Minor-league basketball returns to Wichita Saturday after 27-year hiatus
Accompanied by food trucks and bounce houses, minor league basketball returns to Wichita this weekend for the first time in more than a quarter century.
On Saturday, the fledgling Wichita Wizards will tip off their first regular season game on the hardwood at Friends University against the Houston-based Texas Toros.
“The guys are pumped up and looking to put Wichita on the map,” said team owner Mark Creed.
Creed said he decided to start a team because despite the immense popularity of college basketball, especially the Wichita State Shockers, “there’s no professional basketball in Wichita and I’ve never been able to understand why.”
Out of 16 players on the roster, 12 are from Wichita or played college ball here.
The team captain is 6-foot-9 center Aaron Scales, who played college ball for North Carolina A&T and Cleveland State.
Scales is a North Carolina native, but moved to Wichita to finish college. “’He’s gotten engaged and has planted his roots here in Wichita,” Creed said.
Other players with college experience on the Wizards’ roster include Shamar Acuay, out of Newman University, and Terrance Moore, who played for Emporia State.
Possibly the most recognizable member of the organization is on the bench. Onetime Wichita high school phenom Korleone Young, who had a very brief NBA career with the Detroit Pistons, is assistant coach of the Wizards.
The head coach is Jermaine Brown, who played junior college ball and has coached high school, middle school and youth basketball in Wichita.
The Wizards are the first minor league basketball team to call Wichita home since 1992, when a team called the Outlaws disbanded following their maiden season at the Century II Convention Center.
An attempt to revive semipro ball failed in 2005 when a team called the Bombers was formed, but the league they were going to play in folded before their first game.
Saturday’s season opener will tip off at 6:30 p.m. The doors open at 5 p.m. with pregame activities including food trucks and inflatables for children to play on.
“We’re kind of trying to make it a tail-gate atmosphere,” Creed said.
General admission is $10; $5 for adult or youth students with any school ID. Courtside seats are $20.
Friends University is at 2100 University Ave., Wichita.
This story was originally published March 29, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
