WSU notes: Brent Kemnitz available to talk, lunch, text and fund raise for all Shockers sports
Brent Kemnitz joked that his job as Wichita State pitching coach was perfect, except for one part.
He loved the players, enjoyed practice and delighted in the social aspects of the baseball life. If he could only find a way to avoid the stress of games.
After 38 seasons as coach, he now gets paid for talking, texting, promoting and laughing without worrying about a bases-loaded walk or uncooperative umpire. Kemnitz resigned as pitching coach in June and, with two years left on his contract, moved into a position with the development staff in the athletic department. His title is assistant athletic director for outreach and staff development and his office is in Koch Arena.
Outreach is what Kemnitz does best. He tells his bosses that, like a freshman pitcher, he has talent and needs molding.
“You get out in the community, you listen to people, you energize people,” Kemnitz said. “Not just baseball. I’m representing everybody when I go out.”
On Thursday, he went to lunch at the Candle Club with director of development Alex Johnson, Joseph Hunter, vice president for development at the WSU Foundation and former WSU pitcher Nate Robertson. They pitched the athletic department’s plans for a student services building and an Eck Stadium weight room to a potential donor. Kemnitz attended the Volleyball 101 dinner and is prepared to lobby hard for a spot in the travel party when March Madness arrives.
He spent much of his summer talking with former baseball players to explain his departure and assure them the program is in good hands with coach Todd Butler. Baseball, however, won’t be his only focus.
“I let people know I’m happy,” he said. “I’m telling people to stay strong. I think it’s going to flip. I think they’ll see the result next year.”
When Kemnitz started at WSU as a graduate assistant in 1978, the baseball offices resided in Levitt Arena next door to the track and field coaches and close to the basketball and football offices. Baseball moved to Eck Stadium in 1985 and Kemnitz missed those daily interactions with other coaches. Last week, he spent 30 minutes talking about the San Francisco Giants with volleyball coach Chris Lamb, visited with softball coach Kristi Bredbenner and took new men’s tennis coach Danny Bryan to lunch.
Director of athletics Darron Boatright wants Kemnitz in those offices and practices to act as a resource, a sounding board and a bridge to the administration for coaches. When a pitcher struggled, Kemnitz always waited until the next day to address to reduce the emotion. It is that sense of timing and purpose Boatright wants others to hear.
“I’ve asked him to work with any member of our staff, but especially our young staff, on how to operate in a competitive environment,” Boatright said. “Tell his story of the art of getting along. When you’ve spent almost 40 years somewhere and you can’t find an enemy, there’s something to be learned. Dealing with conflict and dealing with people face to face is an art we’ve gotten away from teaching.”
Kemnitz isn’t done with baseball. On Sundays starting Sept. 11, he will offer one-hour pitching clinics at the Wichita Sports Forum. On Nov. 10, he agreed to sit for a roast to benefit the Wichita Children’s Home.
Keep it moving — Wichita State’s women’s basketball team spent summer’s individual workouts installing a new offense, borrowing from the dribble-drive offense credited to former Fresno City College and Pepperdine coach Vance Walberg. John Calipari pulled it into the spotlight during his time at Memphis.
Shockers coach Jody Adams likes the freedom the offense — which uses her staff’s contributions — gives players to drive to the basket. The dribble-drive offense is usually described as one that allows all five players to drive, uses few screens and features three-pointers and quick shots.
“We kind of developed our own system, using the dribble-drive as the body of it,” she said. “It’s just truly playing basketball. It’s not that difficult, but if you play the game the right way you’re going to get better results.”
In recent seasons, WSU relied on a ball-screen to start its offense, which Adams felt became a crutch for guards needing that movement to start the offense.
“There’s times when we had direct drives — two, three dribbles to the rim — and we waited, settled for that on-ball screen,” she said. “This is just you and the man in front of you. It doesn’t lock you in.”
Adams sees the potential for the offense to create more well-rounded players, ones who are empowered to do multiple things on the court and not limited by play-call or position.
“With running plays, if they don’t run it right, they think about that,” she said. “I don’t want them to think about that. We want to be known as coaches that teach the game and how to play the game. At the end of the day, there’s no plays. There’s just movement, just places to be.”
The Shockers spent parts of their summer working on footwork. One-on-one games played an important role. With officials calling more fouls on defenders, dribble penetration is growing more profitable as a way to score in the lane, produce open three-pointers and draw fouls.
“It’s playing basketball,” she said. “It’s moving, it’s reading off each other. This fits our team in a building process of being able to make plays at the rim, get to the free-throw line without us calling a shot-clock play.”
Off her feet — A foot injury limited WSU junior Rangie Bessard to study time and ball-handling drills this summer.
“We did a lot of film work with her,” Adams said. “She got to visually see it, vs. physically do it. Now it’s just hopping back in and trusting the process.”
Adams said Bessard, named Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year last season, is cleared for all practices and will be treated with care to avoid a setback.
“She’s full go,” Adams said. “She’s getting after it, working hard.”
Bessard, from Rosharon, Texas, averaged 15.5 points and 7.7 rebounds as a sophomore, after transferring from Minnesota.
Paul Suellentrop: 316-269-6760, @paulsuellentrop
Wichita State women’s basketball newcomers
▪ G Tamara Lee (5-foot-9), Butler Community College — Lee averaged 13.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.3 assists. She made 42.9 percent of her shots and 38.6 percent of her three-pointers. She earned second-team All-Region VI honors.
▪ F Angela Tompkins (6-0), South Georgia Tech — Tompkins was named NJCAA Division I All-American and Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year. She averaged 17.6 points and 11.1 rebounds, making 60 percent of her shots and 74.8 percent of her free throws.
▪ G Jeliah Preston (5-8), Blinn (Texas) College — Preston averaged 12.8 points and 3.2 rebounds. She made 38.5 percent of her three-pointers and 37.2 percent of all shots. She claimed a spot on the All-Region XIV Tournament team and all-conference honors.
▪ G Keyuana Thompson (5-5), Shelton (Ala.) State Community College — Thompson averaged 9.4 points, 5.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds. She made 54.3 percent of her shots and 4 of 7 threes. Her assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.4 ranked 18th in the NJCAA and her 88 steals ranked No. 23. She earned a spot on the Alabama Community College Conference All-Tournament team.
▪ F Kayla Williams (6-1), Memphis Overton High School — Williams was named to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal Best of the Preps Class AAA team.
This story was originally published August 27, 2016 at 2:39 PM with the headline "WSU notes: Brent Kemnitz available to talk, lunch, text and fund raise for all Shockers sports."