‘I’ll see you soon, Wichita’: When and why Shaquille O’Neal is coming to Koch Arena
Shaquille O’Neal is coming to the Roundhouse.
Storytime Village, a Wichita-based children’s literacy nonprofit organization, announced the 7-foot NBA legend and Hall of Famer will be the guest of honor for the Hoops 4 Literacy charity basketball game on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in Koch Arena.
Tickets to catch O’Neal in Wichita for the basketball game, with proceeds helping support early literacy for Kansas children, can be purchased through the Wichita State ticket office. General admission tickets are $50 with discounts for students, teachers and groups, while meet-and-greet tickets are $166.
O’Neal appeared in Storytime Village’s video announcement on Monday morning, ending his video with “I’ll see you soon, Wichita.”
Prisca Barnes, a Wichita native and founder of Storytime Village, was in a Wichita Public Library when she first received the video confirming Shaq’s appearance.
“The library is supposed to be a quiet place, but I couldn’t contain myself,” Barnes told The Eagle. “I definitely squealed when I watched it. Having someone as big as Shaquille O’Neal be a voice for this cause isn’t just a big deal for little, old Storytime Village in Wichita, Kansas, it’s a big deal for our community. It’s a win for all of us.”
So how exactly did “little, old” Storytime Village in Wichita land one of the world’s most famous athletes?
Like with everything in show business, it was all about connections.
It all started with a connection between Wichita natives, as Barnes reached out to Phylliss Johnson, who has her own entertainment company based in Memphis named Buckner, Brooks & Heights Entertainment and has been on the Memphis Grizzlies’ Grannies and Grandpas dance team since 2013.
With her connections in entertainment and NBA, Johnson was able to help secure an appearance from O’Neal, who is also a children’s book author and was motivated to help a cause close to his heart.
“She pulled out all of the stops,” Barnes said. “You call somebody that knows somebody who knows somebody and she eventually got there.
“A lot of people probably don’t know Shaq isn’t just this big, well-known athlete across the globe, but he’s also a children’s book author. So it’s been a dream of ours for a long time to have him be a part of Hoops 4 Literacy, but access to him wasn’t really an option until now.”
Barnes said there will be a festival-type atmosphere outside Koch Arena before the basketball game on Saturday, Sept. 10. Storytime Village is donating 2,500 tickets to bring students from underserved neighborhoods and a guardian to the game for free.
O’Neal will be signing jerseys and basketballs to be given away through a raffle, while the game will feature former Wichita State basketball players, current Wichita Wizards, former NBA and WNBA players, Wichita police and firefighters and Harlem Globetrotters. Players in the game will be revealed on Storytime Village’s Facebook page over the next few weeks.
There will also be a Champion’s Gala on Friday, Sept. 9 at the Wichita Marriott that will honor Wichita basketball legends Lynette Woodard, Xavier McDaniel and Antoine Carr with “Champion For Children” awards.
“There’s a lot of people who will probably come to this because they love basketball or they love Shaq,” Barnes said. “So our hope is that they come, enjoy the game, have a great time and leave with new information and the desire to support children’s literacy.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2022 at 1:05 PM.
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