How leadership prepared Wichita Heights boys basketball to win a City League title
Star players for the Wichita Heights boys basketball team aren’t made by scoring the most points or attracting the most scholarship offers.
It’s a program that counts championships, not statistics, where selflessness and leadership are how you earn your stripes.
T.J. Williams and Amalachi Wilkins are two of the best to play for the Falcons in the storied career of coach Joe Auer, not because they are the two best players for a Heights team that captured the outright City League championship on Thursday night with a 60-49 road win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 5A.
Williams and Wilkins were once again superb with a combined 26 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks, but it was their contributions that don’t show up in the box score that had Auer raving about the duo following the completion of a 19-1 regular season.
“We have a lot of younger guys who haven’t been a part of a lot of big games like T.J. and Amalachi have been,” Auer said. “Those two have really had to mentor those guys.
“We have a philosophy in our program: you don’t have any pressure on you if you’re a young guy because the older guys absorb all of that for you. T.J. and Amalachi take care of that, so our young guys can play free.”
Williams, a Wichita State signee, and Wilkins, a 6-foot-8 junior attracting Division I interest, played key roles on Heights’ 2022 championship team, then helped lead the Falcons back to the Class 6A finals last season. Junior Chase Robinson also carries experience from last season’s run.
Their experience and ability make their words and actions carry weight. When Williams and Wilkins show a commitment to defense, rebounding and passing, others tend to follow.
So when they consistently encourage players like sophomore Jalihn Timmons and junior Aven Mboule in practice, confidence builds quickly.
“They know what my capabilities are and know what I can do on the court and they believe in me,” Timmons said. “That means a lot.”
Timmons and Mboule have been emboldened along the way this season, as their older teammates’ belief since October has paved the way for critical results in February.
On Thursday, both young players scored multiple timely baskets to help stave off Kapaun’s comeback attempt. When the Crusaders rallied to within six in the third quarter, Mboule buried a corner 3 without hesitation to extend the lead. When the home team rallied again in the fourth, Timmons converted an acrobatic finish in the air to highlight a season-high scoring performance with 16 points.
“Chemistry is a big emphasis for us and when people do their roles well, we celebrate it,” Williams said. “We tell our young guys all the time, ‘People are probably going to overlook you, but they’re going to wake up soon.’”
In a rematch that featured two championship-caliber teams and two legendary coaches in Auer and Kapaun’s Steve Eck, the Falcons found their edge in transition. They scored 14 of their points on fast breaks when they buried Kapaun in a 25-9 hole in the second quarter.
Kapaun willed its way back in the game behind Will Thengvall and Corbin Johnson, who combined for 33 points, trimming the deficit to five points early in the fourth quarter, but the early deficit was too large to overcome.
“They’re a nice team and they’re hard to score on,” Eck said. “They’re quicker than we are and they’re taller than we are, so the deck was stacked against us. But our guys battled back. We can’t give up 14 points on breakaways. That’s the whole ball game. If we stop the cherry-picking, it’s a different ball game.”
Williams finished with a game-high 20 points, a total he certainly has the ability to average over the course of a season. But he only averages 15.7 points and takes on average fewer than 10 shots per game entering the postseason, as brackets will be finalized this weekend by KSHSAA with play beginning next week.
“Scoring (a lot) every night doesn’t amaze me,” Williams said. “Winning does. Getting my teammates involved does. I know we’re going to need them down the stretch, so our focus is just finding ways to get the ‘W.’”
And that’s why Williams is one of Auer’s favorites. In fact, the mindset reminds him of another Falcon great.
“Perry (Ellis) understood it and T.J. understands it,” Auer said. “If your goal is to get 30 points, well this isn’t the place for you. All great teams are the same way. Kapaun is the same way as us. You share the ball because the ultimate goal is to get some hardware.”
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