Golden State Warriors, Steph Curry make dreams come true for Wichita West girls basketball
Nearly two months ago, the Wichita West high school girls basketball team was forced to forfeit the rest of its season because it didn’t have five available players to start a game.
Overall disinterest in the program limited the numbers to begin the season, then injuries forced the Pioneers to pull the plug on what had been a winless season in January. It was devastating to the remaining players, but a small group continued to show up after school to practice their basketball skills with hopes of returning to the court next season.
Their perseverance, publicized in a Feb. 2 profile by The Eagle, caught the attention of the Golden State Warriors, who invited the girls to attend their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on Tuesday and arranged for them to meet superstar players Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, as well as head coach Steve Kerr, the nucleus of four NBA championships.
After being left heartbroken because basketball had been taken away from them, the girls were left in amazement of where the game had taken them just two months later on Tuesday night.
“That’s an experience I don’t think anyone could ever experience,” West junior Aunyste Gresham said after meeting Curry. “I can’t even breathe right now. Oh my gosh, I think I have asthma now. But for real, that was amazing and it’s an inspiration to keep going.”
“That was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said West sophomore Ty Hardwell, who was still shrieking after Thompson had signed his name with a heart on her shoe. “I’m never going to let this heart go.”
So how did the defending NBA champions from San Francisco find out about a disbanded high school girls basketball team in Wichita?
The credit belongs to Raymond Ridder, the Warriors’ senior vice president of communications who is a Wichita native and avid Shocker basketball fan. He was moved reading about the perseverance of the West girls basketball team and made all of the arrangements for Tuesday’s meet-and-greet, which included a pregame meeting with Kerr, court-side seats to watch pregame shootaround, lower-level tickets for the game, then separate post-game meetings with Curry and Thompson.
When relayed the situation from Ridder, Kerr and the players were on board with the meeting.
“It’s one of the best parts of our jobs to see the joy that we can bring to people’s lives,” Kerr told The Eagle. “To see the excitement on their faces made me feel great. I feel so bad for them that their season has been cut short. Those girls just want to play. It’s devastating. I’m glad we were able to at least bring some happiness to what’s been a difficult season for them.”
Kerr, Curry and Thompson didn’t treat the assignment as an obligation, smiling for a few pictures, signing a few autographs and then departing. They were each genuine in their time spent with the players.
After scoring 40 points and making 10 3-pointers in the Warriors’ 137-128 loss, Curry greeted each player, looked them in the eye and shook their hand. When he arrived at Gresham, wearing a yellow No. 30 Curry jersey, he complimented her jersey choice.
“I’ve been up since 4 o’clock in the morning,” Gresham said. “I couldn’t even sleep. I wasn’t even paying attention in school today. It was constantly just, ‘Curry, Curry, Curry.’ All day.”
What was the impression of her hero in person?
“He smelled so good,” Gresham said, sending the group of girls into fits of laughter. “It was great. I love that man.”
When Thompson entered the room, he gave an impromptu speech to the group that included Hardwell, Gresham, Miaya Coleman, Ryonia Cornelius and Danika Butler, West athletic director David Clark, West volunteer coach Britannie Brickhouse and team sponsor Carla Jacobs.
“I heard y’all still in the gym practicing your sets, still getting better,” Thompson said, as the room fell silent. “Those lessons you’ll learn together, you’ll grow together and the relationships y’all will have will last a lifetime. No high school state medal will ever replace that. Just continue that love for each other and love for the game, it will be the best time of your life.”
Even though the Warriors were in a rush to board a plane to their next road trip in Memphis, Curry and Thompson both took their time to take as many pictures and sign as many autographs as requested.
The players were left in awe.
“I was watching film on them and they always look like they’re happy,” Hardwell said. “You always see Steph dancing in games and they both kept their same personality. Klay was taller than I expected. They were both very handsome and Klay signed a heart on my shoes. I’ll always remember that.”
What began as such a negative situation — the team’s two seniors, Gabby Faust and Kiari Albright also had their senior seasons cut short — has turned into more of a positive than Clark, the school’s athletic director, could have ever imagined.
Not only has there been an outpouring of support to the girls and to the program in the last month, but the future is trending in the right direction. A new coach, Will Davis, has already been hired and all signs point to the Pioneers playing basketball again next season.
There was so much struggle for so long, but on Tuesday night, Clark said it was all worth it to the girls.
“It was like a dream come true for those girls to be able to meet two of the world’s greatest basketball players and coach like that,” Clark said. “We can’t thank the Golden State Warriors’ organization enough for opening the doors for these kids. I think it really might motivate them for the rest of their lives, this little act of kindness.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
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