on the floor at once running through a series of pick-and-rolls with shooters spacing the floor. Rogers has the versatility to be a guard with the ball in his hands coming off a screen or be a guard stretching the floor in the corner or on the wing, waiting for the kick-out pass to burn a three-pointer.
Synergy shows that Rogers has flashed potential in his off-the-bounce game, as he scored 1.33 points per possession and made 53.8% of his dribble jumpers coming off a screen for Siena. His assist rate of 9.3% (similar to Dexter Dennis at WSU last season) is on the lower end for a playmaking guard, but Rogers seems dedicated to creating more for others with the Shockers.
“That’s the next step for me is showing that I can do other things besides shooting,” Rogers said. “I was just looking for an opportunity and I’m going to put in the work to fulfill that opportunity. Coach Brown didn’t promise me anything, but he did say I would have the chance to compete. That’s all I was looking for, somewhere that would allow me to expand my game and showcase what I can do.”
Whether or not Rogers will be eligible to showcase his game immediately at WSU is the pressing question.
Because he transferred from Cal Poly to Siena last offseason, Rogers has already used his first-time free pass in the transfer portal and will need to apply for a waiver from the NCAA to play next season. He is currently finishing up the school semester at Siena, then will head home to Covington, Georgia for a few weeks before heading to Wichita in early June for summer workouts and to begin filing the necessary paperwork with WSU’s compliance department.
“I hope that I can play next year and they said they had a good feeling that I’ll be able to get a waiver,” Rogers said. “I told coach Brown that if I couldn’t get a waiver, I was prepared mentally to be able to sit out and still support the team and work on my craft. I still would want to help the team however I could. And when coach Brown told me he would take me regardless, waiver or no waiver, the decision was pretty much made. I appreciated that.”
Rogers said he was impressed by Brown and his coaching staff while on the visit.
“I really liked that they have a culture of winning and playing in the postseason,” Rogers said. “They also have a good track record of getting guys to the next level professionally. And then it was just my connection with the coaching staff. The players spoke highly of coach Brown and I believe in the coaching staff, the coaching staff believes in me and I just want to play in front of those fans.”
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 6:15 AM.
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