Wichita State players react with disbelief, sadness to season-ending defeat (+video)

Through red eyes and disbelief, Wichita State tried to take account.

As the Shockers talked about their season, and about the moments in the wake of Saturday’s 65-57 NCAA Tournament loss to Miami, it became increasingly clear that this was a moment none of them had envisioned.

Senior forward Evan Wessel, whose 109 career victories rank third in WSU history, sat in a folding chair next to the entrance and choked back tears as he talked about the end of his career, along with that of fellow seniors Fred VanVleet, Anton Grady, Bush Wamukota and Ron Baker, who was part of the same recruiting class as Wessel in 2011.

“It’s never fun to lose your last game, especially when you know you work so hard with everyone, it’s a lot of emotion,” said Wessel, who won three Class 6A championships at Heights High. “Especially with all the adversity we dealt with over the years. We fought back and came up short ... it’s been a hell of a ride. That’s a lot of brothers I’ve acquired over the years.

“I will miss all the moments with everyone, and this last game won’t change anything, won’t change how I feel. It’s a hell of a ride.”

The majority of the Shockers sat in locker stalls behind Wessel, most in silence as the reality of the season’s end began to hit home.

Sophomore forward Shaq Morris, who spent an extra year with VanVleet, Baker and Wessel as a redshirt in 2013-14, draped a towel over his head and talked about how much he would miss the seniors. Particularly VanVleet, who seemed to push and prod Morris over the years until he turned into the player the Shockers needed.

“Fred is definitely my lifetime brother,” Morris said. “He taught me so much about leadership and desire to win ... you ask if I would I say I’m going to miss him or how much I will miss him and I don’t think that does it justice. I will miss everything about being around him. He made me better.”

As some of the Shockers took time to reflect on the seniors, on the other side of the locker room some began to talk about the future and lamented what could have been.

“I really don’t know how to describe it ... it hurts,” WSU sophomore forward Zach Brown said. “But there’s nothing you can do about it now. It’s out of our control at this moment and the best thing you can do is try and move on from this whole mess.”

Outside the locker room and away from the players, WSU coach Gregg Marshall stood in the hallway next to his daughter, Maggie, as reporters waited for him for more interviews.

At one point, she whispered something to him. Marshall leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek then walked over to sit in a folding chair in front of an NCAA Tournament backrop as a dozen-or-so cameras lit up around him.

“I hate that this is the last time I get to coach these seniors because they’re such great guys,” Marshall said. “They truly left their mark and they’ve taken us all on a magic carpet ride. It was fun, it was exhilarating, it was new and we’re all deeply indebted and appreciative of their efforts and the way they’ve handled themselves.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2016 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Wichita State players react with disbelief, sadness to season-ending defeat (+video)."