Wichita State championship merchandise you won’t get a chance to buy. You can look here.
By Rustin Dodd (From Jayhawk Dispatch)
No. 1 seed Kansas was supposed to be in the Sweet 16; No. 9 seed Wichita State was not. But together, the two schools have pulled off something that hasn’t been accomplished since 1988: Two Kansas schools in the Sweet 16. (KU and K-State faced off in the Elite Eight in 1988.)
When KU coach Bill Self was asked about Wichita State’s surprise victory over No. 1 seed Gonzaga, he responded with some textbook wit — the kind that might also strike a tender nerve.
“I’m happy for the Shockers. I’m excited for them,” Self said, smiling. “But that doesn’t mean we’re going to play them.
“That was a joke. Because I knew that would be the next question.”
So yes, even after Wichita State’s second Sweet 16 appearance in eight years, Self and the Jayhawks are holding true to their word. Don’t expect any KU-Wichita State showdowns in the near future.
From the Missouri Valley Conference:
No. 1/2 – Creighton or Wichita State — winner Saturday is No. 1, loser is No. 2.
No. 3 - Evansville, Indiana State or UNI — UNI is No. 3 if it wins; UNI is No. 4 if it loses. Read More
New Wichita State president John Bardo makes it clear student housing is high on is list of priorities. He wants 20 percent or so of WSU’s enrollment on campus. It currently sits at eight percent.
Better student life on campus is an obvious help for Shocker athletics. Coaches are thrilled with plans for new dorms. Most, although not all, consider WSU’s current dorms a problem in recruiting. Coaches are experts in minimizing the negative and diverting attention to the positive. At WSU, students live in the dorm for one year and then can move off campus.
Another issue is the condition of the Heskett Center, which is small and outdated compared to fitness facilities at other schools. When Shocker track coaches take a recruit to the Heskett Center, they sell it as an indoor track facility where students and faculty also work out.
Shocker coaches will gleefully support Bardo’s plans for campus housing improvements.
Shocker fans at Koch Arena.
Consider this a short companion piece to Sunday’s story about the #WatchUs campaign at Wichita State. If you’re in the mood to wonder a little more about Shocker marketing and what fans want, here are some results from an online survey the athletic department conducted early in the summer and responded to by 687 fans. Of those, 563 were men’s basketball season-ticket holders and 140 owned baseball tickets.
Some of the more interesting results:
(Special guest post from VarsityKansas’ Joanna Chadwick)
Andover sophomore Jaylyn Agnew is someone people have been mentioning to me since she was in seventh grade. Now, I already knew of her because I covered her father, Jay’s, girls basketball teams at East.
Jaylyn Agnew proved her freshman year that she’s a special all-around athlete. She plays volleyball, basketball and track.
In basketball, she is a threat to block shots, rebound, score in the lane or hit a shot from the perimeter. In track she won the Class 5A high jump.
And Wichita State recognized her basketball ability with coach Jody Adams offering her a scholarship.
Agnew spent last week in Texas at a showcase basketball tournament and is headed to Chicago this week for the Nike tournament, her last tournament of the summer.
She’s a multi-sport athlete, who would like to keep it that way.
“She’ll tell you that basketball is her first love,” Jay Agnew said. “If everything is perfect, she can choose where she wants to go, she’d probably prefer to do basketball and track.
“… She’s doing good right now. She likes everything she does. Whatever sport she’s playing, it’s her favorite.”
It’s nice to hear that, and it’s nice to hear that Wichita State is recruiting outstanding area athletes. There’s been so many top-notch girls basketball players from the area go elsewhere, that it would be so good for the WSU program to keep some local kids.
Follow along on the left side of this page, or on Twitter @PaulSuellentrop.
Services for former Wichita State equipment manager Roland “Joe” Banks will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Strangers Rest Baptist Church, 2521 N. Grove. Banks, 78, died Thursday.
Banks worked at WSU for 35 years before retiring in 2009.