40 more minutes: The special memory a surprise NIT bid gave Wichita State basketball
What would you give for 40 more minutes together?
That was the question posed to players on the Wichita State men’s basketball team when they believed their season — and in many cases, their college basketball career — was finished.
Would one more chance still be worth it, even if it ended in defeat? The Shockers found the answer when they reunited one last time on Tuesday for what became an 89-79 loss to Oklahoma State in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
To the coaches, players, staff members and student managers, the final loss of a 19-15 season will fade from their memory in time. The unique circumstances that led to one more opportunity to play together will not.
“Honestly, we were just so excited for another chance to play basketball,” WSU forward Corey Washington said. “It was another chance to hoop and another chance to play with my guys, especially the seniors. I think we were all grateful for that.”
In 2016, Boston College senior Dennis Clifford was mocked by outsiders for his answer of “going out to eat” when responding to what he would miss most about the team. But to athletes, it was an answer that dug directly to the core of what makes team sports so special.
Clifford wasn’t going to miss the actual act of consuming food the most, he was going to miss what it represented — the time together, the laughs, the camaraderie that is exclusive to a team.
In the age of the transfer portal and NIL money, it has become increasingly difficult to build a team. Regardless of its flaws and imperfections on the court, Wichita State had a team that cared about one another and handled their business off the court, in the community and in the classroom.
It was a team that endured heartbreak, disappointment and failure and also a team that displayed resiliency and toughness to the very end. In the end, they are judged by their win-loss record from the outside. But to those in the arena with them, they are judged by much more.
“This was just a phenomenal group,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “Zero off-the-court issues. Zero. I’ve always believed good people make good players and they’re really good people.
“Tough is the ability to do the right thing when it’s hard to do the right thing. We’ve had guys that have done the right thing when it was hard. This group has been phenomenal, just who they are, the character and just really proud of the locker room and the people that they are and they became over the course of the year.”
When WSU was granted new life by a surprise inclusion to the NIT, the Shockers were not only granted another 40 minutes on the court together. They shared one more bus ride, one more film study, one more shootaround, one more game day, one more shared meal together.
“Man, it was great to see everyone back and everyone smiling on the bus here,” WSU senior Bijan Cortes said. “That was pretty cool having one more memory like that together.”
The bus ride from Wichita to Stillwater seemed to be the leading candidate to become a core memory for the WSU players.
Less than 24 hours before hopping on the bus, the Shockers and their 134th-ranked NET were positive their season was done. Coaches conducted exit meetings with players and dismissed them for spring break. A handful of players were already gone from Wichita when 8:30 p.m. Sunday rolled around and WSU was included in the 32-team NIT field with no prior notice from the postseason tournament.
“We have a really special group and we all worked so hard together this season,” said WSU walk-on Henry Thengvall, who had joined his family on vacation already but didn’t hesitate to fly back to Wichita to join his teammates on Monday. Finishing out the season — together — mattered to all 15 players.
“We all enjoy being around each other,” Thengvall added. “Everyone was all in.”
Star center Quincy Ballard remained behind in Fort Worth with his family following WSU’s exit from the American Athletic Conference tournament last Friday. Given a chance to play again with his teammates, Ballard made the 5-hour trek back to Wichita in time to make the team bus.
“We just had a good group of veterans,” Ballard said. “We went through a lot, a lot of adversity, but we never let that get to us down.”
The bus ride was so special because the group came to the realization when they thought their season was over that this team — from the starters to the walk-ons, from the head coach to the assistants, from the staff members to the student managers — would never all be together again.
So when the players trickled onto the bus, one by one, the smiles got bigger and bigger, the laughs lasted longer and longer and everyone had a new sense of appreciation for their time together.
“It was a special memory, for sure,” Cortes said. “I knew this could be the last time I get to see these dudes and be on a real team. It was great to all be back together again. We were cracking a lot of jokes.”
“I just remember getting on the bus and seeing all of the guys again,” Washington said with a wide grin. “We all were just like, ‘One more time. Let’s get it.’”
Even with players already sitting out NIT games for other teams with the transfer portal looming, Mills said the thought of WSU not having its full arsenal for Tuesday’s game never even crossed his mind.
“It’s unfathomable to me that somebody would opt out,” Mills said. “Why would a basketball player not want to play more basketball? Why would a teammate not want to be part of a team? I don’t understand that one. That was not an issue for me.”
The time to dissect, analyze and evaluate the season as a whole will come in time.
On Tuesday night, for that night, Wichita State was just grateful to have one more memory together as a team.
“It was a blessing to be able to go out there one more time, especially with this group of guys,” WSU senior Xavier Bell said. “To be able to suit up one more time for my hometown team with this group of guys, I have a lot of pride in that.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
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