‘Inject that sound into our veins’: Wichita State crowd powers AfterShocks to TBT semis
Koch Arena swelled in anticipation of what might come next.
And when Rashard Kelly found James Woodard streaking down the left side on a fast break for the game-winning basket in the AfterShocks’ 74-67 win over Gutter Cat Gang, it was like traveling through a time machine to experience the same realm of what the Koch Arena roar must have sounded like back in 2004 for the Florida State NIT game.
There were just 4,569 fans in attendance on Wednesday, not that you could tell from the ear-splitting eruption to celebrate the AfterShocks advancing to the Final Four of The Basketball Tournament, two wins away from the $1 million grand prize.
“Inject that sound into our veins,” AfterShocks coach Zach Bush said. “There’s nothing like it.”
The AfterShocks will play the winner between Florida TNT and Americana For Autism on Saturday at 5 p.m. Central time with the game broadcast on ESPN from the University of Dayton Arena.
The new goal is to prove they can win away from Koch Arena, but for one last night, the former Wichita State players were able to reflect on just how special of an experience playing in the Roundhouse was for the final time this summer. WSU fans now own the top six crowds in TBT history and eight of the top-11.
“It might be better than it was in college right now, I can’t lie,” said Markis McDuffie, the 2019 WSU graduate who was Wednesday’s hero with a game-high 17 points.
“It’s the fans that give us that extra ‘oomph,’” said former Shocker Darral Willis, who continued his strong TBT run with 15 points off the bench. “I could hear every single one of the fans in the stands. That’s how loud it was.”
Playing at Koch Arena has been an undeniable advantage for the AfterShocks the past two summers, as the combination of ruthless efficiency by the team and the roar of a frenetic crowd has overwhelmed seven straight TBT opponents.
The Gutter Cat Gang were likely the most talented and savvy adversary yet, led by Tyrese Rice, arguably the most accomplished player in the entire TBT field who was the MVP on last year’s TBT championship team and has been named Finals MVP in all three of Europe’s major competitions (EuroLeague, EuroCup and Basketball Champions League).
Even without two of the team’s most skilled defenders in Zach Brown (injury precaution) and Tyrus McGee (professional obligation), the AfterShocks managed to relatively shut down Rice, who finished with 10 points on eight shots and five turnovers.
“Big ups to these guys for the way they sit down and lock in and defend,” Bush said. “There’s a lot of teams in this tournament that don’t want to do that because this is an offensive-driven tournament. I don’t want to say we flip a switch because we do it all game, but these guys are just so dialed in defensively.”
During the AfterShocks’ run to the TBT semifinals their greatest asset has been their defensive intensity. Whether it’s undersized guards like Conner Frankamp, Samajae Haynes-Jones or Clevin Hannah battling for every inch or the long limbs of McDuffie, Kelly and Willis or the shot-blocking threat of James Dickey, the AfterShocks have consistently made other teams uncomfortable with their pressure and dogged pursuit of snatching the ball away.
For perspective, the AfterShocks forced Gutter Cat Gang into a tournament-high 18 turnovers and have forced an average of 16 turnovers in four games. The team also leads the 64-team TBT in total steals with 45.
“When you’ve got fans like this, it’s hard to go out there and not play hard,” McDuffie said. “They yell for everything you do, so it’s hard not to go out there and give it your all.”
The AfterShocks were once again able to apply early pressure during the Elam Ending, then ride the wave of momentum to sweep the opponent away.
A pair of layups from Willis and McDuffie broke a 65-all tie entering the Elam Ending, then Willis stroked in a trailing three-pointer with his left-handed delivery to suddenly bring the AfterShocks within a point of the target score of 73.
Before Gutter Cat Gang knew it, Willis had poked the ball away from Tai Odiase underneath the basket and Kelly was sprinting the other way leading a 3-on-2 fast break. It was eerily similar to the Elam Ending from last summer’s regional championship game where McGee led a 3-on-2 break and threw back to Frankamp, who drilled the game-ending three-pointer.
This time Kelly steered the defense to the right, selling the pass to Frankamp, who once again was spotted up on the right wing, only to fool the defense and slip a bounce pass in to a crashing Woodard, who caught the pass and barely slid the ball over the rim and in all in a singular motion for the win.
“We’ve all been through a lot of pressure moments in this gym, so I’m used to it,” Kelly said. “I was just trying to get us the guaranteed basket.”
It was a surreal moment for Woodard, who is Tulsa’s fourth all-time leading scorer in program history and only experienced Koch Arena as a visitor in blowout losses during his playing career from 2012-16. Now he was the hero.
“Man, that atmosphere was so crazy,” Woodard said. “They’ve for real got some of the best fans in the country here. I remember the times I was at Tulsa playing here, so for me to be playing for them now is weird, but that moment was just crazy. I had money on my mind.”
It was without question the most gritty team win in the AfterShocks’ brief TBT history, as they entered the game shorthanded with only three bench players and fell behind in an early 10-point hole.
With another opposition making it their central focus to stop Frankamp, who still finished with 10 points, the AfterShocks figured McDuffie and Willis could potentially swing the game in their favor. Both players can be on the wild side at times, but there’s no denying their immense talent for putting the ball in the basket.
The duo combined for 32 points and seven three-pointers, as Willis lived up to his “Machine Gun” billing once again and McDuffie was in prime form that was reminiscent of his senior season in 2019.
The AfterShocks picked a good time to have their first breakthrough performance beyond the arc, as they had made just 30.6% of their 85 three-point attempts up until Wednesday’s halftime. In the second half against Gutter Cat Gang, the AfterShocks made 8 of 11 shots beyond the arc.
“I know I can play, but when you’re playing with so many great players, you’ve got to learn to be patient,” said McDuffie, who averaged 8.7 points in the first three games. “You want to shoot the ball, but you have to be a team player and learn to be unselfish. It will come to you and this was the perfect time. I stayed patient and here it came.”
While the team scrambled to figure out the logistics of their trip to Dayton — 6 a.m. Thursday flights out of Wichita to Dayton bought for by TBT — good news continued to come.
Not only are all eight players who played in Wednesday’s game slated to make the trip to Dayton, but Brown told the Eagle he might try to play Saturday if his knee was feeling better and the team is optimistic that McGee could potentially rejoin the team for the Final Four.
The dream of winning $1 million is alive and well for the AfterShocks.
“We need to get you some tuition money,” Kelly said to his 2-year-old son on the way back to the locker room.
“If I see a million and I see two cobras in front of me, I’m trying to get that milli,” McDuffie said. “There’s no backing down now. You can’t go back. We’re going to get that milli.”
