the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the March 19 first-round NIT
game played at Charles Koch Arena in front of a sold-out crowd.
The Shockers won 84-81.
I have to admit, I was not thrilled when a Jayhawk was named head coach of my beloved Shocker basketball team in 2000.
I mean, there are just some things that shouldn’t be done. “Mark Turgeon may be a great little coach,” I thought, “but he’s a ‘Rock-Chalk’ guy!” Can’t tell you how much I came to despise KU in my time at WSU and in my 10 years living in Wichita.
Haughty and conceited are the two words that come to my mind when thinking of the school in Lawrence, its fans and students.
I remember getting gag reflex when readying stories about Turgeon when he was a player — how he cried himself to sleep as a kid when his beloved Jayhawks would lose.
Now he’s going to coach my team? As Dr. Peter Venkman said in Ghostbusters, “Dogs and cats living together!”
That feeling has passed. As long as Mark Turgeon wants to be head basketball coach at Wichita State, the job is his. This season as a writer for the Chicago Tribune, I got to cover four Shocker games and, even in defeat, I liked what I saw. (I do have one complaint. Where is WuShock? Nowhere on the Shocker uniform or warm-up is our unique mascot. Slap him somewhere on those baggy shorts or the warm-up top. Put him on the floor of Koch Arena.)
Turgeon is a competitor and that rubs off on his team. He hates to lose and so does his team.
Of course, all college basketball coaches are competitors and hate to lose, but few as much as our Shocker coach. All that competitiveness doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t coach. I didn’t see every game this season, but the ones I did impressed me. He does a good job of managing a game and getting a nice rotation of players in the game.
WSU is not an easy team to play against. They play defense and are versatile on offense. They play hard.
The key is getting good players and Turgeon has done a nice job of that. Jamar Howard, Randy Burns and Rob Kampman helped turn the program around and provided Shocker fans with a lot to cheer about in their four years.
They will be missed. But underclassmen Kyle Wilson, PJ Couisnard, Sean Ogirri and Matt Braeuer make the future look bright.
Signing 6-foot-10 Ryan Bradley of Bradenton, Fla., was a recruiting coup, and by the time this is printed, it wouldn’t be surprising if another key recruit or two sign.
The new Roundhouse is a wonderful arena just like it was when I saw my first Shocker game in January 1967. I haven’t seen a game in Charles Koch Arena, but I took a tour two years ago when driving through town. It’s a real gem and, from all I’ve heard, provides a great atmosphere.
The coach, the talent and the facilities give WSU a leg up on the competition. The competition is what they now call mid-major.
of the Feb. 5 game against MVC foe Indiana State.
The Shockers defeated the Sycamores 67-57.
What that means is WSU doesn’t have the money to have its players eating pre-game at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. It doesn’t mean you can’t play.
What it does mean is if you are smart, scrappy and tough, you can do some big things.
I expect big things from the Shocker program.
The Missouri Valley will never be what it was when I was in school for a number of reasons — integration of southern athletic programs being one of them — but it is improving. The Shockers are a big reason for the improvement.
I don’t know what the future holds for Mark Turgeon. At a school like WSU, there is always a chance some big-bucks U will steal him.
Maybe if the school in Lawrence has an opening in the next five years, he’ll go back there. I wouldn’t hold it against him. He’s done a great job with the Shockers, and the program is on solid ground.
Jayhawk, Shmayhawk.
As Adam Knapp ’93, who covers the team for The Wichita Eagle, reminded me, “Hey, Ralph Miller was a Jayhawk.”
Hanley, a WSU journalism graduate and a life member of the alumni association, is a sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune.
