Vincennes (Ind.) University forward Darius Carter will sign a letter of intent on Wednesday with Wichita State, he confirmed with a text message.
Carter, 6-foot-7, 230 pounds, averaged 15.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks for the Trailblazers. He made 54.4 percent of his shots and 59.6 percent of his foul shots. He orally committed to WSU during the Final Four earlier this month.
Carter made his official visit last weekend. He got an earlier look at WSU during the NJCAA Tournament when Vincennes practiced at Koch Arena on its way to Hutchinson.
As a freshman, Carter averaged 11.6 points,8.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.
Carter, from Akron, Ohio, averaged 19.5 points in four games in the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. Vincennes (33-4) finished fourth.
You can check out Carter’s game in this video.
Wednesday is the first day of the spring signing period.
From a Wichita State perspective, the empty spot in the Missouri Valley Conference offered a chance for geographic relief.
Shocker teams suffer the biggest travel disadvantage in the MVC and it gets worse with Creighton’s departure. WSU will have seven trips of 500 miles or more with the addition of Loyola. It is a competitive and budget hit that the Shockers deal with well enough to field the MVC’s strongest athletic program.
So did WSU push for Oral Roberts and the comfy-sounding road road trip of 177 miles to Tulsa? Read More »
Cross country fans, this is your day.
What kind of all-sports addition is the Missouri Valley Conference getting in Loyola?
Its athletic program is characterized by average results in the Horizon League and little impact nationally. The clue that things might be changing is in the coaching roster. In men’s basketball, volleyball, women’s basketball Read More »
Loyola coach George Ireland led the Ramblers to the 1963 NCAA title.
Wichita State and Loyola share a basketball history from the 1960s, when both ran as national powers. From 1963 to 1969, the schools met 13 times, playing at Chicago Stadium for Loyola’s home games.
Most times, they met as two of college basketball’s best.
Loyola won the NCAA title in 1963. The Shockers played in the 1965 Final Four. The Ramblers also played in the NCAA Tournament in 1964, 1965 and 1968. The Shockers played in the 1964 NCAA Tournament and the NIT in 1962, 1963 and 1966.
Seven times one of the teams was ranked when they met during the 1960s. In 1963 and 1964, they met three times with both teams in the top 10. In 1963, the eighth-ranked Shockers defeated the eventual national champions 73-72 in Chicago Stadium, Loyola’s only loss in Chicago and one of two that season.
While both teams slid from prominence in the 1970s, the series continued. Loyola served as de facto member of the MVC for the Shockers. They played twice, usually during January and February, from 1964-1974, even adding a tournament matchup in 1970. The series continued with single games in 1974-75 and 1975-76 before slipping away. They last met in 1989 in an Indianapolis tournament. Read More »
Any school that produced Bob Newhart should be welcomed.
According to the Chicago Tribune, among others, Loyola (Ill.) will join the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2013-14 school year.
The exercise of replacing Creighton was, from the start, a losing proposition. No school interested in the MVC can replace Creighton, at least in the short term. No school appeared to be a great addition in men’s basketball. No school presented a no-risk scenario (which is why adding three of that ilk makes no sense).
Apparently, the MVC presidents (who vote on the addition) are betting that Loyola possesses resources and will devote additional resources to escape years of men’s basketball mediocrity. Loyola athletic director M. Grace Calhoun was hired in 2011. Her top priority should be reviving Read More »
Wichita State championship merchandise you won’t get a chance to buy. You can look here.
Wichita State junior Cleanthony Early.
Score: Louisville 72, Wichita State 68
Key stats: Louisville scored 47 second-half points, making 5 of 12 three-pointers. It outscored WSU 37-21 in the final 13 minutes of the game.
How the game turned: Louisville’s Luke Hancock made a three-pointer with 2:06 to play for a 65-60 lead, its largest of the game. Hancock then responded to a Shocker basket with a layup for a 67-62 lead with 1:16 to play.
Records: WSU 30-9, Louisville 34-5
Stories, photos from The Wichita Eagle/Kansas.com
- Over and over again, opponents called Wichita State the best team they faced all season, the toughest team, the most physical team. Some of that is standard post-game graciousness. At some point, it Read More »
